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Anna Semlyen BWY Dip, MA PPE (Oxon), MSc Health Econ. Tel: 01904 654355, Email: anna@yogainyork.co.uk

Yoga is recommended exercise from 6 weeks postnatally. Baby yoga is for adults and children from 6 weeks to pre school. Baby yoga is on Thursdays 11.05 - 12.00pm at the Friargate Friends Meeting House for £5.50 per family. There is then an optional social at the Spurriergate Centre. Families with more than child, Mums, Dads, Grandparents and carers are all welcome.

Classes aim to:

• Encourage a faster postnatal recovery.
• Improve the experience of baby bonding and parenthood.
• Promote friendships for ongoing support.

Enjoy exercising with your child. Keeping mobile through gentle toning, stretching and breathing as well as relaxing helps to minimise postnatal problems such as bachache, pelvic floor weakness, shoulder strain and fatigue. Children are naturally flexible and love the closeness of being sensitively handled.

We learn:

• Postnatal yoga including pelvic floor and abdominal exercises.
• How to enjoy physical play with a young child.

Anna Semlyen is a mother. She has taught yoga since 1996 and baby yoga since 2002.

Newborns can do the easier exercises, however women are advised to wait 6 weeks before attending a postnatal exercise class.

Adults can change or feed their children and everything is optional. Practice is of a mix of bends and counter poses. Plus, specific abdominal and pelvic floor exercises with modifications for those who are pregnant. Everything is done at least twice to give the children time to imitate. Parents manipulate their children, for instance lying on their backs and cycling the legs. Sometimes we sing action songs. We massage, do simple somersaults and 'fly' children on their parent's shins. There is also relaxation.

Parents recieve handouts on:

• Contact details of participants (optional).
• Postnatal yoga postures.
• Age appropriate baby yoga exercises.
• Pelvic floor exercises.
• Baby Whats on Listings for York.

Private baby yoga tuition is also available for £28 per hour.

"7 week old Kaitlyn's sleep improved from three hours up to six hours a night on starting baby yoga. I recommend it to everyone." Jenny Shaw

"Baby yoga is great. Anna is very relaxed with the children. It's my haven in the week. My boy's been since he was 6 weeks. He gets so much out of the class. At first it really helped me to be physically confident with him. Now it helps with trying to show him how to use his hands as well as with doing yoga and play exercies. It's worth the money because it encompasses so much: learning about yoga together; being physical together; focussed one to one time; social time and an opportunity to be quiet." Kate West

"Orla's a natural yogi. At baby yoga she's the best behaved she is all week." Alison Toolan, mum to Orla, 6 months