2015 Spring Term Week 11. Tatty Bumpkin’s Kid’s Yoga Activity for this Week is Bear – Activating tummy muscles and progressing balance skills ready for summer sports and games!

By Sue Heron – Training Co-ordinator Tatty Bumpkin and Paediatric Physiotherapist 

In this blog I:

• Describe how to do a Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity with your child or toddler 
• Give you reasons why the Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity is beneficial for your child or toddler 
• Give you some ideas on progressions for the activity and games you can play around the activity. 

This week’s Tatty Bumpkin Yoga Activity is Bear

This week Tatty Bumpkin goes on an adventure to visit the mountain bears – who are just waking up for Spring. 
When encouraging your child to 'have a go' at bear pose – try to do the pose with them or encourage brothers and sisters to join in. This is because:  

• Children, and definitely those under 3 years, learn new movements best by copying others.
• Research is showing that toddlers and young children bond with their parents and ‘key people’ not only through touch but also by moving with them.
• Bear pose gives you the chance to activate and strengthen your tummy and hip muscles. Remember do check with a health professional before doing the pose if you have health concerns yourself. 

Be a growly, stompy bear!

• Find a clear space on a non slip carpet or a mat. Make sure you and your child both have space around you so you are not likely to bump into anything! 

• Take off your shoes and socks off as it is safer and easier to do bear pose barefoot. Your child is less likely to slip and will receive accurate sensory information through their feet of they are do bear pose barefoot. 

• Guide your child to stand opposite you with their legs about hip width apart. 

• Then bend forward yourself - from the waist and wrap your hands loosely round your calf muscles. These are the muscles that run up the back of your lower legs below your knees – See picture above. Tighten your tummy muscles as you bend forward as this will protect and support your back. Do not bend down too low and, if you feel any pain in your back do stop or see adaptation below. Guide your child to copy you. 

• In this 'bear pose position', take a few steps forward together - Remember to keep your hands round your calf muscles. 

• As you both get the idea of the pose try to take slightly larger, slower steps - this will help your child to refine their balance skills. 

• After a few steps straighten up, to stretch out your back, then walk on together, as a grumpy bears, making growling sounds! 

Bear Yoga Activity Progression 

See if your child can walk backwards or sideways in bear pose. 

Adaptation of Bear Yoga Activity

This adaptation of the Bea Yoga activity is suitable for younger children or for those who are doing the poses for the first time. 

Be stompy, growly bears together! 

• Guide your young child to stand opposite you and gain eye contact with them so they can copy your movements. 

• Lean forwards from the waist only this time, just put your hands on your knees - encourage your child to copy you. Once again tighten your tummy muscles as you lean forward as this will help you to support and protect your back. 

• You might want to do gentle (funny) growls and wriggle your nose – to get your child’s attention and to encourage them to copy you. 

• Then start walking round the room together, stomping your feet on the floor and taking slightly larger, slower steps. All the time keep encouraging your child to copy you. Both of you being bears going on a bear hunt…. After you have taken a few steps straighten up and take your hands off your knees to stretch your back out the other way. 

Games to play Around Bear Pose 

Bears Going Down the Mountain Path

You can make a pathway in a room or in the garden  by placing non-slip spots or non-slip carpet squares on the floor. These will help your child to get the idea of taking bigger steps. Remember clear a space and to supervise your child or toddler closely whilst they do this activity to avoid any trips or falls. 

• Place the spots far enough apart so your child is encouraged to take bigger steps but close enough together so they feel confident to ‘have a go!’ 
• For safety, and to give them confidence, it is a good idea to grade the activity for your child i.e.
• To start with, don’t worry about walking on the spots in bear pose - instead hold your child’s hand to give them support and reassurance
• As soon as you can, just give your child fingertip support and then see if they can take the bigger steps down the spots by themselves. 
• As your child does the activity on their own they will be developing a wide range of skills. Importantly, they will be learning how to automatically organise their body in anticipation of doing the activity - how to use their head, body, arms and legs in a mature way to keep their balance.  
• Finally encourage your child to have a go at walking down the line of spots or squares in bear pose. 

The Bears Go Over the Mountain

Younger children often find it easier to do new actions whilst reciting a rhyme or singing a song. So, as you stomp round the room in bear pose together - sing the song - 

“The bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain, the bear goes over the mountain …to see what he can see! And all that he can see, and all that he can see is .. the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain is … all that he can see!”

Why Bear Pose is Good for Your Child 

As your child does bear pose they will have the chance to: 

1. Gently stretch out muscles prone to tightness
Bear pose will give your child the opportunity to stretch out the muscles at the back of their legs i.e. their hamstring and calf muscles.  Generally these muscles are prone to tightness as they are kept in a shortened position whilst your child is sitting – if your child is having a growth spurt they might be more prone to tightness.  

2 Progress their core stability 
Bear pose will help your child to strengthen their tummy and the hip muscles. These are key muscles for both good posture and balance. 

3. Develop their sense of proprioception (body awareness) 
Bear pose offers your child a great opportunity to increase their understanding of their body shape. They will draw on this awareness when they are learning more complex daily life skills such as getting dressed or sporting skills such as dance or football. 

4. Refine their balance skills 
To walk in bear pose your child has to shift their weight further over to each side as they move from one leg to the other, this will challenge their sense of balance. 

The Tatty Bumpkin Adventure this Week

Remember, for you and your child to gain the full benefit of all the Tatty Bumpkin Yoga and multi-sensory activities, find out about your local Tatty Bumpkin class at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/classes/find-class.html. Or, ask your child’s nursery if they are doing Tatty Bumpkin Yoga activity sessions as part of their day. 

Our qualified Tatty Bumpkin Teachers are fully trained in aspects of child development and Yoga and are kept fully up-to-date by our professional team of paediatric physiotherapists, Yoga teachers and musicians. All the Tatty Bumpkin stores are aligned to the Early Years Foundation Stage this means the sessions not only enhance your child’s physical skills they also develop their communication, social and thinking skills.

If your child is going to a Tatty Bumpkin class this week they will go on an adventure into the mountains. Here they will visit the mountain creatures and the bears secret cave! In this story your child will have the chance to: 

1. Improve their physical skills as they stomp as bears and roar as lions. 

2. Develop their imagination and thinking skills as they imagine they are in the snowy mountains and think about the creatures who might live there. 

3. Progress their communication skills as they listen, and follow the actions, to the Tatty Bumpkin Snake song and come with ideas on who might live in the mountain cave.

4. But most of all, your child will have fun with others as they stand together to be a big, snowy mountain range, stomp as bears, wriggle as snakes  and then investigate  the grasses and flowers in the bears cave, 

Love Tatty Bumpkin x 

A New Start with Tatty Bumpkin?  

Maybe, you are thinking of a new career which gives you:

• The opportunity to work with kids
• A great sense of job satisfaction and
• Flexible working to fit around your own family

Find out how you could be trained to deliver Baby and Tatty Bumpkin classes in your area at http://www.tattybumpkin.com/business/index.html.