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!

Yoga Mama's Way to Reduce Frustration

It's been a frustrating couple of days with Penelope being so sick. She has had two colds before this, but this Roseola really threw her for a loop and she was miserable for almost a week.  Constantly crying and cranky and wanting to be held and wanting to nurse all the time.  It reminded me of a colicky newborn who just cried. all. day. long.

By the end of the week, I was at the end of my rope, and several times I had to do some serious deep breathing to keep from screaming at her.  The urge to scream was so strong!  

On top of that, Peter and I are still at each other's throat's these days. So instead of having a doting partner, once she is asleep, to help restore me after a long day.  I have another battle to fight.

So Monday night, I dove into a bottle of red wine and a box of cookies.  That got me through the evening and Tuesday I was adamant about starting fresh and remembering and implementing healthier ways to reduce my frustration.

I remembered something my energy healer/therapist told me about before I even met Peter.  She told me to rip up newspapers or paper grocery bags as a way to process and release anger and frustration.

What triggered the memory, is I had just gone to the grocery store and forgot my cloth bags so I had 10 brown paper grocery bags in the kitchen.

So I took them all down and put on the floor of the kitchen.  I told Penelope we were going to play a game and that it was going to help Mama with her anger. I told her that I have lots of frustration pent up and that I needed to get it out!!

Then I started ripping the bags as loudly and dramatically I as I could!!

I was even grunting and was sighing heavily, to entertain Penelope and in an effort to get more of the pent up negative energy out.  Penelope helped and joined in too.  Mostly, she watched me very intently.

When I ripped every last bag, I rubbed my hands together and then shook them over the pile.  I told her that we are going to shake, shake shake our anger out!  There is a song she loves, called Shake, Shake Shake your sillies out, so she thought this part was awesome.

Then we did a couple of deep breaths and Om's and cleaned up our mess.  It made me feel better and I was happy to have used this opportunity to teach Penelope how to deal with her emotions.  I want her to know that its ok to be mad, but that it needs a constructive outlet so it doesn't get taken out on somebody else.

I still needed to do some yoga, and I was thankfully able to go to a yoga class that night.

It reminded me of my two favorite yoga poses for when I am about to loose it and need to calm down.

Child's Pose and Reclined Bound Angle Pose.  Both are what I consider "close circuit" poses.  What I mean by close circuit, is that your body becomes a sort of circle or loop, and the energy meridians have an opportunity to reboot, rebalance and realign your parasympathetic nervous system.

Child's pose is so easy, but it can be difficult for some people if they have tight hips.  In that case, you can spread your knees far apart or lift your pelvis up and put a blanket under  your bottom.  You can also  stack up blankets and put them underneath your chest and lean over them if you can't actually get your head to the floor.

You can have your arms outstretched in front for an additional shoulder stretch or down by your sides.  I think arms down by your sides is more restorative and more "closed circuit".

For Reclined Bound Angle Pose lie on your back and bring the soles of the feet together.  Your feet can be as close or as far away from your body as you want them.  You can place blankets under your back and under each knee for an even more restorative version.  Then place your hands over your stomach and clasp them together somehow that is comfortable for you.

Don't you love how I am doing yoga in the middle of a mess of toys.  You know its Mama Yoga when.

Then BREATHE.

Yoga Wednesday: Bridge Pose!

This is a picture of some of the little yogis in a past Tot yoga class. Aren't they cutie pies!?

They are all doing Bridge Pose. As this age, it is heavily assisted by parent or caregiver but as they grow and develop, they start to do it on their own. Eventually they will even will grab their ankles with their hands or learn to clasp their hands together underneath their body like the adult version.

All you do is hold their feet steady with one hand, you can also squish their feet inbetween your legs to hold their body steady. Then with the other hand, very slowly and gently lift their pelvis off the floor. Be careful to keep their shoulders on the floor as they practice this pose. And of course, you say, Yay! Bridge Pose! Good job! as they do the pose.

For Mama's, this is a great pose to relax and reduce stress but its also a fantastic workout for your thighs and butt if you really hold the pose a long time. I don't know about you, but my post partum butt can use all the help it can get!

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!

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!

Baby/Tot/Mama Yoga: Twistee!

This pose is a great back stretch for our little babies. Its similar to the adult yoga pose Supine Spinal Twist. Supine means to lay on your back, by the way. :)
To do this pose, for baby, tot or mama, lay on your back. Bring your knees together and drop them both to one side. Slowly turn your head the in opposite direction of your knees, while keep both shoulders on the floor.

For babies, you move their legs for them. To move their head, try and use a toy, or in my case, during this picture, a sweet little friend to get babies attention and get them to look in the right direction. And as you are doing the pose, you say Twistee!!! Doing this on tiny babies, is great to help them learn how to do eye-tracking and builds up neck strength.
For tots and older kids, just show them how to do the pose by you doing it yourself. Then say, "You do it!" or "Now, its your turn!" Remind your tot or child to breath in through their nose and out through their nose while they are doing the pose.

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!