Life & Work

Infant-wearing workouts catch on

baby

A mother and her child at Acacia Studios during a Mommy and Me yoga class. PHOTO | COURTESY

One by one, women stroll into a fitness studio in Westlands with their babies straddled to their chests as if coming to a children’s playgroup.

At first glance, you notice the age of the children, which ranges from a few weeks old to about a year old.

Each woman takes out a yoga mat, lays it on the floor, pulls out a blanket and places it neatly on top of the mat before gently putting down their infants.

After deep breaths and tree poses, the women are ready to begin the Mommy and Me yoga class.

They are instructed to pick their young ones and lift them up in the warrior position before gently placing them back on the blankets.

Next, they perform side leg stretches while engaging in a little game of peekaboo with the babies on the mats.

They move into the upward dog position, then they start massaging the babies. It is an adorable sight as older children try to imitate their mothers in doing push-ups.

Strong bond

For this particular class, the babies are engaged in some movements but it is a perfect way for the parents to bond with them outside their familiar home environment.

Other times, the women practice baby-wearing yoga where they do the various poses while the children are strapped onto either their chest, backs or sides.

Sheila Otieno, a fitness trainer with Acacia Studio, had apologised beforehand that the class might be a bit noisy if the children begin wailing.

“They are just being babies and we can do nothing about it because they are the real kings and queens of the class,” she says.

One of the babies peers from underneath the mother’s arm curious to see what others are up to, forcing the woman to do the exercise without the fussy child.

In the informal and lively atmosphere, the women are relaxed; some taking pauses between moves to breast-feed or change a diaper.

After pregnancy, most women tend to fall back on their fitness routine as focus shifts to the baby.

“Postnatal yoga is a highly effective, gentle way to recover and manage stress after the birth of a child and to tone up the body again without putting it under too much stress,” Sheila says.

While going out of the house with a young one in the first 40 days after delivery might be hectic, she says new mothers can take advantage of the short baby naps and do yoga stretches at home just for 15 minutes.

“It is a good idea to wait for about six weeks after delivery before attending class. If you had a Caesarean section delivery this time should be extended to 10 weeks, or until you receive a go-ahead from your doctor,” she says.

Just like in prenatal yoga, every one is encouraged to move at their own pace with a majority of the poses designed to build the core strength and stability in the abdominal muscles which are stretched during pregnancy.

The yoga stretches exercise the back, hands and legs. In the Mommy and Me class, calming music plays in the background as the women take deep breathes and meditate while looking into their children’s eyes smiling and telling them loving words.

At the end of the class, no one is in a hurry to leave. It is time for the mothers to catch up on the progress of their little ones.

“Mommy and Me is a great place for new mothers or mothers seeking support from others facing similar motherhood challenges,” Sheila says.