How Yoga Will Benefit Your Baby

In the increasingly fast pace of the modern world, our babies need all the help we can give them in order to create a foundation of well-being that will serve them all their life. Yoga offers babies a resource that will enable them to deal positively with stress and know how to relax. Our handling of babies in yoga is a loving one, in which the conversion of a challenging movement into a safe game, to play and enjoy, is repeated again and again. This playful stimulation through yoga-based exercise is the best possible way of helping babies relish life, with all its demands, as they grow.

The combination of touching, stroking, handling, and movement, brings about a powerful multisensory stimulation for babies. Touching alone has been shown to improve function of all the body's systems (respiratory, circulatory, digestive, nervous, and endocrine). Evidence from experiments with a wide range of mammals has shown the importance of physical stimulation for overall healthy development. Scientist compared deprived animals with stimulated animals and the results were that the stimulated animals thrived physically by gaining weight faster, they were more alert, overall look was healthier, and showed a high immunity to disease. 

Tactile stimulation also contributes to the development of the brain and nervous system, which is not yet complete at birth. Practicing yoga enhances the development process by strengthening all functions of the nervous system.

 

Physical Benefits

* In one short session, your baby is given as much physical activity as she would receive if you handled and carried her all day. This activity will help her sleep more deeply

* Your baby's behavior will be more settled

*It provides a daily routine of activity through which you can engage constructively

Physiological/Developmental

* All your baby's bodily systems are stimulated including the digestive and nervous systems (baby yoga is known to relieve colic pains)

Psychological

* Baby Yoga helps you and your baby get to know each other

* Yoga helps heal any birth trauma and your baby will be better equipped to deal with shock

* Your baby's enjoyment of the positive stress of you will increase his ability to cope with future challenges

* Through the high quality of attention he receives from his parents, your baby learns to interact with others and play actively

* The deep relaxation that is part of yoga helps parents cope with the stresses of early parenting

Zen Baby Yoga, Encinitas, California 92024

North County San Diego