Toddlers, ages one to three years old, are natural explorers and they move with their whole body. Their new-found freedom means parents are busy keeping them safe and re-directing them from potential harm. The toddler brain is fired up for development with language and learning through modeling.
Yoga is a fun way to engage in song, animal poses, and to experience the contrast of movement and stillness that promotes awareness and self-control. Yoga practices help parents and toddlers manage the emotional highs and lows of tantrums and power struggles. Thank goodness; we all need help with those!
Together, parents and toddlers breathe and connect with respect in Yoga. It’s a joyful process to play with downward dog, and other age appropriate poses, that benefit everyone.
Babies are born to do Yoga. The poses are the path to walking.
Yoga models baby’s natural growth for brain and body development, and each of baby’s developmental milestones happens to be a Yoga pose!
|
Developmental Milestones |
Yoga Pose |
|
Birth/Fetal Position |
Child's Pose |
|
Tummy Time |
Cobra Pose |
|
Finding Feet |
Happy Baby Pose |
|
Sitting Up |
Butterfly Pose |
|
Hands and Knees to Crawl |
Cow Pose |
|
Hands and Feet to the Floor |
Downward Dog Pose |
|
Standing Up |
Mountain Pose |
|
Walking/Balance on One Leg |
Tree Pose |
Babies build all of these skills in approximately the first 12 to 18 months of life. Yoga stimulates motor development to promote healthy weight gain, strength, and mobility. Affected internal systems include: respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and perhaps the most important, baby’s nervous system, which encourages the ability to self-soothe over time.
For parents, Yoga can help manage fears and regulate emotions, enabling baby to feel safe, connected and calm. Everyone wins when baby sleeps well and parents feel confident they can meet their baby’s needs. Yoga nurtures the bond between parents and their baby and lays a healthy foundation for movement and mindfulness for life.
Women do Yoga. Moms do Yoga.
Many women who practice Yoga attend Prenatal and Postnatal classes. Both have been found to help prepare the body and brain for birth and motherhood. It’s not a stretch that moms do Yoga with their growing children.
- 37 million Americans are now practicing yoga. Yogis tend to be women: 82%, and young: 63% percent between 18 and 44 years old. 40% are “Millennials.”
- Yogis are moms: Between ages 25-29, 50% have children. After age 30, approximately 70% have children. — 37% of Americans under the age of 18 years old have tried Yoga.
Yoga has much to offer for any age. The practices we teach at It’s Yoga Kids® develop healthy habits for happy successful kids and their parents from cradle to grave.
Parents often say, "my kid loves Yoga” and we believe it! Yoga positively influences children of all ages. Students can be their personal best by building individual skills that create healthy bonded families and safe caring communities.
Students from all walks of life, including under-privileged youth to the highest performing student-athletes and young performing-artists, benefit from Yoga.
Here are some benefits of kids Yoga in alphabetical order. We’ll bet you can come up with even more!
- Active
- Balanced
- Courageous
- Disciplined
- Encouraged
- Focused
- Grounded
- Healthy
- Imaginative
- Jovial
- Kind
- Leader
- Mindful
- Nourished
- Optimistic
- Peaceful
- Quiet
- Routine
- Strong
- Team Player
- Upstanding
- Valued
- Wonderful
- Xenodochial (friendly ☺)
- Youthful
- Zealous
…and SUPER FUN!
