Teaching a toddler.

​My little girl is behind in her speech which makes communication between her and I basically nonexistent. I know things could be so much worse but it has a way of making hard days even harder. I have always wanted this little one to do yoga with me and even though it may look it from outside, it hasn't been easy.

Because she doesn’t communicate as she should at this age, she has a hard time listening to instructions. 

Therefore, I thought for a while that teaching yoga to her was really just not possible. But now, as you can see, she likes to play right along! ​

Here are a few things I have found successful without pushing her or pressuring her into joining me:

1. Do it yourself and let them see.
What I have found successful is to show her by doing it myself. I put my mat in a space that she will easily see. My spot is in the living room by her toys and I have picked a time during the day where I know she will be in there playing by herself. 

2. Create an audible practice.
When I will get down on my mat I talk through the things that I am doing. She then hears that I am consciously working things out and then it gets her curiosity juices flowing (ex: she may be wondering what mommy is talking about). If talking through your poses is uncomfortable for you, you can also play music! A lot of little kids respond great to music and this could be another way to draw them in. 

3. Be consistent.
Because I try to do it on a regular basis, it becomes familiar to her. Once it is familiar to her then it is more comfortable to her. She will see that it is 'yoga time' when I lay down my mat and she is already expecting what is going to happen next. She will then be more inclined to come join in on the fun.

4. Create space for them.
Once she started to get comfortable with the routine, I created a space for her on her own mat for her to do yoga next to me. This usually helps take the attention off of me. Normally she likes to crawl all over me, but once she saw she had her own mat, then things changed for her. She realized that she could do exactly what mommy was doing, but on her own!

5. Invite them in.
After all of this, try inviting them in. With my little girl, there are still some days that she doesn't want to join in at all. I will still call her over and invite her to join. If she doesn't, then that is okay! Tomorrow is another day to try again, and today is a day for your own personal practice.
​

Once you keep these steps up, they will understood and will want to join in on the fun! My little girl caught on quicker than I would have ever expected her to! And now I’m finding her doing yoga by herself without any pressure from me at all!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.