Benefits

button-benefitsAt ZOOGA, we offer a full range of classes available for all ages from the young to the young at heart! Parents and children can share the fun of the Zooga experience together and gain all the benefits yoga provides.

Overall Benefits

  • Physical strength and flexibility, Concentration, focus and attention
  • Inner strength and body awareness
  • Confidence and self-esteem
  • Relaxation and self-control
  • Feeling of well being and respect for others

Kids and Family Yoga

  • YOGA IS A POWERFUL TOOL for kids and it’s never too early to start your child on the path to a healthy, happy lifestyle.
  • BALANCED MIND: Children who practice yoga can actually improve their concentration skills. Yoga can help young minds focus by boosting attention spans leading to better focus in school and improved grades. Yoga just might make your child smarter!
  • BALANCED BODY: Yoga helps young bodies build strong muscles while gaining flexibility and balance. A flexible spine coupled with a flexible mind makes yoga the ideal physical activity for kids and means less chance of injury from other sports.
  • HAPPY HEALTHY: Kids who practice yoga regularly feel healthy, happy and just plain good about themselves and others. Yoga provides your child with a sense of wellbeing both mentally and physically. A healthy, happy child with a calm and relaxed mind. Yoga can be a parent’s best friend.
  • SUPER POWERS: Nothing inspires confidence in a child like learning new skills and being able to show them off to others. The agility and flexibility your child learns through practicing yoga just might make them feel like a superhero!
  • STRESS LESS: Yoga teaches kids how to achieve a state of calm relaxation that helps them navigate the stormy seas of childhood. Your child can draw on the peaceful, inner strength learned from yoga any time and any place. And that means less stress for them. And less stress for you.
  • CONNECT: Families can connect in a whole new way. Join in the fun of doing partner poses with your kids and let your inner child out to play!
  • LAUGH: Family time is the perfect time to just let go and have fun. Family yoga classes teach you and your kids to take yoga (and life) a bit less seriously while joining in fun and silly games.
  • FIND PEACE: In the practice of yoga, naptime is allowed for grownups too! At the end of each class, join your child in a moment of peace as you let yourself relax into “savasana” or “yoga nap.” Time to get your Zooga zzzzs.
  • CHILL OUT: Family yoga classes teach parents and kids how to de-stress after a long day, using breathing techniques that will work wonders for taming tempers and getting kids to a place of inner calm and ready for bed. Relax. There’s no place like Om!

The word yoga actually means “unity,” and what better way to unite a family than by “going with the flow” of a yoga journey together!

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Parent and Me Yoga

Zen & Fit yoga isn’t just for babies. Yoga is one of the best ways for stressed out moms (and dads and nannies) to take a breather, literally, while getting zen & fit before heading back to work. Learning breathing techniques and stress relaxation techniques with your baby will recharge your mind, body and spirit. There’s a reason why everyone’s favorite pose is child pose!

  • BABY BONDING: Zen & Fit yoga allows you to spend quality time with your baby in a quiet, nurturing space. You will learn techniques for positive touch and communication that will help you create a stress free environment for you your baby that you can take with you into the outside world.
  • TUMMY TAMERS: Baby yoga is one of the best ways to soothe tummy troubles including constipation and colic. While you do yoga, there are many poses you can do with your baby on their tummy. We have a fun, sit-up exercise that we call “kiss ups” which makes every baby smile. There’s even a pose called “Happy Baby” which will make you a very happy parent!
  • STIMULATION/RELAXATION: Babies need constant stimulation and respond positively to new sights and sounds. Zooga signature parent and me yoga classes are the perfect way for you and your baby to relax in a nurturing environment. Moving and positioning babies’ bodies gives them stimulation and change, especially for babies who cannot yet move independently. While doing yoga with your child, this allows your baby to connect with your breathing and help soothe them for better sleeping patterns, which means better sleep for you too!

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Prenatal Yoga

Pre-Post Natal yoga is probably the safest and most effective exercise for pregnant women. Breathing exercises, stretching and movement postures prepare expectant moms for the rigors of childbirth..

  • MIND BODY AWARENESS: Yoga involves a series of muscle movements that require you to be highly aware of your body and what your muscles are doing. This, in turn, can help you to be more aware of the changes that your body is going through when you enter pregnancy.
  • RELAX YOUR BACK: Yoga emphasizes the importance of posture and teaches correct stance, while at the same time helping to strengthen supportive muscles that can help keep the pregnant mother more upright. Studies have demonstrated that it can help to prevent back and leg pain as well as swelling and insomnia.
  • LESS STRESS: Yoga is also an excellent form of stress relief that can help to calm the mind and improve focus. When you practice yoga, this can help reverse some of the negative hormonal changes experiences during pregnancy.
  • JUST BREATHE: Yoga also teaches how to breathe into stretches and muscle contractions in order to get the body to work at its most harmonious. This is something that is highly helpful for delivery, at which point breathing exercises of course become very important for childbirth.
  • GO WITH THE FLOW: Vinyasa Flow improves flexibility and blood flow circulation, which is crucially important during pregnancy. Good blood flow will help future mommies with common pregnancy problems such as water retention and edema and ensure that nutrients are delivered efficiently to both mommy and baby.

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Adult and Postnatal Yoga

Yoga and Pilates are both forms of exercise that engage the mind as well as the body. Because the exercises are so adaptable, almost anyone can enjoy the health benefits of yoga and Pilates.

  • ABOUT YOGA: Yoga is an ancient form of meditation engaging the body and the mind. There are many different types or schools of yoga, but the most common type in the United States today is hatha, which focuses on physical poses and breathing technique. Other types of yoga, such as raja and jnana, emphasize meditation for emotional, intellectual and spiritual enlightenment. Though traditionally yoga is a path to overall self-improvement, many people simply use yoga as a means to mental and physical wellness, according to the American Yoga Association.
  • ABOUT PILATES: Joseph Pilates developed Pilates, a form of physical and mental conditioning, in the early 20th century. He designed a series of mat exercises to help tone and strengthen partially immobilized World War I soldiers. The exercises are based primarily around core strengthening and flexibility, and Pilates was likely inspired by Eastern mind-body exercises such as yoga and martial arts. Joseph Pilates referred to his system of exercise as “contrology” because it requires intense concentration for bodily control. Most Pilates routines can be performed with only a floor mat, letting the body act as resistance.
  • MENTAL BENEFITS: The mental focus and controlled breathing required to perform yoga and Pilates correctly helps reduce stress. The exercises also help regulate sleep and improve mood, according to the Mayo Clinic. Yoga and Pilates may help reduce symptoms such as fatigue associated with a variety of disorders including cancer, depression and chronic pain.
  • PHYSICAL BENEFITS: Practicing Pilates or yoga can help improve flexibility, range of motion, balance and posture. Pilates strengthens and tones muscles without adding bulk, making it an exercise of choice among dancers and other athletes. Pilates is also renowned for strengthening the core and back muscles and may help manage back pain. Yoga may reduce heart rate and blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Neither Pilates nor yoga is an aerobic workout, so these exercises should supplement a workout routine that includes cardiovascular exercise such as swimming, jogging or cycling.