Yoga with your baby: practising when there is no childcare

Poses that work with a baby

Lay your baby on their back beneath you and let cat-cow become peekaboo, moving slowly enough that eye contact happens naturally at the top and bottom of the movement.

Bridge pose with the baby resting on your hips, gentle squats while babywearing, and supported forward folds all adapt easily. A seated wide-legged stretch with the baby propped against a cushion in front of you also works well for older babies who can sit with support.

Even simple seated breathing with the baby lying on your chest counts. The rise and fall of your breath is soothing for them and grounding for you, so it doubles as connection time rather than time away from them.

What to skip

Avoid inversions and any pose where a wobble means your baby is beneath you or could be startled by a sudden shift in your balance. Never hold a baby during balance work until your stability has fully returned, since relaxin can linger in the joints for months after birth.

Skip anything that requires sudden speed or unpredictable movement, like fast transitions between standing poses, while a baby is on the mat with you. Slow and steady is not just gentler on your body, it is safer for theirs too.

Lower the bar on purpose

Ten minutes, interrupted twice, still counts. Consistency in this season is measured in weeks, not sessions, so do not let one abandoned attempt convince you the whole thing is not working.

If a session gets fully derailed by a feed or a meltdown, treat the few minutes you did get as complete in themselves rather than an unfinished failure. That mindset shift alone makes it far easier to keep coming back to the mat.