Baby and Me Yoga - Sun Salutations

Angela Cerkevich: Hi! My name is Angela Cerkevich, and Im a yoga instructor at Yoga Tales in Bethesda, Maryland and this is how to do yoga with your baby. Now, were going to do sun salutations. So, take your baby down, youre going to want to turn your mat this direction. Take your baby down and gently place your baby on the mat between your legs, great. Now, were ready. So, were going to start in a high squad bending the knees, and just begin to lift in lower a little bit here and then as you ready, were going to sweep left arm on top of the right arm, wrapping the hands, and lift the elbows up as far as theyll go, but dont let your shoulders come up, draw your shoulders down, so left shoulders start down low bellies in, and then start to circle the elbows.

Another direction, inhale open your arms and straighten your legs and arms. Exhale, bring the other arm on top and circle, and circle the other direction. Inhale, open the arms, spread the fingers and toes, exhale, hands drop down. Lets take a warrior two to the right. Now, at this point, you can just keep your baby there, so if your baby is a bigger baby, and you dont want the extra work then you can leave your baby there, but if you want to bring your baby up into the warrior two with you, you can place your baby on your leg turned out, and if youre secure hold on to your baby with one hand, take the other arm back behind you. Gaze forward, over the knee thats bent, look to your horizon and breathe, after three to five breaths here, you can take your baby down again, gently, carefully. Now, when youre taking your baby down like that, youre making sure that youre lifting up in that low belly protecting the back, but also toning the belly, lifting up just below the bellybutton.

So, now were taking extended angle, you can rest on hand on your knee, but dont put all your weight down on your knee, keep equal weight in both feet, place the other hand on your hip, gently roll your shoulder back, breathe in, breathe out, your tailbone is drawing down, breathe in, breathe out, one more breath in, breathe out, great.

Now, were ready to walk our hands and pitch into your toes in, now you can visit your baby here for a little bit, so you might come up onto your fingertips, inhale, nice long, flat back exhale fold, inhale, nice long flat back, exhale may be fold to give her a little tickle, inhale nice long flat back, exhale folding again. Lets go and go to the other side. Walk your hands over to the other side, take a side angle here, place your elbow on your knee, again not too much weight. Oh is it sun getting in your eyes, you want to a little bit of a shadow, is that better. So, its always important to work with the baby. Your baby is never going to be totally peaceful and calm or just sometimes occasionally and we all know this. So, we want to incorporate the babys mood into whatever it is that youre doing. Turn and breathe, roll open the heart, roll open the chest, inhaling and exhaling, great.

Lets take a warrior two on the other side, pick your baby up, inhale. So, for this time lets turn the baby facing in and Ill keep both my hands on the baby, but Im still going to turn my hips open, open up the front and my hips and Im making sure my knee is not coming forward like this. My knees bending in the direction, my second and third toe, but its staying over my ankle. I might also pick up the baby here, and hold the baby into my chest, as I gaze, to be really specific with my gaze over my shoulder. While Im here going to give a little balance, shes got the hick up, shes getting a little squirmy. Thats okay, well just work with that, by your breath and inhale release come up.

So, now were going to fly our baby. So, turn your baby away from you, turn your toes in and folding forward, wrap your arms around the front of your baby. Fold forward, long flat back, and gently sway your baby back and forth opening up your hips. So, your baby gets a little superman going on here. You can even bend your knees a little bit, the low bellies keeping you steady here, and inhale come up, exhale back to a goddess pose, turn the feet out, open the knees. Turn your baby back-in and were going to do something called baby drops, most babies love this. So, were going to hold the baby out. So, with younger babies, you can do the baby drops close in, and with the older babies, you can hold your baby out farther. Heel-toe your feet back in together, great, and now were on to the next thing.