The Benefits of Yoga Poses for Babies

You’re never too young to start doing yoga.

Did you know that yoga practice can be very beneficial for babies? With proper precautions and care, it can be really helpful for their mental and physical development.

When babies are very young they’ll need your help to get into certain poses, but as they grow older, they can perform some of the exercises themselves and benefit from some of these great advantages of start doing yoga at a very early age:

Relieves baby from gas problems

Gas formation is a common problem that babies face. When they breastfeed or have milk from a feeding bottle, for example, they take in air along with the milk. This air later causes gas, which leads to stomach pain, constant crying, constipation, bloated stomach and even sleepless periods.

Yoga can help relieve babies of gas problems and take away the discomfort. Following some simple yoga exercises for your baby like putting him on his back and cycling his legs in the air gently, can help relieve the pain.

Helps baby sleep faster

There are quite a few yoga exercises which can help your baby fall asleep faster and good dreams. Yoga poses like the “Happy Baby” and “The Twister” help their body relax much faster.

As mentioned above, yoga will also relieve gas problems which are often one of the major reasons babies don’t sleep. All this combined will lead to a quicker and more fulfilling sleep for your infant.

Enhances physical strength

Simple yoga exercises can build up your baby’s body strength which he’ll soon need to support his body or his head when he sits or starts taking tiny first steps.

The neck region is one of the most fragile areas of his body. Specific yoga poses that involve babies lying on their tummy and lifting their heads can help in strengthening their body muscles.

Furthermore, these exercises bring about movement in the body which will lead to flexibility, better hand-eye-mind coordination, increase in the overall strength and range of movements. All these will together lead to a stronger baby.

Helps in baby’s growth

Exercise at any stage is good for our body and mind development and it’s no different with babies. Your tiny tot is very curious of the world at this stage, yoga can help hone that curiosity, strengthen his muscles and relieve any discomfort he might face.

It also improves blood flow in the baby’s body and allows him to move around more freely. Just like yoga in adults, yoga in babies leads to a more peaceful sleep, better digestion and a healthier life-cycle, which helps enormously in the baby’s proper growth and development.

Physiological/developmental benefits

As mentioned above, yoga brings about many developmental benefits for infants. Improved coordination of the body as whole, improved flexibility and increased movement are just a few of them.

Yoga sessions are also instrumental in establishing trust and acts as a bonding time between parent and baby which is so important in every growing stage of a person’s life. The baby’s immunity and neuromuscular development also see a boost. It also helps develops their sensations and it improves their perception of depth and gravity.

Some yoga poses for babies

Downward Dog  

1. This pose for babies comes with a slight variation since the baby is not yet able to support himself on his palms and heels.

2. Place your tot on his stomach with his hands and legs outstretched. Kneel near the baby’s legs, gently enclosing his legs within your thighs.

3. Now hold the baby gently at his chests and lift him up so that he is now on his knees.

4. Hold for five seconds, lower him gently and repeat the process a few times.

Knee-to-chest poses

1. This is another great yoga exercise and is especially useful if your infant is suffering from gas pains.

2. To begin, gently lay your baby on his back. Make sure that you arrange a few pillows beneath your baby to make sure that he doesn’t feel any discomfort.

3. Gently lift your baby’s legs, bringing his knees slowly to his chest. Hold for a few seconds.

4. Now release the pressure, stroke your baby’s legs while keeping them in the same position to help the legs relax.

5. Gently straighten the legs. Repeat. You can also try cycling your baby’s legs slowly.

Giraffe pose

1. This is a great exercise for balance, especially when your baby is just learning to walk. It is simple and fun to do.

2. Help your baby into a standing position. If your baby hasn’t learned to walk yet, you can give your baby a walker to learn faster.

3. Stretch his hands gently over her head with palms meeting each other and hold.

4. You can also try gently swaying him from side to side in that position. Do it for a few seconds and then help your baby relax.