Practise these poses at home and find yourself in a more positive state today

By Sabrina Merchant

Surprise your children this Valentine’s Day by spending quality time with them. Bond with them and help them to feel your love with some fun parent-child yoga asanas. Practise these poses at home, and find yourself in a more positive state, with a fuzzy, warm feeling that only love can bring!

Partner Gate Pose

This is a wonderful way to form connections and learn to lean on one another for support. Gate also stretches the shoulders, waist and back, which get sore from carrying heavy backpacks or sitting at a desk all day. Start with your knees about a leg’s length apart from each other. Then each one can step on your opposite leg out to the side towards each other, and line up your feet in about the same area. Lift your outside arm and lean towards each other until you can grab each other’s hands. Hold and breathe, and come back to your knees. You can come into the table top to crab-walk around each other to do the opposite side.

Sitting Seesaw

Sit on the floor face-to-face and have your child stretch their legs along the inside of yours, as shown (or sit touching the feet). Join hands, and keeping your backs straight, move your upper bodies back and forth in a seesaw motion. You should each feel a good stretch in the back of your legs.

Partner Down Dog

Start on all fours facing opposite directions and touching feet. Along with your child, push up and straighten your legs, keeping your back flat and arms outstretched. Have your child lift one foot at a time and place it as shown, keeping their toes pointed. This pose strengthens the core and arms, and it’s a great confidence builder.

Seated Partner Twist

– Start by sitting in Sukasana back to back — both you and your partner will cross your shins, widen your knees and fold each foot beneath the opposite knee.
– Scoot close so your sit bones are touching.
– Gently press your upper back in to one another. Place one hand on your partner’s knee and the other towards your twisted knee.
– Both partners take a deep breath in to lengthen their spines, then exhale to twist in opposite directions.
– Let your partner know how the twist feels to either increase or decrease the depth of the twist. Hold the twist for 3-5 breaths and then switch directions.

Warrior 1

Start by standing face-to-face with your partner, with your toes touching. With their left foot in place, both partners take their right foot behind. Bending the left knee in front, right leg straight behind. Lift your hands and touch each other’s palms. Take a few deep breaths here. Repeat on the other side.

Forward fold

Sit on the floor face-to-face and have your child stretch their legs touching your feet, as shown. Join hands, and keeping your backs straight, move your upper bodies forth trying to touch your toes. You should each feel a good stretch in your legs.

(The writer is the founder of Li’l Yogis, a certified Kids Yoga Expert and the author of ‘Ocean Yoga’)

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