Moms can Return to the Yoga Mat
Simple Ways to Include Children in Yoga Practice
Women who practiced yoga before having children sometimes find they can't get back to the mat as moms. But yoga is especially beneficial for busy mothers and their kids.
According to Rachel Bixby, a physical therapist, 500-hour level yoga instructor and owner of Lazy Dog Yoga, located in Rockton, Illinois, many mothers and children struggle with an “overload of competing senses” on a daily basis. Bixby goes on to say that when that sort of overload happens, the body reads it as danger, which can cause children to become almost hyperactive and moms to feel stressed and out of balance.
But even a short yoga session can help turn a tantrum-on-the-way or mommy meltdown around.
“Yoga is great for moms and kids,” Bixby said. “Yoga in its simplest form is ‘stilling the fluctuations of the mind’ to more readily connect to spirit, however you define that. So it doesn’t have to be complicated or drawn out. Think of it as a ‘time out’ to organize the body-mind-spirit triad.”
By slowing down and reconnecting through simple postures, moms can get in a workout while their children get a chance to center their attention. Fifteen to 30 minutes per day is plenty, if done mindfully.
“Try for a daily practice, but don’t be too rigid,” says Bixby. “Remember that just breathing mindfully and staying in the moment is a form of yoga, so practice in the car, at the store …”
These simple tricks can help a mom who has perhaps, “fallen off the mat” or a mom wanting to incorporate yoga into her family's life:
- Get comfortable doing yoga at home. If you have only taken classes in the past, invest in a few mats and a good book which shows simple postures and maybe some breathing techniques.
- Try yoga cards. Cards help to keep the practice fresh and give children some control over the yoga session.
- Include movements that are forward bending, backward bending, twisting, standing, upside down, symmetrical, asymmetrical, and that cross midline of the body, always with an eye for safety, Bixby says. Once you and your child feel confident with the basics, Bixby recommends making up your own poses and giving them fun names.
- Play games (Simon Says, etc.). By helping your child (and you) become aware of how your body feels normally, stress reactions can be brought down. Bixby recommends making funny faces, swirling the eyes in the head or blowing bubbles.
- Make up stories that you can act out using yoga poses. Try the book “Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story” by Sydney Solis, RYT.
- Massage can be a part of your routine to encourage mind-body awareness. And moms can benefit from back or foot rubs as well.
- Never force yoga. Simply doing yoga in the presence of your children can benefit them and help them learn. And a mom’s “yoga high” can be contagious. For children with shorter attention spans, it is fine to stop and start as needed. Any yoga is better than none.
Bixby recommends that moms take a time out once or twice a day with their children to explore their relationship through yoga. The many benefits will keep you headed back to the mat.
Yoga Helps Moms Find Their Center.
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