April Asana Of The Month
Baby Yoga Asana of The Month
April: Zoom To The Moon
With the launch of my Toddler Yoga classes in St Albans & Berkhamsted I thought it was the perfect time to share this Asana which you can explore with Babies & Toddlers!
Why Practice this Asana?
Wow, this is a super fun Asanas and it is packed full of benefits for both you and your little one!
Lets run through the benefits;
FUN: during times of stress and even teething having some fun and being silly can really help to break through the emotions caring the way for relaxation, happiness and love to flood their way back into your mind & body.
Trust: this always seems to become a real favourite amongst both parents and babies/children. But to be able to enjoy it there must be trust between you both and so this is a great Asana at helping to build and exercise this.
As you baby/toddler lays on your shins their tummy will be receiving a bit of a massage from the movement of your legs. This can be great at aiding any trapped wind and helping to move things along the digestive tracks.
This asana comes with a song*. Singing to your baby is fantastic as it can really aid with their speech and language development. Not only this but exploring rhyme has been proven to really aid with literacy skills as well.
Towards the end of the sequence we progress to elevate the babies/children into an inversion position. This allows lots of nourishing blood & oxygen to feed the brain! This inversion position is also fantastic for awakening the digestive system!
Sensory System is exercised as you elevate and bounce your little one their brain and body will be busy communicating to each other working out
Where they are in the world with regards to it they are standing, sitting, laying
If it is them moving or the objects around them moving etc etc
How to develop and practice this Asana?
This Asana is for babies 12weeks+ (for babies with good neck/head control).
Getting into the position.........There are two ways that you can explore getting into the position for this Asana and these will both be explored in the Video Tutorial.
One way is to sit down with your baby sat next to you. Lay down and pick your baby up from next to you and place them onto your shins. I always found this tricky as my baby was heavy and I had an emergency c-section. So I always get into position a different way which I will explore in the free video tutorial that you can sign up to receive via the website.
The hold
Ensure that your baby is comfortable on your shins. Their face should be popping up over your knees so that their mouth and nose are free to breath through and you can see their whole face. Your hands MUST be holding your baby under their armpits to ensure that they are safely in position.
The sequence
Please sign up for the free video tutorial to explore how you can build upto this Asana with babies new to baby yoga and any babies that suffer with reflux/silent reflux.
Once you are in hold you may begin the sequence. Really gently and smoothly bounce your leg (imagine they are bound together creating a united platform for your baby to lay on) up and down.
Keep eye contact with your baby and signal to them that this is a safe and happy experience with lots of smiles. You can begin to sing the song (featured in the instructional video). Once you get to the count down section of the song you need to stop the bouncing motion and now glide your legs up, pause and glide them back down, pause, and back up etc: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.Ensure that you have a safe hold of your baby under their armpits still.
You have now reached 'blast off' in the song/sequence. Bring your baby down to your chest for kisses and cuddles.
If you both enjoyed it, why not do it again. If you or your baby were concerned at any point it maybe worth exploring the preparation phase explored in the Instructional video.
How to access your FREE instructional video....
To learn the Zoom To The Moon baby & Toddler yoga Asana sequence sign up to receive your FREE instructional video. Its easy just visit the website and sign up to the mailing list.
www.littlelotusbaby.co.uk
I will take you step by step through the different levels of this Asana showing you the adaptations from young baby all the way upto toddler!
BABY YOGA & MASSAGE COMBINED 5 WEEK COURSE: Why not explore a Baby Yoga course or workshop at the Little Lotus Studio...... Check out the next course dates on the website or get in touch for a chat......
http://www.littlelotusbaby.co.uk/classes
SAFETY NOTES ● Do not do this with babies that have any neck, head or heart conditions.
