Yoga with a Baby: 3 Differences and What Still Matters
Becoming a mom changed my life completely. So it only makes sense that my yoga practice has changed too.
Before getting pregnant or having my baby, my yoga looked like dedicated time on my mat. Breathing practices, longer sequences, and more active postures. I found a space to really tune in and be present with myself.
My yoga practice changed a lot during pregnancy (I reflected on that in this previous post). And now, that our little baby boy is here, it has shifted again.
Last fall, I completed a yoga teacher training in mom & baby yoga. This training deepened my understanding of how movement, breath and presence can support connection and nervous system regulation during this season. Right now, at home with my baby, I’m beginning to apply what I learned.
Here are a few ways yoga looks different for me these days:
1. Practice moves with life and babies are unpredictable
One of the biggest shifts is that practice isn’t scheduled or linear anymore. Small babies don’t follow plans, and neither does yoga now.
Sometimes I rest in child’s pose next to the baby gym while encouraging him to lift his head during tummy time.
Sometimes I take a few cat‑cows while he’s on his back in front of me. Sometimes I stretch gently in bed while he sleeps in his crib next to me.
This isn’t about following a set sequence. It’s about really meeting the moment. I’m flowing with his rhythms and letting the practice be shaped by what he needs too.
2. Breath changes too and singing becomes breathwork
In traditional yoga, breathwork (pranayama) is a core part of practice, and it has well‑documented benefits for stress relief, nervous system balance, and a sense of calm and presence.
Right now, instead of formal pranayama, I often hum or sing gently to him while I move or rest. Singing naturally lengthens and steadies the breath and has that same embodied effect of pausing, deepening, and connecting to the present moment.
For me, it’s not just about the physical breath, it’s about how that breath connects me to my baby. That felt simple choice of song becomes a shared breath that calms both of us.
3. Showing up is the practice
Yoga is so much more than just the physical practice. This is something I’ve learned not just intellectually but through experience. Beyond breath and the physical postures, yoga is about how we show up, with compassion, presence, patience, and attention.
Caring for my baby, whether I’m soothing him, feeding him, singing to him, just being present, feels like practice in its own right. It’s not about achieving shapes on a mat; it’s about embodying yoga off the mat too.
Yoga in this season looks different. And that’s okay.
This is a season of life where long classes and structured sequences simply don’t fit. And that’s okay. My practice today meets me here, in short moments, gentle movement, deep breaths, and gentle singing. And I’m letting this version of yoga be more than enough.
What do you think? I’d love to hear if anything resonates with you. DM me on Instagram to share your thoughts with me.
Want to know when I’m offering mom & baby yoga courses? I’m really looking forwards to offer mom & baby yoga courses here in Oslo in the future when I’m back from maternity leave. If you’d like to be the first to know when dates and registration are announced, you’re welcome to sign up for my newsletter. I’ll send details there first.