Yoga for you and your baby
By Adele Hamilton
As featured in Woolies Babes
Yoga for mothers and babies is an excellent way for
a new mother to get back in touch with her body,
says yoga teacher Gayle Friedman. ‘Most of them
come for a month or two, then feel ready to carry
on exercising with their babies at home, or to
leave their babies at home and go back to
a normal yoga class.’
Gayle’s class is designed to work the areas of the
body most affected by pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a baby: hips, stomach, waist, pelvic floor, uterus, anus, vagina and bladder. Stretching and toning the muscles at the side of the waist and hips is particularly important for new mothers, as these muscles become slack from having supported the heavy uterus, and the back and shoulder stretches counteract the hunching that is an inevitable part of breast-feeding a baby several times a day. Many of the exercises are adapted and simplified from Yoga, A Gem For Woman By Geeta S Iyengar (Allied).
Once you’re in a yoga routine with your baby, it’s a good idea to include some infant massage. ‘Yoga with babies goes hand-in-hand with massage,’ says Francoise Barbira Freedman, author of Baby Yoga (Gaia). ‘In India the custom is, starting from birth, to give the baby a daily massage with oil, followed by yoga, and finally a bath.’
Bonding between and parent is strongly promoted by touch, and fathers, who sometimes feel left out of the whole process of caring for a baby, can try a short yoga sequence such as in the one below. Whether in a class or at home, the slow, studied stretches and mental focus of a yoga session create an atmosphere that helps parents and baby find a relaxed way to be together.
This sequence is for babies of any age. Be gentle and don’t push baby’s limbs into awkward positions. Try not to do yoga directly after a feed as you may cause a reflux reaction if you push on a full tummy. It can be fun to do this after the bath when baby is free of the constraints of the nappy. To start, gently stroke the baby’s chest, abdomen,
legs and feet, keeping your hands in constant contact with his body. Be aware of the cuesyour baby gives you: If he’s not enjoying it, stop and try again another time.
Antenatal Yoga classes - pregnant Mums
