If you don’t already practice yoga, you may want to consider working the practice into your daily routine. I know several moms who say that yoga “saved their lives”. They stumbled upon it early on in their mothering years and reaped significant benefits from it. Yoga is a discipline known to foster physical, spiritual, and mental growth. Today, there are various forms of the practice, and it is easy to find one that suits your needs and abilities. Below are some of the reasons why I believe yoga is great for moms.

You can practice yoga at home. It is difficult for many moms to get out to a class at a gym or yoga studio, but you can do yoga when your children are taking a nap or before they wake up in the morning.

A quick 20-minute routine will still afford you the benefits and provide a good workout. For some, following a DVD (and there are many out there) makes it easier to follow through with the workout. Others like to create their own yoga routine.

I believe the benefits of yoga are especially useful to moms. Yoga is a great release for stress. Doing yoga in the morning before your children wake up will help you start the day with a calm and peaceful state of mind. You will also notice an increase of energy that will last throughout the day.

One stepping stone on the pathway to health leads to another. When you decide to make yoga a part of your daily routine and commit that small amount of time to yourSelf, you will notice that other healthy choices will follow. You may begin to change your eating habits, increase your yoga or exercise time, and start incorporating other healthy choices into your life.

When your children are older (even beginning in the toddler years), they can practice with you. Yoga is a great tool to teach children and will help them balance emotions, stay fit, and provide them with a sense of responsibility for their own self-care.

Speaking of self-care – that should be top on any mom’s priority list, yet it’s usually at the very bottom. Committing to a yoga practice is a great way to take care of your Self. Not only will you benefit from this – but your children will as well. Taking care of yourself better is, basically, taking care of your children better.

Yoga can be done spontaneously. If you have to skip your morning routine, you can squeeze it in later in the day. If the tension is high in your household, you can use yoga skills to bring back the calm – both, for you and your children. The breath in yoga is just as important as the physical movement, and you and your family can utilize breath to get through chaotic moments.

Yoga is an easy exercise to get started with and comes with so many rewards. Most libraries have videos or DVD’s, making it easy to try before making a financial commitment to it. There are also books that provide thorough diagrams of the various poses. If you don’t currently practice yoga, you may want to consider giving it a shot!