By Jennifer Newton Reents

It's National Physical Fitness and Sports Month! Staying fit can be a family affair and yoga with your kids is a great start to encouraging family fitness. 

Vasanthi Bhat, author of three books and producer of 18 yoga DVDs, has been teaching yoga for more than 30 years.

"I started (teaching) family yoga five years ago to help family members develop and increase closeness, understanding, patience, and tolerance in this stressed out, fast-paced hectic life,” says the San Jose, California teacher.

Her classes are structured to meet the needs of her students’ physical and emotional health conditions, she says.  “I (teach) meditations a few moments every day to help family members develop respect, love  and forgiveness to strengthen the relationships,” she says.

And the benefits have been plenty. Bhat says she sees improved concentration, flexibility, toning and conditioning, relief for allergies, asthma, wheezing, Juvenile arthritis, heart conditions, eye disorders and improved self esteem, among her students.

Jodi Komitor, co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Yoga with Kids (Macmillian, 2000)  and a registered yoga teacher, in New York City, founded her Next Generation Yoga studio in 1998, the first children’s yoga studio in the world, she says. Her classes for families start with children as young as 18 months old.

“Because yoga has become so mainstream, more and more people are aware of its benefits. Even parents who do not do yoga on their own, yet want to exercise, will contact me to do a family yoga class- because they know the benefits and want them for themselves and their kids,” Komitor says.

Some of her goals as a family yoga teacher is to help her students develop strong, flexible, healthy growing bodies, improve concentration, balance and body awareness and cultivate a peaceful, relaxed state of body and mind as well as encourage peer and social interaction, among others.

“Parents who take yoga understand the benefits - they are experiencing them on a daily basis, and would like their kids to experience them as well. Through yoga they have gained increased awareness in the world around them. They see the stress of media, noise, peer pressure, etc., on their kids and want to help relieve some of it,” says Deb Donofrio, a certified facilitator for YogaKids International in Baltimore. “Physically, children learn body awareness kinesthetically through movement in yoga. Children learn balance, coordination, focus, strength and cooperation. They realize that everyone has weaknesses and strengths and that yoga can help them in areas where they need improvement. Adult yoga classes are quiet and focused. Children's yoga classes are full of laughter and discussion. Bringing the ages together to do yoga enhances everyone's learning and understanding.”

Leah Panlilio, of New York City, practices yoga with her husband, Dennis and their son, Aidan.

“It's not so much how we feel when we do yoga, as how we feel when we don't,” says Panlilio about realizing the benefits. “One of the difficulties of family life in the hustle and bustle of the big city is that time is at a premium, or more to the point, there just isn't enough of it. Sometimes sacrifices must be made, and our family yoga practice has certainly found itself on that alter more than once. However, the benefits of yoga and meditation color every aspect of our lives, so if our practice continually takes a back-seat to other 'more pressing' things, everything starts to feel off – everything suffers. It's like a medicine you never actually see working - you just know you feel better when you take it.”

Some dos and don’ts

 -- Always make sure to take yoga from a trained professional, and take classes first, before relying on DVDs at home.

-- Make sure your instructor is aware of any health conditions, since some poses (asanas) should not be practiced with some conditions.

-- Make sure kids are aware of what feels good and what doesn’t when doing poses. Remind them not to be competitive and push the body because a sibling or parent can do the pose.

-- Children who have physical handicaps should be approached a little differently. Make sure to discuss these with your instructor.

-- Instructors warn against any forms of power yoga  or aerobic yoga for children, and family yoga classes should stick to using gentle yoga techniques.

Yoga techniques to help kids sleep

Patti Teel, author of The Floppy Sleep Game Book and creator of The Floppy Sleep Game CD, uses various yoga techniques to help children relax to improve sleep.

She incorporates the yoga relaxation posture of shavasana – which means “corpse pose” – in reference to the deep state of relaxation that it elicits, into the before-bedtime routine.

“Shavasana is done while lying on your back in a supine position with arms at your sides, palms facing upward, and legs slightly parted. While it is often done at the end of a yoga class or anytime you want to relax deeply, I’ve found that it is an ideal way for children to relax in preparation for sleep,” she says. “I have children get in their beds and in child-like terms direct them to relax their bodies—starting with their toes, and working their way up to the tops of their heads.”

Teel directs children to focus on their breath.  “(It) is a wonderful way to release mental and physical stress and tension.  It calms the mind and induces a state of relaxation in children’s bodies.”

Here is a shavasana technique Teel recommends that can be done in bed:

Directions:

Hold each leg and arm stiffly and tightly for five or more seconds before letting it loosely ‘flop’ down on the bed.  (Practice beforehand with a floppy stuffed animal.)

Tense and relax the face.  For example, direct your child to keep his eyes closed and lift his eyebrows before lowering them and relaxing.  Then have him close his eyes tightly shut, then relax his eyes, wrinkle his nose, and relax his nose, open his mouth widely, and then close his mouth and relax.  (Tip:  Remember to have your child hold the tension for five or more seconds before relaxing and pause between each of the directions.)

Step Two:  Focus on the breath

Have children quietly listen to their own breath or practice diaphragmatic (belly) breathing.

Feel the Air as you Breathe

Directions:

Feel the air as you breathe in and out through your nose.

Breathe in, feel the cool air.

Breathe out, feel how it’s warmer.

Breathe in, feel the cool air.

Breathe out the warm air.

Breathe in, two three four.

Breathe out, two three four.

Breathe in, two three four.

Breathe out, two three four.

Once again, feel the air as you breathe in and out through your nose.

Continue by having children quietly attend to their own breath.

Belly Breathing (Diaphragmatic Breathing)

Directions:

Lay on your back

Put one hand on your belly.

Take a deep breath in.

Does your belly rise?

Take slow deep breaths and let your belly rise and fall.

Variation (Balloon Breathing)

Directions:

Have your child place a hand on his belly and imagine that there is a balloon inside.

Breathing in, two, three, four—your balloon fills up.  Breathing out, two, three four—letting out the air.

Continue to slowly fill up your balloon and then slowly let out the air. 

Step Three:  Visualization

Directions:

At first, provide the structure for your child—taking him on an imaginary journey.  I think of it as interactive storytelling; your child experiences the story as if he or she is truly living it.  Visualization skills improve through practice, and before you know it your child will be effortlessly visualizing scenarios of his own choosing as he drifts off to sleep. 

Mother’s Day is May 12! Just around the corner! Why not have a spa day with your mom, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company using some of our favorite homemade spa treatments? Here are some of our favorites. 

Moisturizing face mask -- Apply honey to your face and relax in the bath. If you want to make it exfoliating, add a little milk powder and scrub away.

Exfoliate -- Combine 1 tsp. honey and 1 tsp. olive oil. Separately, prepare a packet of plain oatmeal, using less water than called for so it forms a thick paste. Next, add the honey and olive oil mixture to the cooked oatmeal. Apply as a scrub, gently rubbing it in small circles over your skin, avoiding the eye area. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry. This mask can be done twice weekly. The oatmeal in this scrub exfoliates, while the honey and olive oil moisturize.

Tired eyes -- Remove the puffy eyes with a slice of fresh cucumber over your eyes.

Body scrub -- Use a base of coconut oil and then add in the following as you like: milk powder, honey for moisturizing, coffee grounds, brown sugar or for a microdermabrasion effect try cake sugar (i.e. super fine sugar).

Coconut Oil can be used as a daily moisturizer for face and body.

Avocado hand treatment --  Rub avocado on your hands for a little mini spa treatment. Alternately when cooking with olive oil you can do the same.

Spa water -- Add lemon, mint, ginger, limes, berries, etc for a refreshing water that is a sure “pick me up.”

Olive oil hair treatment -- For a deep condition, warm up 1/4 cup of olive oil in the microwave. Pour the oil over dry hair. Massage the oil into the scalp and throughout the hair. Wrap your hair in a towel for 15 minutes. Then shampoo twice and condition with your favorite products. 

By Nannette Melamed

www.FreshBaby.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 60 percent of our children do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables they need. Gardening is an excellent way to encourage and increase your child’s consumption of these vitamin-rich foods.

Gardening is fun, plain and simple.  The process involves dirt and water and digging, and it yields hours of fun, a lifetime of memories and most importantly, fresh and tasty treats that nourish growing bodies.   So much more than plants are grown in a garden.  Families bond and grow together working toward a common goal; children grow and strengthen gross and fine motor skills while exercising and staying active outside; the love of learning grows through this hands-on science experiment;  a healthy appetite grows by watching, understanding and appreciating the process behind the food on their plate; a sense of pride, ownership and responsibility grows inside the child that is learning to appreciate nature; and most importantly, a healthy body is grown through increased activity and access to fresh, local, healthy foods.

So, how do you start a garden with your family?

Start small by planting simple seeds.  Seeds can be started in small pots or you can get creative and use lemon rinds, egg cartons or toilet paper rolls.  Planting seeds allows children to see the very beginning of a plant and get to the root of their food, literally.

Create an herb garden and experiment with flavors.  A gateway to trying new foods is often experimenting with the flavors and cooking techniques of old favorites.  You can plant some basics like parsley, cilantro and basil or get creative with fun tastes like stevia and mint, which are yummy to enjoy right off the stem.  Involve your child in choosing which herbs to use with your meal.

Use fun containers for your plants.  Anything with drainage (you can always drill holes in the bottom) can be a planter.  Old work boots, rain boots, toy boxes, wading pools, sand buckets, coffee cans, old sinks,  watering cans, tires and ice cream containers are some idea of fun containers to use for your garden.  Let your children get involved and get creative.

Let your child wear the overalls in the family.  Allow him to choose the plants that will be grown, harvested and eaten by your family.  Encourage a variety of old favorites, new things to try and of course, a rainbow of flavors.   We planted strawberries and romaine lettuce as a family favorite, but included grape tomatoes and sugar snap pea plants to help introduce him to those foods and flavors. 

Our rainbow garden plan includes:

Red –  Grape Tomatoes and Strawberries

Orange –  Sweet Orange Peppers

Yellow –  Crookneck Squash

Green –  Sugar Snap Peas, Lettuce, Chard and Cucumbers

Blue –  Blueberries

Purple -  Eggplant

Learn more about eating a rainbow.  

Facilitate the fun.   Give your child ownership in their garden by allowing them to lead the way.  Standing back may mean you have to sneak out and help with some garden maintenance, but the pride they’ll take in the ownership of their garden is worth it.  Encourage fun in the process by allowing them to dig in the dirt, water the plants, push their own wheel barrow, pull the weeds and even (pretend) to mow the lawn.  Older children may delight in keeping a scrapbook or journal to make their progress and success.   The process of gardening is just as much fun as reaping its harvest.

Celebrate the work.  Cook your harvests with simple preparations to bring out the fresh flavors and encourage your child to be a part of that process as well.

What will your family grow in its garden? 

Some delicious fruits and vegetables have come into season for May. Some of our favorites include apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, lemons, limes, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, artichoke, asparagus, corn, fennel, green beans, fava beans, snow peas and Vidalia onions.

Blueberries 

Ranking first in antioxidant levels, blueberries are most likely the best food to eat for cancer prevention. The total antioxidant capacity of blueberries is twice that of spinach and three times that of oranges. This extraordinary fruit is also rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown in several research studies to be effective in lowering cholesterol. Blueberries are also rich in vitamin A and C.

Blueberry Relish

This delicious and simple relish is great with grilled chicken breast or pork. It is also wonderful on grilled cheese sandwiches.

1 cup onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup sherry

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries

1 cup chopped tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes (drained)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: Add olive oil to saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, and cook until onions are golden, about 5-7 minutes. Add sherry, vinegar, blueberries, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and gently simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer relish to a serving bowl. Stays fresh in the refrigerator for 5 days. Can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Blueberry-Mango Soup:

Looking for something different to serve for dessert? Try this soup – it is very impressive and quite easy.

6 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

2 cups diced mango

½ cup sugar

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. cardamom OR cinnamon

1 cup apple juice

Directions: In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, lime juice, and cardamom. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil; cook and stir until sugar dissolves, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Stir in apple juice and chill in refrigerator until serving. Serve in martini or margarita glasses, garnished with a dollop of vanilla yogurt.

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Cherries

Cherries contain compounds that help relieve the pain of arthritis, gout and even headaches, by blocking inflammatory enzymes. In fact, 20 cherries are 10 times as potent as aspirin. Sweet cherries are also considered to be excellent sources of boron. Boron consumption, coupled with calcium and magnesium has been linked to increased bone health. Sweet cherries are also a significant source of melatonin. The melatonin in cherries may help influence positive sleep patterns.

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Peaches 

The peach is a member of the rose family and should have a pleasingly sweet fragrance. Beyond that sweet smell, peaches are virtually fat free, and naturally sodium and cholesterol free. They contain vitamin A which helps us see in dim light and they are also considered a good source of fiber.

Chicken with Peach Sauce 

Peach Parfait 

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