Baby and yoga

Home / Blog / New Baby? Here’s How To Keep Up With Your Yoga Practice

NEW BABY? HERE’S HOW TO KEEP UP WITH YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

WELLBEING

BY TRACEY MACLAY

Yoga is usually one of the first activities that gets neglected with the arrival of a new baby. With one small, simple adjustment, however, you can continue with your practice and keep yourself sane, healthy, and resilient when you need it most.

It’s not just that your free time has been drastically cut — trying to achieve perfect poses can get super frustrating especially when you’re distracted. However, it can be done if we learn to let go in the true spirit of yoga philosophy and practice without judgement of ourselves or the situation.

Surrender to whatever happens, and your practice can continue and give you new insights into yourself. Focus on your true role at this time of being a mother and let go of striving for the perfect asana or posture at this point in your life.

In yoga, ‘Ishvarapranidhana’ is about accepting a situation that is beyond your control, and then acting in an appropriate manner. Your child is a gift, not an inconvenience. Be of service at this point to your child and also try to nourish your body and mind so you can nourish and care for your baby.

Read: When should you move your child from cot to bed?

Here are some asanas to try with baby:

Back lying pose: Draw your knees into your chest with baby lying on your shins. Roll the baby back and forth as you roll your body forward and back along the spine.  Works on your pelvic floor as well as releasing your lower back.  For an extension- mums can extend legs above the ground several inches while holding baby’s hands.

Crunches, holding baby on your thighs or tummies, knees bent. Feet can also be laced against a wall.

Bridge pose with baby held on your tummy.

Wide leg circles: Lying on your back with one leg raised straight, draw big circles with the leg whilst minimizing movement in the pelvis at all times.

Warrior poses and forward folds can be done with baby on the floor.

Tree pose can be done with baby in arms against a wall.

Half squats with baby in arms.

Seated poses like Bound Angle pose can be done with baby or toddler on your lap and singing a rhyme.

Full Boat pose can also be done with baby lying on your belly.  I remember getting my toddlers out of the bath and rocking them back and forth on my belly on the bed and this worked my abdominals whilst the child loved the cuddle and rocking back and forth in their snuggly towel.

Read: The vaccination debate

Don’t forget your meditation practice when baby or toddler is sleeping. 2-5 minutes at a time is fine. 

Remember ‘Ahimsa’ or the philosophy of non-violence, and be gentle and kind to yourself during this time, no pressure or stress. All will come back to you in good time. Happy mum, happy bub!

(References: www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/oh-baby-yoga-for-the-two-of-you, Shanti Gowan, The Children’s Book of Shanti Yoga).

Tracey holds educator/parent workshops on yoga for kids in Brisbane, Australia.  Currently teaching for Wynnum Family Day Care for under 6yrs yoga and privately. Co-author of The Book of Inspiration for Women by Women.

MAKE A COMMENT

0 COMMENTS

MORE ARTICLES BY TRACEY MACLAY

• WELLBEING

  YOGA FOR MINDFULNESS AND STRES

  Tracey Maclay

  1 month ago | 0 shares
• WELLBEING

  PRACTICING MINDFULNESS

  Tracey Maclay

  2 months ago | 0 shares

VIEW MORE

LATEST ARTICLES

• 

  WHAT'S IN YOUR MEAT?

  Connie Rogers

  6 days ago | 2 shares
• WELLBEING

  PARENTS' MISCONCEPTIONS INFLUE

  Dr. Anthea Rhodes

  1 week ago | 2 shares
• NUTRITION

  13 TIPS TO INCREASE FIBRE IN Y

  Carmen Li 

  2 weeks ago | 2 shares
• WELLBEING

  TOILET TRAINING: WHERE TO STAR

  Dr Janet Hall

  2 weeks ago | 2 shares

VIEW MORE

MEET THE EXPERTS

• VIEW ALL
• AILMENTS
• NUTRITION
• WELLBEING
• PARENTING

• 

  CAROLYN ZIEGLER

  Co-founder and Product

  PROFILE | POSTS
• N

  RUTH FELLOWES

  Clinical Paediatric Nut

  PROFILE | POSTS

Reason for book contribution

Why did I contribute to the book of Inspiration for Women by Women? 

I wrote the pieces to inspire young women who may find themselves in a difficult cycle of domestic violence and may have children or a child as I did. I want them to know that you can escape the cycle and draw upon your inner strength to get through. Believe in yourself, low self-esteem can kill off bravery.  You don't need another man to get out of one relationship.  You only need yourself and luckily we have a govt. that also supports women to escape situations of domestic violence and unhappiness and to begin to support themselves again with such things as bond and rental assistance and child support. Learn about the cycle of domestic violence and how it can repeat in generations and can help women to change their future and those generations to come. 

My second piece is about drawing on your inner strength to bring about peace of mind, forgiveness and gratitude for all that you do have.  It's about taking responsibility for our own actions in situations we find ourselves in and stopping the blame game.  Not playing the victim but using clarity of thought and confidence brought about by being aware of our feelings and thoughts and how they shape our future. Living in the present moment is also important and living without regret or worry, wishing for a better future. Striving for contentment in life is truely enough. I mention that in striving to be the best version of yourself is important to teaching contentment and also finding love if that is what you would like. However this is not essential in life.  Even when in a relationship the other person is still an individual and needs to be allowed to have their own goals and interests. For example, my husband has his own goals and because off this I allow him  to meet those and the stronger you are the more you realise your partner is not your life but just an added bonus to an already content life. 

I and my carers have been stuck in violent situations, but we showed resilience and took control of the situations. We've had our lives threatened and the lives of our first Borns threatened, but we have come out stronger and more resilient and aware of how it can happen to anyone. Be brace, be bold and be content 

When my dad passed away I selfishly thought for a moment- oh bugger there is no one like my dad that will think the sun shines out of my ... in the world anymore. But then my husband now came along and I thanked my dad for sending him. He makes me a priority in his life and if your in a relationship you shouldn't marry anyone who doesn't. Although again I emphasis loving yourself first is important and anything else is a bonus. 

Book launch is being held in Brisbane: 11th of July. Tickets available via f: Yogamotorskills.

Mindfulness for parents.

Mindfulness is not about stopping your thinking, it's about recognising your thought patterns and repetitive cycles we can get caught up in- of worry and negative thinking.    We often full our lives up with distractions from being in the present moment. 

Think about, how well does distraction work for you? What are the favourite activities you turn to for distraction, and do you move on from them feeling more or less relaxed, and more or less connected with life? 

Try instead as a parent to Put a label on the emotion you are feeling in a situation. Role model this to children. 

Tell your children when you are feeling these emotions so they do not automatically follow any negative emotions and take on your negative emotions as their own, as can often happen with sensitive children. 

You can easily make assumptions about the feelings of others by wrongly reading their facial expressions.  Try to be present when talking to people and think about what might be going on for them, rather than assuming you know how their feeling or why they may be behaving in a certain way. 

Bring curiosity to your emotions and observe them, rather than reacting before thinking and observing what is truly going on for you and where it may be coming from.  Do you feel threatened in a situation? I don't mean physically, but personally, emotionally. Once you have taken the time to process the situation, then you can react from a less agitated state ( which we have learnt to use to protect ourselves from threats in bygone days as a human race). Acting more calmly in discussions and situations with your children can improve your relationships,  as others will react less defensively and your children may actually listen.   Ask yourself: 'do you want peace of mind or conflict?'

Think about your family as you grew up. How did they deal with conflict? Were they able to express their emotions?

Life will always be filled with challenges, highs and lows. We need to look at them with a different perspective and mindfulness can help. By being in the present moment and not dwelling on the time that has passed or worrying about the future, we can then allow Our minds to accept what has happened and not respond in repetitive ways that we have learnt. 

We can get stuck in 'automatic pilot mode' and react to situations the same way every time, never trying anything different and we distract our minds from being present with alcohol, technology, food, work, whatever works to take our mind away from how we really feel in the present moment.

Mindfulness and meditation works over time because our brains actually start to change and the hardwiring of our nervous systems takes on the process of mindfulness as a new system to tap into. 

Often people get into a negative loop of thinking that just goes around and around and nothing that they change around them will fix this way of thinking that they are set in.  They can move house, change jobs, change cities, change relationships and still the negative loop of their thinking continues. There brains have become hard wired to think this way and they can blame the world And people around them for the way their life is, rather than looking inward to themselves and the part they have played. 

This causes people to act impulsively and their life becomes a circus of ever-changing acts and taking risks to find more happiness. Until people find contentment within themselves through counselling or the above techniques old patterns will be hard to break. 

Find greater courage, clarity and insight within yourself through daily mindfulness sessions or up to 20 minutes of meditation each day or week. Whatever you can fit in will benefit.  What have you got to loose? 

If your mind keeps turning over thoughts then that is normal. The point is to recognise and observe those thoughts. Do they have a repetitive theme? Can you re-direct your mind back to a point of focus, your breath moving in and out of your nose or mouth, a candle flame, a part of your body, as you scan down and label each part of your body whilst listening to a yoga nidra recording.

Try some mindful stretching:

Connecting to your body through movement and sensations is all part of mindfulness. 

It brings calm and emotional balance as you shift your focus to being in the present moment and observing how your body feels. 

Try a body scan meditation:  

Move down your body with your breath from the top of your head down to your toes, thinking of each body part softening down as you breath. Notice what feels good in your body and breathe into the spaces that may have some soreness or tension. Softening down these body parts with each breath. 

 Reference: mindfulness for mums and dads by dr. Diana korevaar. Murdock books. London. 2017. 

http://www.yogiapproved.com/yoga/teaching-yoga-to-kids/