I’m very cerebral. I love the whole brain stimulation.
When I first got bit by the yoga bug, after those first few classes, I went out and got myself some hard core yoga books. I enrolled in a semester of Sanskrit, a course about Samkhya Philosophy and another on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. All these courses were taken at LMU, my alma matter. All this BEFORE I EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT DOING TEACHER TRAINING!!!! In my little mind I thought I would learn Sanskrit and read the classical texts in Sanskrit so I could translate them myself….
!!!!!!!?????????
……..yea……
I have no idea WHERE I got that idea, but, it proves my point, I’m a cerebral person ☺
So I got my crazy brain involved with practicing yoga with my baby. I wanted to do it ‘right’. I wanted to do the ‘proper’ experience for her, one that was going to help her develop, and grow strong, and calm down, and relax and, you name it. I kept stopping myself from getting on my mat, because I wanted the time on the mat to be ‘perfect’ and ‘productive’ and…on and on and on with the excuses.
I finally allowed myself to listen to me and to her
I finally allowed myself to truly KNOW from myself.
I finally let go of my BRAIN.
All you have to do is play!
You just have to play. Life is yoga. In life we play. We play to the best of our ability. We choose to participate and question, and deepen and refine simply so that we can offer all that loveliness back out AND so that we can truly enjoy each moment. Motherhood is also play, although at times it’s play with very high stakes!
I got on the mat and played with my daughter. I got on the mat and simply looked at her, felt her, hugged her, kissed her, and we PLAYED. We practiced yoga together, and I’m so excited. Our first practice: 5 blissful minutes. My heart is full. This is why I practice yoga. It had nothing to do with the postures or the mat. It had everything to do with our engagement with each other and our willingness to participate and do the best that we could. That’s yoga.
Wanna watch? Check out the video below 😀
Let me know your thoughts about yoga with your baby and your experiences on the mat. In what ways has practicing with your baby informed your practice?
Oh yea…in Sanskrit play is lila. That’s not just any ‘ol play, it’s divine play, how about that?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This is awesome! Giving our love of yoga to our babies in this way is fun! I also enjoy yoga with my 4 and 1/2 mo old….it’s so true what you said about just playing. I’m a 200RYT myself, and at first i felt like whatever yoga i did with my babe had to be a certain way—i bought a baby/momma yoga vodeo & it was sooooo laaaammmeee! My poor babe was bored in the first 3 minutes! It’s US they want to engage with,that’s what fills their hearts with love! Keep up the good work Elsie! From one yoga-Momma to another! Shanti, Geneva Hoff
This is great. Thank you so much for the reminder to be real with our babies!
I have to thank my baby daughter for reminding ME about just that 😉
Really cute and helpful. I hope I have this much patience when our baby arrives in April.
I’m absolutely sure that you will have the patience 🙂 and congratulations on your little upcoming gift! yeay!!!!
You have a great teaching style and camera presence, and profound knowledge of Yoga. Keep it up!
Thank you much *bow*. You have a lovely site Yoga Balance 🙂 So thankful for your visit!
We have four children, two in diapers. Now my excel half just conveys two or three diapers, a scarcely any wipes, a pair of futile baggies and a pacifier soon in her tote. We amass some additional garments in the nautical aft of the minivan. All things else is sauce.