Daddy & Me Yoga at Yogi Beans

Editor’s note: Last week, several dads (including myself) were treated to an unusual parent & me experience with YOGI Beans– a yoga class designed specifically to immerse our little ones into learning some yoga poses and moving around to music while bonding with their parents! It was a real blast! Below is a guest blog post from Romeo Wasinowicz, a new member to our community, describing his experience with Yogi Beans – L.S.

Hi, I’m Romeo Wasinowicz, a fan and member of NYC Dads Group.  I’m originally from Scotland and while touring the USA, met my lovely bride, and now we have a beautiful Daughter Scarlett Anne.   I won’t bore you all with my profession, but will say that being a dad and looking after my daughter is the most fulfilling moments of my life.

Last week, I went to one of the NYC Dads Group meet-up events.  The event was a Yogi Beans, Daddy & Me Yoga class –  basically an intro to Yoga for kids but in a fun & engaging way. Yogi Beans (Beans: term for our little ones) offers all types of Parent & Me yoga classes and was extremely father friendly.  Though I found my 2 year old daughter distracted occasionally, looking out the window or checking out the butterfly artwork on the walls, I felt the instructor was quick and patient to recognize the need to involve all of the children.  My daughter was slowly following some never before moves – downward dog, the “Owl”, and the butterfly – which I found to be quite impressive!  I will say that you do have to be involved with the lesson and model some of the position technique for your child, so having a meaningful chat with the other dads was not on the agenda as it has been with other recent events.

The staff was very friendly, energetic, and nurturing and Yogi Beans’ new Upper East Side  location, though on the 2nd floor (room for strollers in a secured area on the 1st floor ) was very clean, bright, and spacious.

The Class lasted 45 minutes and seemed to be just about right as some of the kids were getting tired near the end, especially my daughter. Fortunately, the instructor finished with a foot rub for all of the children and they seemed to truly enjoy that experience.  I would certainly consider going back again, and feel though my 2 year old was not concentrating on the entire lesson ( Which most 2 year-olds do) a visit of once or twice a month would be sufficient.

Most importantly, the best thing about today was saying hi to the other dads.  Even though it’s only my 4th meet-up, I feel that I have a support group who share my experiences and challenges as a stay at home dad.