I love every aspect of my job, teaching yoga to my mums, bumps and little ones, as well as hanging out with my online yin-club membership crew!
And of course we should never have favourites, but………
I LOVE teaching toddler yoga!
I often joke with those who train with me to teach toddler yoga, that it is yoga in its purest form. And you know what – it is! It is pure, egoless yoga; it’s yoga for joy, for fun, for play. It is totally acceptable to not do yoga and have a quick snack, something I feel very envious of when I’m in a class and my tummy is grumbling and my thoughts turn to food (we’ve all been there right?!)
Iyengar suggests that at anytime within the practise of yoga if needed come to rest in shavasana. When in your adult classes was the last time students spontaneously took shavasana of their own accord? Mr ego doesn’t like such things, and we often plough on when what we need is rest.
Or let’s take handstand. You have planned it as your peak posture, you tell your students at start this is where we’re going today and then follows a mixture of reactions (all from dear Mr Ego!)
- Joy, excitement, yes this truly is your moment to shine in this yoga class.
- Fear, you have never done a handstand before.
- A sense of dread, this is not your pose (cue my response!)
My toddlers? They don’t really care! We love a handstand, it’s a two-legged dog, the next stage on from a doggy having a wee wee (aka 3-legged dog). They do it because it is fun, they do it because they want to try it, they play and explore the shape and celebrate whatever emerges, and there is no sense of failure or not being good enough. They don’t do it, because they don’t want to, and that is totally fine, maybe they are busy eating or exploring their own shape. After all, nobody knows your body better than you, and my wise little yogis know this 100%.
We also welcome all emotions in our toddler yoga class, it is ok to be happy, excited, joyful, grumpy, sad, angry or frustrated. Every aspect of being human is welcome. Our yoga class is a safe place to lose it, we all lose it from time to time and the pressure we feel as adults to keep it together can become overwhelming. Why can’t our yoga classes be this place where is all just comes out, where we discharge this energy and then move on?
Nobody is more in the present moment than my little yogis – they are so wise! And I learn so much from them. Mainly that yoga is fun, it is to play, it is to explore, and that being tied down to shouldism kills the joy in life, let alone our yoga practice.
Dear little yogis I thank you for your teaching, you remind me of how to be in the now, to take shavasana if I am tired, and to be ok with wanting a cheese straw mid-practise! To love handstands, regardless of the outcome of the final shape. To sing and Om with all abundance and joy in my soul in that moment.
I love doing yoga with you!
We all should be more be toddler when we practise yoga!
And dear yoga teachers – we all should teach toddler yoga!
Start online training with me online today – https://www.amy-yogaonline.com/p/teaching-toddler-yoga
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