The Lunar New Year is a festival for the whole family to enjoy together. But in addition to sharing tasty rice cakes, why not share some exercise together too. It’s really good for both body and soul. Hong Kong people love yoga, so for this new year try adding some yoga into your parent-child moments. Let’s do yoga together with all the family!
Enhancing physical and spiritual strength together with your kids
So, what are the advantages of doing yoga with your baby? Is there anything you need to pay attention to? To find out, we asked Cindy, the yoga instructor at the Anurati yoga studio. Cindy has held baby yoga classes, and she said, “When you are doing yoga with your baby, you would both get into a very focused state, so you can enjoy a very direct spiritual exchange. This kind of practice can also be applied to everyday life. In this way, moms can become more sensitive to their babies’ feelings, and strengthen the connection with their babies through eye and body contact.”
Apart from having a greater spiritual connection with your baby, the best part of doing baby yoga is actually getting physically stronger together. For babies, yoga postures can help them improve their coordination and learn to crawl. After learning to crawl, the baby can then learn to balance and start walking. The repetitive yoga postures can also enhance the baby’s mood and help them sleep better.
As for moms, holding their babies can often stress their posture and lead to muscle strains. Yoga stretches can help alleviate the tensions. Moms will feel recharged and ready to handle their daily routines, as well as getting back into shape more quickly after delivery.
Relax and react to your baby flexibly
But isn’t it hard for babies to manage the yoga postures? Cindy pointed out that babies at different ages have different ways of interacting with their moms. When babies are around 3 to 10 months, they are still developing and cannot yet crawl, so it is easier for moms to maintain control. But one has to be careful to make sure that the baby is well protected, and the exercise is done in a safe environment.
When babies reach 10 months or so, they are increasingly curious about the things around them. So moms need to react in a flexible way. Cindy shared her own experience, “Once, when I was doing my yoga, my son suddenly hugged my leg. Though this was not what the original posture was supposed to be, it was a wonderfully intimate moment.”
So when you are doing yoga together with your baby, even if your baby can’t manage the posture, just relax and interact with your baby proactively. Cindy had a tip for this. “I try to think more from my baby’s perspective, and when I understand his needs, I won’t be bound by the perfect form of the movement. I just keep calm, and together we can explore more great parent-child moments.” Through this it can also help to improve a mom’s patience and flexibility as well as her yoga technique.
So let’s use the beginning of the year to make an exercise plan for the whole family. Exercise more and create more positive energy. We wish you and your whole family, moms and babies, a healthier new yoga year together!
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This article is for reference only, please consult doctors or professional advice before doing exercises. Sun Life Hong Kong is not responsible for any use or misuse of the information or content, or any lost or damage incurred due to reliance of it.
