PEACHIE Kilayko with son Pancho and daughter Danya. “Yoga taught me to be content with who I am and what I can do,” Danya said. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines—Mommy’s going to yoga class, cupcake, and so are you.
Bond with your child in a completely new way through Mother's Day Yoga with Maritoni Tordesillas. Watch as the energetic little ones learn to be as still as the night, and even have loads of fun twisting and turning upside down-with their moms as their "playmate," no less. Indeed, trust a child to look at an hour's yoga as fun play; leave the adults to sweat through the challenging poses.
"Children are naturally flexible so the poses come to them fairly easily. It's when they turn 9, 10 or 11, when they begin to just sit in class or spend extended periods studying, that they lose their flexibility," Tordesillas said.
Open even to beginners, mom and kid alike, the Mother's Day Yoga will be held on May 10 at the Century Plaza Penthouse,
120 Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati. Kids between 2-5 years old can join the 4-5 p.m. class, while a 2:30-3:30 p.m. is open for ages 6 and above. The tandem should comprise of one mother and one child, or one grandmother and one grandchild. (Reservation is required. Call or text 0917-522YOGA for inquiries.)
Tordesillas discovered yoga seven years ago when she retired from professional ballet dancing. She has been training her 3-year-old daughter Tessa for almost a year now, who also learns from her mom by watching her personal practice.
"We have to show and teach our children healthy lifestyle by example. That's the best way for them to really [incorporate it] into their young lives, and hopefully it stays with them until they become adults," she said.
Yoga also teaches children discipline, said Tordesillas, and the confidence to face challenges they might encounter, however petty those "challenges" might sound like to an adult. She said children also learn to become aware-of the breath, its relation to their bodies and the bodies' movement.
Peachie Kilayko, who teaches Yoga Ed., a program especially designed for children, said children also become more focused on the moment. Executing the yoga poses is challenging even for a pliant child. This "forces" a child to think and concentrate on that moment.
"Their minds no longer have the luxury of drifting from one thought to the other. Of course, we let them run and play first so that by the time classes start they'd be ready to stay put in one place," Kilayko said.
Kilayko's son Pancho, 10, and daughter Danya, now a college student, have been regularly attending her yoga classes for two years now. Danya, who first learned yoga in high school, said yoga helped her be content with who she is and what she could do.
"Yoga has also helped me not to succumb to peer pressure very quickly," Danya said.
One of the benefits of bonding with your kids through exercise is having something you can do together even as they grow up and become independent, Kilayko said.
Christine Jacobs-Sandejas, who turned to yoga only late last year when she injured her knee playing tennis, is excited to do yoga with one of her daughters. Her children CJ, Nina and Gabby attend Yoga Ed. classes in Alabang.
"This will be the first time I will be in the same class as they are. I really can't wait for that day to begin," she said.
Tordesillas assures participants that the classes are safe. It's not like students will be required to stand on their heads on the first day of class.
"Bonding with your child is important. Teaching your kids to be fit for life is the added benefit," Tordesillas said.
Mother's Day Yoga is a project of Yoga Manila.For a full schedule of classes, visit www.yogamanla.com or e-mail info@yogamanila.com.
Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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