Helen Yarbrough was unable to put her objections into words.
But when the rest of the yoga class assumed her least-favorite pose -- the Upside-Down Yogi -- she made her displeasure perfectly clear.

She cried out loud, then crawled away from her mother.

Instructor Lorrie Garcia suggested Helen and her mother, Beth, try a different pose. A minute later, 15-month-old Helen returned to being a happy, giggling toddler as she bounced on her mother's lap to Hop Along Yogi.

It was a typical Saturday afternoon at Evergreen Yoga Center in Midtown, which recently began offering Itsy Bitsy Yoga instruction for infants and toddlers. Garcia said the parent-child classes allow moms and dads to relax with their children in a non-judgmental, fun and healthy environment.

Leah Bray Nichols, owner and director of Evergreen Yoga, said offering yoga instruction for infants and toddlers marks a natural progression for the business. The center aims to make yoga accessible to everyone, she said, featuring prenatal and postnatal yoga, in addition to infant massage.

"We have a pretty strong focus on health and wellness," said Nichols, who opened the center two years ago. "Itsy Bitsy Yoga fits right in with everything we're trying to do."

Garcia trained for Itsy Bitsy Yoga -- a program created in 1999 by yoga instructor and child development specialist Helen Garabedian -- in August, earning her certification and offering the first course in early September.

"The benefit for parents is that they learn skills they can use to help their babies relax," Garcia said. "The poses help with digestion, help them to sleep better and to be less fussy, and that helps parents a lot."
Several mothers participating in Itsy Bitsy Yoga previously took prenatal yoga and infant massage classes at Evergreen Yoga.
Tracy Lauritzen Wright said she and her husband believe all three courses have benefited their 31/2 -month-old daughter, Anna, in numerous ways.

"We have no scientific basis for it, but we're convinced that all of this has had a positive effect on her temperament," Lauritzen Wright said. She also credits the instruction for helping Anna sleep through the night at an early age.

A recent session of each class focused on the "sleep-well series," which uses slow and deliberate movements while parents whisper to their children. Garcia suggested using the poses for bedtime routines or to help soothe babies back to sleep when they awaken in the middle of the night.

As the baby class began, Garcia directed parents to "leave the outside world behind. Focus on just you and your baby. As we begin, see your baby with eyes anew."

Infants were placed on their backs while parents gently caressed and massaged their children from head to toe. Garcia illustrated the poses by holding a newborn-sized doll, then after warming up, she instructed parents to move their baby's "chunky monkey" thighs and arms.
In both the infant and tot classes, the adults sang along with the movements, incorporating lyrics about yoga into traditional songs. There were cheers and claps all around when each movement was completed.

Garcia encouraged discussion of parenting issues during class, and Stephen Tait sought advice on handling 4-month-old Rebecca's late-night awakenings.

Tait said he enjoys interacting with other new parents during the class, but quality time with Rebecca is the main draw.

"It's nice one-on-one time without any distractions," Tait said.
More mobile than the infants, students in the tots class spent much of their session crawling or walking around the child-proofed studio, fascinated with the demonstration doll and the other children in the room.

Though it seemed the toddlers were not paying attention, they would often spontaneously assume a yoga pose, garnering cheers and encouragement for their efforts and demonstrating that they "get it," Garcia said.

Garcia and Nichols said they chose the Itsy Bitsy Yoga program for its emphasis on developmental movement, parent-child bonding and all-around health for babies and tots.

"Healthy babies are happy babies," Garcia said.



By Lisa Kelly Eason
Special to The Commercial Appeal
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