Mommy & me yoga
"The Importance of time dedicated to bonding with your child"
As I’m sure you can imagine, it gets a bit daunting trying to find new and innovative ways and places to take pictures in order to keep things interesting.
My good friend Rina Leitch runs a "Yoga Playgroup Class" on Monday mornings at 10:00 am. It was set up to be the perfect way to start off my week. I had ordered matching leggings for my little Lucia and I from the Purple Puddle. We slipped them on, and were off to our relaxing yoga session.
Once upon a mat boasts itself for being a “nurturing yoga studio”. A place where your children can explore and learn about their environments and their bodies and minds in a safe and educational way.
Rina, had allowed Lucia to explore and get to know the studio. To Lucia this meant touching everything and even re-arranging things that she felt were not quite right. I was absolutely mortified, but Rina assured me that however Lucia wanted to explore was perfectly fine and welcomed. Rina’s energy was calming and soothing to both myself as well as my curious and excited little Lucia. She ran the class as more of an “instructional” class. This means that Rina stopped as many times as needed to ensure that both myself and my baby were comfortable as well as understood everything.
I’m sure that my calm and peaceful face in the images has you thinking that this mommy and me yoga thing is pretty easy, but don’t be fooled by my staged composure. I had to hold poses for quite some time- especially since Lucia was too busy playing with maracas to be interested in me. It was, let’s say, tricky to get a shot of the both of us together. I have to say, this yoga class was quite the workout. Holding those poses for an extended amount of time really made my muscles quiver and scream. I definitely broke a sweat.
The affirmation cards were a wonderful touch. We read these cards aloud and sent out beautiful and strong messages into the universe. Lucia was busy, but still heard the messages we were sending.
Let’s face it: Being a parent is stressful. It is difficult to raise young, independent, and strong children, as well as nurture your soul and spirit. I want my children to remember me as a capable and affectionate mother who, because of the little time she took for herself, was able to balance both her and her children’s happiness. That is invaluable.