I was debating the other day about starting to work out again. And because my doctor has said he’d like me to do non-strenuous things, that kind of limits what’s on the plate for me. So, yoga. But I don’t want to leave my toddlers for an hour or two to go get my downward-dog on. So–maybe I could do yoga WITH the kids? But then, my brain started cranking…Why Do Yoga with Your Toddler? Why set aside that time and set a schedule and do the work? Why? Well, I parsed it out…this is why, my lovelies, this is why I’ll be doing yoga with my toddlers starting today.
Why Do Yoga with Your Toddler?
- Instilling Good Ideas. Right? I mean, you’re teaching your littlie to be healthy and do healthy things before they become addicted to TV and phones…creating a passion in them that will be harder to spark later if there’s not a base.
- Teaching Coping Techniques. So that when she gets frustrated in the future, instead of going for the yell or the smack, maybe she chooses the deep, calming breath instead. Maybe she has a bad day at school and rather than crying for hours and maybe wearing black clothes and being pouty for the rest of her life, she sits down and does some stretching and is quite within herself and slows things down to a manageable pace.
- Exuding Calm. You, as mom, doing some yoga, starts to slow down inside and calm yourself…things seem less big and scary…you start to feel calm on the inside and, magically, you begin to not just BE calm, but exude calmness which your kiddo picks-up on.
- Expanding Gross Motor Skills. So, yeah, they get to use those big muscles for things that don’t necessarily get used for anything else. How cool is that? And using those muscles help with growing those muscles.
- Health Benefits. There are a significant amount of health benefits, as we all know, for doing yoga. Imagine the health benefits of doing those at a young age–before you NEED to be working out?
- Fun. It’s fun. Just trust me. When you’re playing with your kiddo–it’s fun.
- Bonding. It’s a great experience to do something with your child that is a physical activity where you touch, you mimic each other and you work together as a team. This can lead to a lot of shared experiences that are astoundingly wonderful, both in the short term, but also in the long term.
Will you be doing yoga with your toddler now? I’d love to know if you do. We’re going to start with a little cat, cow and mouse…heh.
Yoga with Your Toddler? You Love It! You’ll Need to Check Out These, too:
20 Easy Yoga Poses for Beginners with a Free Printable
6 Yoga Poses Toddlers Can Do (with a free printable)
How I Saved My Sanity with a Toddler Snack Station
