Butterfly Pose for Tots

Butterfly pose is such a fun and easy pose for your toddler. You can start teaching this pose as soon as they have mastered sitting up. In fact, most babies, as they are learning to balance while sitting up, will naturally put their feet together in front of their bodies,  to create a more stable foundation for themselves.

First you need to do the pose yourself and show little one what it looks like.

As a totally unrelated side note, I am having a really hard time finding the right word to describe our babies/tots/toddlers/little ones/kids. It's starting to drive me insane. Penelope is not a kid but she is not a baby, clearly she is a toddler, but the poses I talk about here are not just for toddlers they are for babies too and even older kids for that matter. Ahhhhh!! So if anyone has a good word that encompasses all those things PLEASE let me know.

Ok, back to Butterfly pose.

So once you have done the pose your self you can help your little one (see what I mean!!!) by putting their feet together for them. Then show them how to move their knees up and down by gently, doing it for them.


Then move your own knees up and down and show them again. And say Butterfly!!! You do it!!!!

I like to say Butterfly slowly and rhythmically, almost like I am chanting and I move my legs in the same rhythm that I am speaking.

Then I like to say, now open up your feet like a book! I do the sign for book, and then I open up my feet. So the outside of the feet stay together and inside of the feet open up.  Then again, I say your turn!!!

Then I usually do the sign for Butterfly and go back to "flapping my wings".

In an older kid class, I may take my first two fingers and use them as my "antennae" and play around with them really getting into pretending we are butterfly's.

Butterfly pose is a great pose for Mama's too, it is one of the best poses for releasing tension in your hips, groin and inner thighs.  Which is oh so important if you are trying to conceive or are pregnant.

And as always give them lots of praise when they do the pose.  Try not to say good job, but other things like yay! you did it!  what a beautiful butterfly!  how does it make your legs feel?!

Just FYI, most of the baby yoga poses I post, I learned at my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training. The founder and creator, Helen Garabedian, has a great book and dvds that you can purchase to help your home practice. Or you can go to her website and try and find a class near you!