It's one of those incredibly frustrating juxtapositions of motherhood: You have a baby. Your middle parts turn to mush. As does your brain on account of all the not sleeping and such. You try to get better, try to get in shape and maybe even reconnect with a little mindfulness. Except now you have a toddler, and they are simply not on board with any of that. This video of a toddler interrupting their parents' yoga session is proof that babies will not negotiate meditation time. Like ever.
Apparently toddlers haven't read all of those amazingly informative articles that tell us children can benefit from a little yoga themselves. In fact, a study conducted by none other than Harvard Medical School found that children who practiced regular yoga tended to have better mental health as adolescents. Taking time to slow down, breathe deep, stretch limbs and center your mind has proven to help with chronic pain, anxiety, flexibility, and coordination. I don't think the toddler in this video, shared by blogger Samantha Sophia on Twitter, got the memo.
As this little one's parents attempt to "live their best lives" by engaging in a little outdoor yoga practice, it's clear that the toddler is simply not having it (in the cutest way possible, naturally):
So I can't quite decide what I love more: the sweet innocence of these parents thinking they could get in yoga time with a toddler whose eyes are open and is mobile; their seriously impressive focus when that incredible, adorable toddler is doing their best to distract mom and dad by using them as human jungle gyms; or honestly, just the love this little baby has for their parents. I guess I just love all of it.
Oh, also the fact that their onesie is undone and the adorable tyke cares not one whit about it.
The reality is, toddlers have no access to Google. Therefore, they have not researched the helpful benefits of yoga for health, flexibility, and anxiety relief (because they don't actually know what anxiety is). Toddlers essentially want these things:
- food
- happiness
- love
- running
- their parents
- more running
- bright, shiny things
- sunshine
- probably more running
In other words, toddlers know way more than we do about living our best lives already.
So if you manage to get in a little yoga while somehow providing your toddler with all of these requirements, you might have figured out the secret to life. Or the secret to life with a toddler, at any rate.
