If you’re feeling a little down in the dumps today, we have just the thing to cheer you up: a mom and her two adorable children (and sometimes their equally adorable father) all doing yoga together. Smiling yet?
Charity LeBlanc started doing yoga to help get back in shape after having her first child, Oakley, now 5. She kept it up during her second pregnancy with daughter Felicity, now 2, and today the trio love to practice their poses together.
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“They loved to watch me do the movements even as little infants,” Charity told BuzzFeed. “Now they think it’s awesome that their mom is a moving jungle gym, and sometimes pull out the mats themselves.”
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LeBlanc shares their yoga adventures on her Instagram page and also on her YouTube feed where she also posts about “makeup, hair, fitness and motherhood.”
Though the family’s poses may look extreme, LeBlanc says they work up to them through many small steps.
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“We always take our practice really slow and work our way up to more complex poses,” LeBlanc said in her interview with BuzzFeed.
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As we know, the health benefits of yoga are numerous and varied. According to an article from Medical Daily, postpartum yoga can help moms regain everything from balance to muscle tone. Plus, the article notes, yoga practice focuses on controlled breathing, which has been proven to help improve relaxation—a good thing for both mom and baby.
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Additionally, pregnancy isn’t great for your posture—between nursing and the lifting and shifting that come with a growing infant, your spine can be negatively affected. Yoga helps increase back and shoulder strength to counteract that stress, making it easier for new moms to stand up straight and reduce back pain.
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“My son is learning to trust me and my daughter is developing great motor skills and muscle control for her age. They’re learning how to be strong and healthy while having fun,” LeBlanc said. “I get to work on myself, stay fit, and play with my kids all at the same time!”
All we can say is—namastay cool, LeBlanc family.