Parents have been reaching out with lots of questions about the benefits of yoga for their infants and children.

Let me relax any concerns you may have by providing some information on this topic.

Health benefits

Yoga consists of a series of postures, regulated breathing, hand poses and meditation performed in a rhythmic and relaxing manner. Believe it or not, yoga can be performed with your baby starting when they are about eight weeks of age, assuming they are full-term and are otherwise healthy.

A parent performing simple moves, holds and stretches with their baby can help that baby gain self and environmental awareness.

There is some evidence that yoga can help an infant develop voluntary movements that will up the road make it easier for them to have the motor and sensory skills needed for sports, dance, and exercise as they get older.

The “knees to chest” pose for a baby may help with constipation and gas pains, and some parents report their babies sleep better after attending baby yoga classes.

The rhythmic nature of baby yoga also can help soothe a cranky baby and with the breathing exercises for caregivers, can even calm a stressed or anxious parent.

Most of all, it is fun and a great way to bond with your baby with lots of eye contact and smiles and giggles from your baby.

If you are going to try baby yoga, please make sure your baby’s health care professional gives it the ok and that it is done with an instructor who only practices movements that will not compromise baby’s airway in the setting of their having floppy head control in those first few months of life.

As your infant grows into childhood, yoga can help them learn to focus on a task at hand and better handle problems peacefully.

Yoga poses also challenge various muscle groups and enable a child to become more aware of their body and how it functions. It is a great way for student athletes to focus on strengthening the muscles they need for a particular sport.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends yoga as a safe and potentially effective therapy for children coping with emotional, mental, physical, and behavioral health conditions. Hopefully, tips like these will raise your level of consciousness when it comes to recognizing the potential benefits of yoga from infancy through young adulthood and perhaps stretch your desire to introduce yourself and your children to engaging in yoga if you or they haven’t done so already.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also Catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.