Mother and Baby Yoga

This week my baby yoga classes will come to an end.  Baby yoga?  as in yoga for babies?  Well, not really...

If you have never tried baby yoga then let me explain.  Most baby yoga classes are in fact yoga classes for new mums where it is totally acceptable for you to bring along your baby.  Nobody is fussed if you have to stop for some (if not all) of the lesson to feed your baby and nobody bats an eyelid if your baby screams the whole way through.

I have been doing a weekly mother and baby yoga class (BBCise) with Bump Birth and Babies .  We started when Holly was 8 weeks old and now our lessons have come to an end... not just because I have to return to work in the new year, but also because Holly is now totally and utterly mobile and I can't keep an eye on her while I'm attempting 'Downward Dog'!

Gone are the days when Holly would lie below me on my yoga mat and stare deep into my eyes, giggling at the funny faces that I made at her.  I used to love seeing and hearing her giggle as my hair waved over her face.

For me, the mother & baby yoga classes were as much an opportunity to get out of the house as they were to get some exercise.  I had never been to a yoga class before although I knew several yoga moves.  Yoga seemed peaceful and sounded like a class that I would get as much out of as Holly would.  I've met a good friend through yoga and I've also discovered an interest for yoga so I plan to carry on taking a 'grown ups' evening class once I am back at work.

Mother & baby yoga is obviously designed to help you tone up the parts of you that have suffered most through pregnancy and childbirth.  After each lesson I have really felt like my abdominal core has had a really good work out and I've learned some useful exercises that I can do any time and any where to continue exercising those muscles and also my pelvic floor muscles.

And Holly has had good fun too.  During our lessons we would perform a few vigorous massage techniques on our babies to help them get their arms and legs moving.  Our teacher would also encourage them to look around and get up on their tummies.  Clearly Holly doesn't need that help any more now that she can sit up and crawl off all on her own!

At the end of each lesson there was the opportunity just to zone out.  If our little ones were causing trouble, the teacher would come and take them off our hands while we chilled.  Not quite meditation but just a tiny bit of me-time in an otherwise manic day.

You can practice yoga any time after your 6 week post-natal check has been signed off by your G.P. and I highly recommend it for getting you back to feeling yourself.

Images courtesy of Bump, Birth and Babies.