New Moving Baby and Toddler Yoga Class!

By Popular Demand, and after a break while my little boy went from newborn to mover… My Moving baby and Toddler class is here! Starts Monday 18th June, 11-12 at Balance Studios, Hale. £6 prebooked (block of 6 classes) or £8.50 drop-in.

This class is for moving babies up to 4 yr olds. Babies can start when they are ready to move on from Baby yoga classes or when they are already crawling/ walking. Siblings are welcome (charged at half price except non- moving babies who are free).

Stretch, move, relax, sing and laugh with your amazing little person! What makes this class unique amongst all the other baby/toddler classes out there? It’s about the wellbeing of both little people and big people! You both take part in the yoga. Yes we have the usual songs, rhymes, colourful props and music, AND also plenty that will enhance life outside of the class- stretches to reach your achy bits, moves to delight your little one, breathing techniques to calm you both, ways of listing , carrying and holding your little person to save your back and help your posture, relaxation techniques you can use at bed/ nap time, and so much more.

I look forward to seeing lots of familiar little yogis and also some new faces, and their big people!

Places available for May- June baby yoga classes in Hale and Sale

Fun, stretching, relaxing and calming. For you both! Mums love the class, and so do babies. Come and give it a try!

New block starts next week (Tues 22nd May in Hale, Fri 25th in Sale). 6 weeks ( no class on Tues 5th at Hale). £55 Hale £48 Sale.

Contact me for details

**Please note- this is a full website not just a blog; apologies if you have problems viewing the drop down menus above , i am trying to rectify mobile settings for ipad/ android users. Message me for info.**

Shanti

Jessica x

Yoga while babywearing! Some top tips!

Any Mum with a young child will know it is a challenge to find time for yourself. Practicing yoga with your little one is a great way to enhance your wellbeing as well as having fun with them. Another way is to do some yoga with your baby in a sling/ wrap/ carrier! (Also known as babywearing).

Here are some top tips for Yoga while babywearing:

1. Follow the TICKS rules for safe babywearing. (Google it)

2. Use a quality sling that is adjusted perfectly for you. Get advice , eg from The Sling School Manchester (www.theslingschool.com). My personal preference is stretchy wraps and woven wraps; basically a long bit of (specialist) material which you wrap around your body and the baby. Fits perfectly, spreads baby’s weight evenly over your back and torso, and no sticky out bits to get in the way!  Pictured above is the ‘Je porte mon bebe’ , borrowed from the Sling library via the sling school!

3. Forward bends are obviously out of the question! Any move which puts strain on your body in the same way that your pregnancy did- ie pulling forward the lower/ mid back while weighing down the abdomen, is bad news. Bending over while babywearing needs to be done with wide legs, deeply bent knees, and bum stuck out ( sounds less graceful than it looks!!).

4. Standing poses – particularly Warrior poses, tree pose, side angle pose, arm stretches and yogic full breaths, are perfect.

5.  Focus on breathing extra deeply into your chest , consciously expanding your ribs; good practice for babywearing in general and very strengthening for the chest and intercostal muscles as they have the extra pull of baby’s weight to work against.

6. Stick pose (sitting with legs straight in front of you) is good, ensure that you engage the abdominal muscles and flatten the lower back, don’t let it pull forward.

7. If you need the stretch for your inner thighs and hips, and if you use caution, loosely cross legged and butterfly (soles of the feet together, knees relax outwards)positions are good.  Engage the core  muscles to hold you steady and don’t overstretch. Be aware that your ligaments are probably still soft, if you are still breastfeeding and / or in the first few months after birth. Do not overstretch- ie dont go as far into the stretch as you would outside of the pregnancy/ postnatal period. Listen to and respect your body.

8. Relaxed walks / walking meditation, or seated meditation, are wonderful for calming yourself and your baby. They will hear and feel your slow and steady heart beat, your slow and deep breathing, and they will feel your good vibes! Babies relax deeply when parents do the same.

9. Outdoor yoga is perfect! Embrace and take inspiration from the elements.

May you find shanti (peace)xx

8 Days of living yoga: Days 7, 8 and beyond!

So, my home- based yoga retreat has ended! I didnt get to blog on the last 2 days, due to being , well exhausted, busy and pretty tied up with the baby and Tot! BUT! I was reflecting on the last 3 limbs of the 8 limbs of yoga: Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (contemplation). These all refer to the practices surrounding what i would call meditation/ relaxation. And frankly, i have enough of a challenge trying to find time for asana practice, let alone meditation. BUT! I did manage a pretty deep meditation on Sunday, and it has been really helpful in making the end of my retreat feel like it has actually moved me forward in terms of my practice of yoga as a whole.

For one, i did this meditation while breastfeeding, and then with the baby asleep in my lap in the front seat of the car. So, it is possible! And i will be looking for opportunities to do this again in future, as it was a really great feeling. Tot was off for a walk with her Dad and we were out at the coast, so i didnt have any distractions of must do this and be there. And,,, ta da, writing that has led me to my first conclusion! Yoga retreats where you go and stay somewhere away from home and away from all your usual distractions are a good idea!

Secondly, i noticed that my intuition was heightened during and after this practice. So, Meditation is a great thing for Mums- intuition being i feel our most valuable tool, especially in an age where we can access SO much information on the internet, and there are so many products and so called experts to tell us what to do with our children to make them feed/ sleep/ cry etc more appropriately!

Also interesting was that after him being deeply relaxed, when i started to come out of the deeper meditation baby started to shift about. Just as i have observed many times in my classes, babies are attuned to our emotional and spiritual state; we are interconnected with them beyond our concious awareness, and this is so easy to forget. I really believe that when our baby seems unsettled/ unhappy/ bored/ restless, etc, this very often reflects our own energies. Its not a simple thing- we have to self- reflect to see how we may be subconcsiously transferring our own mood/ worries/ feelings onto our babies , and to consciously relax by slowing our breathing, extending our exhales, loosening our bodies and easing our posture, being more grounded and in the moment… and by now our babies feel more relaxed, or we realise they were just hungry, or had wind, or were tired, etc..

My other relfections on the final 3 limbs seem less relevant at this late hour than a bit of a conclusion.

I have noticed that the reflections i did on the Asana day, have been the least helpful in terms of my positivity and sense that being a yogi / follower of yoga in its true sense, is possible at this time in my life.

A lone morning practice is just not a realistic goal for me at this time. I need the sleep! The baby wakes up if im not next to him! I just about manage to do the basic household jobs! Bloggin thsi week has meant staying up far too late and not doing other things i needed to do! I wrote on Asana day that i had been finding myself saying to people that i needed a fuller practice for myself; i feel that i was actually just repeating something that other yogis had said to me about the postnatal period. In fact, pregnancy and the postnatal period have been for me a time of discovery and growth in yoga! Yes, i do miss having a full uninterrupted practice and i can feel tension building up in my body, especially in my shoulders, chest and hips, that would previously have been addressed by doing some lovely yoga stretches… but the joys of discovering yoga with my little ones has more than outweighed this!

For me, yoga is about all 8 limbs. And it’s something undefineable also. Something magic which lifts my days, which is there for me in the most challenging moments of parenting my 2 little ones with my partner working away. Something which made me want to return to teaching when my little boy was 7 weeks, and which makes me want to share the magic with more and more parents! I am on a path, and i am only just getting going. Reading about the last 3 limbs, and experiencing how hard it is to meditate deeply; remembering how much practice it takes before you can even find a little space within, where thoughts start to recede; has left me in no doubt that i have a long way to go! But i find that to feel positive and enthusiastic about it all i have to focus on what i AM doing, not what im not! So, if i manage to use my breathing to help me out of a panicky feeling, to stop me shouting at my toddler, to tune in to my heart to stop me resenting my baby for waking up; if i manage some yogic complete breaths while the kettle boils, and some baby/ toddler yoga in the afternoons to make the little ones smile; and when i realise that every time i lift or hold them i am using yoga techniques and theory to help me do so with less strain and more grace……i tell myself , THIS IS YOGA! And i love it!

Finally, i have a vision of an away from home yoga retreat for families, which i would like to carry out in the not too distant future. It’s going to be be brilliant, somewhere beautiful and peaceful, a godsend for parents looking for a bit of peace who cant or dont want to leave their little ones. And loads of fun! Watch this space! (: x

8 Days of Living yoga: Day 6: Pratyahara to Dharana

Pratyahara: ‘withdrawal of the senses’-  I really wasnt sure how i was going to tackle this one today, Easter Sunday, chocolate all around; right now my senses are involved in sucking a Thorntons chocolate with honeycomb pieces, and i am not really ready to withdraw from it!!

Luckily, with my OH being home, we went out to Formby beach today and while i stayed in the car to feed baby i managed almost an hour’s meditation time ( with interruptions to feed, burp baby, change position, and when Dad and Tot came back and showed me what theyd been doing!) It was blissful. I remembered a meditation technique from Uma Dinsmore- Tuli’s book ( i think called feeding meditation) where you gradually draw inwards. The way i used it was to focus first on sounds far away, like aeroplanes and people shouting to each other in the distance; then sounds close by, then the sounds and sensations of baby feeding, then the breath rushing in and out under my nose, then the breath inside the throat where i narrowed to produce ‘Ujayi breath’, then going inwards still. At this point i cant describe the experience without taking away from it , but i tried to imagine the sense input (sounds and feelings that i could still register), drifting away from me into the distance, and my own awareness first expanding in the heart, and then expanding into something infinite within. It was pretty hard to detach, and to quieten the mind, and i realised how out of practice i am with this kind of lone , uninterrupted (ish!) meditation! To come out of it i made sure i did this gradually and used and 1,2,3 count where i used 3,2,1 to go into it; especially useful when i needed to return my attention to baby for a minute and then come back to where i was before. I felt amazing afterwards; so calm, grounded and centred. I managed a brief and meaningful walk along the shore, looking at the brisk waves and appreciating the power of the sea ( and felt a strong connection between my recent experience of labour and birth, and the power of the sea), while Daddy held the fort in the car!

Also when i came out of the medi i briefly saw how many sensory distractions there are around me and how tied up in them i am. And how flitting/ distracted my mind and experience is much of the time. I can safely say i am well back in sensory land now! It says in the Yoga Sutras that it takes years to become practiced at this method, and even then it only takes a moment to be drawn back in. So i think i can feel pleased that i managed to connect with the concept for a short time!

Dharana: Concentration

Having read the description of this as ‘ the practice of concentration, which precedes meditation, slowing down the thinking process by concentrating on a single mental object, energy centre or sound’ , i am wondering if i have ever actually meditated?! Or Just done Dharana? I think the meditations/ relaxations that i teach in my classes are working towards dharana; its good to be reminded that this is just a stage in working towards a deeper meditation. And of course its all a path, to be walked many many times in practice.

Tomorrow i have a busy busy day teaching baby and toddler yoga at a family fayre with both my little ones, and then will be on my own again from the afternoon. I wonder if i will create some time to reflect on and/ or practice dharana! Gdnite (:

8 Days of living yoga: Day 5: Pranayama to Pratyahara

I have learned so much about Pranayama from Uma Dinsmore- Tuli’s brilliant book ‘Mother’s Breath’; in here she talks about her own journey as a parent and how she came to realise that parenting was actually part of her yoga practice. She also talks about the lack of attention given in previous yoga texts, to womens’ , and particularly Mothers’ experiences. As always, the fellas dominate and forget that its all a bit different when your anatomy and brain are wired differently and you produce children!

Of particular relevance, Uma stresses that postnatally , vigourous type breaths, and counting repetitions / holding the breath are not suitable or helpful. She breaks down yogic breathing (pranayama) so simply, i think it’s brilliant. I have gained a lot from practicing the exercises myself and also teaching them in my classes. As you can tell i think she is pretty excellent and having been taught by her once i also know she’s a lovely lady! I cant say anything about Pranyama in relation to parenting / post natal recovery , that she doesnt already say better in this book.

Today i have been upping the number of times that i simply take a full breath, expanding my belly and chest on the inhale and slowing the exhale. I do use this alot oin daily life and have been exploring recently the benefits of the exhale- i read recently that the exhale is the ‘antidote to panic’ ( i think this was the rather brilliant Barefoot Doctor). Panic/ stress is no stranger in the daily life of a parent with small children, I’m sure others will agree! That moment of ‘aaah how will i ever leave the house!’/ ‘aah dont wake the baby its taken me x long to get him to sleep!’/ ‘aah just stop demanding i only have one of me!’ ,,, thats not just me is it?! Well, the feelings can rise up but with the use of the exhale and some calming positive thoughts it doesnt need to gain any power, and therefore melts away as quickly as it came. Breeeathe! Its magic!

So now i am coming into the final 4 limbs; these are more unfamiliar to me and seem more abstract. They are sometimes said to be the ‘next stage’ after the first 4 limbs. However it is also said that to truly follow the yogic path you must pay attention to all 8 limbs, so i feel that it is important to be aware of them and reflect on them.

Today is Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses. Erm, see you later then!..

8 days of living yoga: Day 4: Asana to pranayama

Well hello from my home-based yoga retreat! I decided to reflect on each of the 8 limbs of yoga over 8 days of the Easter week, and see if it was possible to have a yoga retreat type experience while going about my normal life with my 3 month old and just turned 2 yr old.
I didn’t blog last night on Asana day… Because I was busy doing asana practice! Yes, it finally happened at 9.20pm, when I got in a lovely hour including a very sleepy relaxation. So how did the day go?..
I woke up late 8.30am!) as I must have been tired from staying up to blog the night before! Waking up at the same time as the 2 littluns, The planned morming asana practice didnt happen, despite the ready-unrolled yoga mat! I will post a pic of what my mat looked like by mid morning .. Covered in toys, breakfast remains, nappies clothes etc! The irony of this is far from lost on me.. I mean to demote blogging and idling away on Facebook/ twitter to beneath sleep, and yoga , on the priority list from now on!
Mornings are said to be the best time to practice, preferably at or just before dawn. I always used to think, well that’s alright if you live in india and you have nice bright mornings but not for me..not being a natural at mornings, it took being a parent of a toddler plus baby, to turn me into a “morning person”! So, that means its only happened in the last 3 months! So, now would be a natural time to work towards a morning asana practice.
I still maintain that even if morning practice is limited to some deep breaths and stretches while the kettle boils, this is yoga, and can have a really positive effect on your mood that day. And practicing yoga with your little ones counts too! For me, I have realised that I need the purifying benefits of a more full Asana practice now; my postnatal body is crying out for it!
I have decided that , especially as a parent of 2 young children, but I suspect for anyone, a regular, preferably daily asana practice has to be part of the daily routine, just as brushing you teeth is. Erm, hang on a minute, I don’t always do that either!! Well , on the same basis I think the way to look at it is, it’s a part of the daily routine, but if gets skipped because you wake up late / one of the kids is sick/ the dog ate your homework etcetc.. It’s not the end of the world! I try to go easy on myself these days and so if I did manage it on the majority of days in the week I would feel pretty pleased.

I loved the bit in the yoga Sutras on asana that says, any posture that is comfortable and steady is an asana. So, the morning feed can be turned into an asana by paying attention to posture and breathing; playing with your children can be done from an asana; we practice swinging , rolling and nursery rhymes in baby and toddler yoga classes, with an awareness of the body, exhaling as we stretch away , inhaling fully and expanding our chest as we begin. Even sitting blogging, can be an asana, she types, readjusting her neck , position of grumbly baby on lap, tilt of pelvis in seat of car…

Today is Pranayama day!
Pranayama translates as, controlling the movements of inhalation and exhalation. I have been practicing taking deep, full breaths at points throughout the day and will let you know how it goes tonight.