Activity #429: Practice yoga in the face of a crying baby

When Patti Asad from YogaWorks contacted us with some ideas for yoga poses for rookie moms, I had a few very specific goals. Rather than focusing on a lengthy yoga session that I’d forget or screw up, I asked her, “Is there one particular yoga pose that’s great for calming [yourself] when your baby’s screaming is just getting out of hand?”

Because that is a problem I face regularly (even though we’re past the colicky baby phase).

Today is the first of a three-part series for practical at-home yoga poses. This one is for chilling out when the crying, screaming and stress are crowding in.

A great pose to help calm a new mom when the baby is crying or kids are screaming is to do some simple half sun salutes.

The rhythmic movement of the body and the breath will help to shift the mind into a more balanced and meditative state.

How To:

1. Start by standing tall with feet together and establishing a breath that is even and smooth.
2. Then on the inhale circle the arms above your head get very tall and as you exhale fold forward bringing the hands to the ground or your shins, on the inhale stretch your chest forward and create a little back bend in the upper back then exhale and fold again.
3. On the next inhale rise to standing with a flat back and stretch the arms above the head, and then exhale arms down by the sides.

Do this 3-5 times and watch how it energizes the body and calms and centers the mind, then at the end of the cycles stand with your eyes closed and simply enjoy the breath.

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Thanks to YogaWorks Teacher Trainer and prenatal yoga instructor Patty Asad for sharing this quick trick to gain composure in the face of too much crying. Patti is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to easy poses and breath work for expecting (and rookie) mothers to do at home and on the go to make the most of their pregnancy. We’ll have a second yoga tip next week to gain energy in the wake of too little sleeping.

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