Mommy and Me Yoga - Benefits for Life

By Paul Jerard

What can children and parents gain from practicing Yoga together? When should I start teaching Yoga to my son or daughter? What about Mommy and Me classes? Let’s cover a bit of ground, and establish some realistic expectation for parents and children.

What can children and parents gain from practicing Yoga together? “The sky is the limit,” as they say. Children and parents need more bonding time. We need to eat together and find activities that solidify our relationships. Mommy and Me Yoga classes offer a chance for families to bond, while children are impressionable.

Like any activity, Yoga can be practiced at an early age. As long as Yoga practice is supervised, and the teacher is knowledgeable, parent and child will benefit in many ways. Parents who have no knowledge of Yoga should consider toddler classes or the Mommy and Me Yoga classes.

Classes should be divided according to age. For example – Children who are one to two years of age could be separated from the two to four years of age group. Below twelve months of age, most children are in the watching stage.

Some babies will copy what they see, and you should never expect too much from any child. Children will learn Yoga much better in a patient environment. There should not be a deadline for the time it takes a child to learn aspects of Yoga. Children have a lifetime to learn the many benefits of Yoga. Surprisingly, most children of all ages will demonstrate Yoga techniques they learn at home.

When should I start teaching Yoga to my son or daughter Yoga? Any time is fine, as long as you make it fun. For parents, this is the beginning of learning how to guide without discouraging. Yoga will teach children life skills, such as stress reduction, anger management, goal setting, and enhance athletic ability.

What about Mommy and Me classes? If you have a Mommy and Me Yoga class in your area, it is worth signing up. Parents should let the Yoga instructor lead the class. This seems obvious, but you would be surprised how often parents can be counter productive to children’s activities.

Mommy and Me Yoga classes will contain many of the following aspects: Yoga music, kids music, singing, basic Pranayama, coloring books, theme Yoga classes, Asanas, mixing dance movement with Yoga, drawing with crayons, story telling, Yoga games, focusing drills, relaxation techniques, meditation, and lots of fun.

There are many Yoga books, DVD’s, card decks, coloring books, and Yoga music CD’s for children. With so much to choose from, a child’s attention can be harnessed for constructive purposes. The greatest benefit of all for children is the ability to control their own attention span.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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If you are a Yoga Teacher, studio manager, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, please feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Namaste, Paul

The Truth about Options for Yoga Teachers, Part 7

By Paul Jerard

Mommy and Me Yoga: These classes are popular enough to be a regular weekly class. Yoga studios do have them, but they are also popular at dance studios, child care centers, martial arts studios, and “kid friendly” fitness complexes.

The Yoga teacher, who considers teaching in a Mommy and Me Yoga class, must have “the patience of a saint.” Teaching children Yoga is one hurdle that many Yoga instructors don’t want to jump over, but teaching toddlers with their mothers, in the same class, is quite another matter.

Therefore, carefully establish guidelines to keep everyone’s behavior in control. You may start out with ten rules, but after a few months I will bet you have many more. Interestingly, I have found that just a few obnoxious parents will, unknowingly, be the cause of rules, and safeguards, for the rest. Such is life - we have laws that most of us would not consider breaking, but always someone comes forth to be the cause of new laws and more rules.

Back to the saintly Yoga teachers who run Mommy and me Yoga classes. If you teach these Yoga classes, you have my deepest respect and I congratulate you.

I have never run one of these Yoga classes, but did once have the experience of teaching children, and their parents, martial arts - in a joint setting. Notice, I said “did once have” – one parent single handedly created 30 new rules before he was finally dismissed. By the way, his child is still welcomed. He was my personal test of patience.

Religious Yoga: Most people, outside India, discount the value of Bhakti Yoga. This is a serious mistake for the masses to be so involved in buying, gathering, and consuming materials, that “we cannot see the forest from the trees.” With the condition of the world today, there has never been a better time to pray for peace, tolerance, a return to traditional values, and preservation of the families.

Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga for divine worship and devotion to God. It helps, if you practice this with other Yoga practitioners who share your same religious beliefs. This will avoid conflicts and create a strong bond within the group. This form of Yoga has not become as popular outside of India.

Perhaps this is the one link that is often missing in Yoga practice. Yoga is not a “soulless” or a mechanical practice. The connection to God is enhanced through prayer, meditation, singing, and Yoga practice.

Do not worry; Yoga is an equal opportunity practice. Yoga can be integrated with any religion. Yoga does not discriminate, or justify hate crimes, against people who think or worship differently than we do.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Visit: Yoga teacher training
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If you are a Yoga teacher, studio manager, blogger, e-zine, or website publisher, and are in need of quality content, feel free to use my blog entries (articles) – Please be sure to reprint each article, as is, including the resource box above. Thank you and Namaste, Paul
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