Tot Itsy Bitsy Yoga

As you may already know, I have been doing yoga with Meo since he was 2 weeks old. When he was three months old, we started taking our first Itsy Bitsy Yoga class at Lila East End Yoga Studio. However, he outgrew that class and since then we hadn't had another class to go to besides Mommy and Me yoga classes (at Lila and Yogave Yoga studios), but those were more for me and I didn't particularly enjoy the style of teaching. However, recently we started going to a toddler yoga class; a contiuation of the Itsy Bitsy Yoga series for toddlers up to 24 months old. We are taking this class on Saturday mornings all the way in Dover at Childlight Studio. It's a long drive, but Meo and I have really been missing going to yoga class together and I have been running out of inspiration for our home practice, so we decided it would be worth the long drive. The best part is that sometimes our friends Kasia and Henry meet us there, as it is halfway between our two homes! Since we rarely see our good friends anymore, this is a real treat; especially since it was yoga that brought us together in the first place (we met in prenatal yoga at Portland Yoga Studio).

Meo and I in yoga class (14 months)

Watching the yoga instructor (14 months)

So far we have really enjoyed the class. Meo has been pretty shy and sleepy since it as at 9 in the morning and I usually have to wake him up after the hour long ride in the car to get there. He usually warms up towards the end of class, but  spends most of the time very close to me, sometimes even asking to be nursed frequently. Since he is asking to be nursed just as a comfort thing, I try to restrict him to just nursing at the start and end of class. The teacher is great and is enthusiastic/fun about the poses we help the babies do often singing and using props. All the poses are very simple with the intent of helping babies gain awareness of their body parts in a fun and peaceful way. Some of Meo's favorite poses are "dinosaur", where we stomp around the room lifting our knees up high, "down dog" which Meo is a pro at because it is often the position he goes into to go from seated to standing anyways, and his very favorite is "moon toes" where he holds onto his toes while sitting and stretches his leg out. He also thinks "lumpa" is really fun (lumpa means jump in Sanskrit), and has started to bounce up and down on his knees when we do lumpas together. He's wicked cute.

Doing "moon toes" in yoga class (14 months)

I have truly begun to see the benefits of doing yoga together so much throughout Meo's young life. It has become a sometimes quiet and peaceful escape for us, when other times it is a silly bonding time. I know he appreciates it too. Yesterday when I took out the yoga mat, he got really excited and helped to unroll it, plopped himself down on it and took off his socks! I love his enthusiasm. He has learned a lot about his body parts too and will touch his head, belly and toes as we sing silly songs together. I hope to remain dedicated to our practice together as time goes on.

Meo playing ball in yoga class (14 months)