Yoga Babies

There’s still time to join the free catch up class this morning in Heavitree, for anyone who missed a session at either of my classes this term. Message me if you’d like to come 😊

I have a brand new new Yoga Babies class starting in Heavitree on Thursday. It’s 10.30-11.30, for 4 weeks and there are a couple of spaces left. The classes are a mix of gentle yoga, baby stretches and interactive yoga. We cover techniques like relaxed holding and carrying to protect your back and wrists, ways to calm your babies, how to promote good sleep and yes, how to hold them upside down! I’ve been teaching these classes for 18 years in Exeter and you can find out more about me and the studio at Nikkiehuddartyoga.co.uk. If you like more information or to book, send me a message 😊

An amazing turnout for Yoga Babies in the park, which raised over £40 for Free Gaza Circus. Thank you so much for coming along and sharing some yoga with me. I created the Yoga Babies classes 19 years ago and they’ve been running ever since! Most of the songs and rhymes were made up by me, practising on my own babies. These classes are so close to my heart and there are still a couple of spaces left in the new Thursday class in Heavitree, starting on 26th September. If you’d like to join, send me a message. More sessions in the park from next spring x

It’s time to take Yoga Babies on the road! I’m offering a Yoga Babies session, open to everyone, in Heavitree Park on Tuesday 27th August, 11-12. It’ll be all the usual Yoga Babies yoga, songs and stretches, but outside. If you like, you can bring a picnic and stay after for a chat. There’s also the wonderful Park Cafe for coffee before or after - or both! I’m asking for a donation of £3, which I’ll donate to Free Gaza Circus, a charity who risk their lives to bring some joy to children living in refugee camps in Gaza. If you would like to come, please send me a message, or comment here. I’d love to see you there 😊

Babies and children are always welcome at Park Yoga! Because the classes are outside and free, with no booking required, you can turn up and see how long your little ones last. Bring a mat, or towel to practise on and if you’d like to try it out, it’s 10-11 starting Sunday 5th May and then every Sunday until September 😊

Holistic Baby Sleep workshop coming up at The Baby Room on Thursday 14th March. This is not sleep training. It’s about understanding your baby’s sleep patterns, talking through your approach to sleep, and beginning to create a gentle, responsive plan which respects all of your family’s needs. We’ll discuss unhelpful messages about and expectations of sleep, explore evidence based research and validate your approach, in a supportive, non judgemental and inclusive space. With tea and cake, obviously 😀 If you’d like to join, the session is £12 and you can book through me. Do get in touch with any questions.

This is the kind of thing we'll be doing at the Creative Writing for beginners workshop this Thursday, 1-2.30 at The Baby Room, where you can come and explore writing, with your babies alongside. There'll be a whole range of activities to try out. If you'd like to book, just let me know. The workshop is £10, with tea and homemade cake and follow up feedback on your writing if you'd like 😊

I've got a Creative Writing for Fun workshop coming up next Thursday 29th February at The Baby Room, from 1-2.30. Although most of you on here know me as a yoga teacher, for as long as I've been teaching yoga - longer in fact, I've been writing and teaching Creative Writing. In fact, writing has been a part of my life as soon as I learnt how to make up stories. I remember, when I had my children, desperately longing for some writing time, which never came. I would have loved a workshop where they'd be welcome too. So here's one where you can bring your babies if you have them, or come without. If you don't have babies or toddlers, don't let that hold you back! I’ll provide a focus and writing prompts for each session, some guidance, some feedback if you’d like it, some tea and cake and a chance to free up your creativity and play around with some writing. I'm aiming this at complete beginners, but it's suitable if you have experience too. If you’d like to come, get in touch and we’ll spend an hour or so writing alongside the business of babying.

Still a couple of spaces for this Thursday's Postnatal Yoga and Sleep workshop at The Baby Room Exeter.

If you're looking for an hour of postnatal yoga, breathwork and relaxation, focused on restoring strength and releasing tension from your body and mind, followed by tea and cake and a chat about the holistic approach to baby sleep, with your questions answered, get in touch. We'll also look at functional strength and safe techniques for carrying and holding your babies. I'm a postnatal specialist with 18 years experience of teaching postnatal yoga and meditation and a holistic sleep coach. My approach to the postnatal period is to address the challenges we face, to nurture your parenting instincts and to emphasise the joy in this always changing and unpredictable, beautiful adventure. This workshop is baby friendly, as always, and they will be welcomed and adored, but it is more focused on grown up yoga. If you'd like to book, the workshop is Thursday 8th Feb, 1-2.30 and it's £12. Message me here, on at [email protected]

It’s workshop season and I’ve got a few coming up at the lovely Baby Room in the next couple of months. All workshops are open to all abilities and experience and are designed to nurture and support your parenting adventure. I’m always very happy to chat if you have any questions or would like to book. Send me a message on here, email on [email protected], and sign up for the newsletter at nikkiehuddart.co.uk to keep in touch.

We’ve just started the year with full Yoga Babies classes. These classes have been running for a long time now, since my own children were babies, and they’re an absolute source of joy in my life 💜 If you missed out on booking, I have a Postnatal Yoga and Baby sleep workshop running at The Baby Room on Thursday 8th February, where we’ll get into relieving stress in shoulders and backs and strengthening core and pelvic floor. You can definitely bring your babies, but the focus for this workshop will be nurturing yoga for you. If you’re interested, send me a message 😊

I’ve decided to try something new. Some of you may know me as a yoga teacher and baby sleep coach, but for the last ten years or so, I’ve also been a Creative Writing teacher at Exeter College. In fact, writing has been a part of my life as soon as I learnt how to make up stories. I remember, when I had my children, desperately longing for some writing time, which never came. Sometimes I could carve out ten minutes, while they ate breakfast, just to write some ideas down, but most of the time I was carrying lines round in my head, while I walked around and they never got onto paper. So I’ve decided to try a bit of an experiment: Creative Writing Workshops where you can bring your babies. I’ll provide a focus and writing prompts for each session, some guidance, some feedback if you’d like it, some tea and cake and a chance to free your creativity into something different. I find this kind of writing magical – just the process of exploring and playing and letting your imagination take you to places you didn’t know existed. If you’d like to come and spend an hour or so trying something new, please contact me. You don’t need any experience at all to try it out. You’re also welcome to come without babies, but we’ll write alongside the business of babying. The first workshop is in a couple of weeks at The Baby Room Exeter, on Thursday 9th November, 1.30-3pm and the focus will be on Freeing your Creativity. I'd love to see you there! Contact me on here or at [email protected] to book.

Should my baby be sleeping through the night?
Should I put them down to sleep?
Is it ok to feed to sleep?
When should they sleep in their own room?
Is it ok to bed share and how do I do it safely?
How do I set up a floorbed and why would I?

These are some of the questions I’ve been asked at sleep workshops. With such a lot of information out there, sometimes it’s hard to know what is actually based on research (a lot of it isn’t) and what is going to work for you and your baby. These sleep workshops are a space for you to discuss your challenges and successes. The emphasis is always on a holistic, gentle and respectful approach, with support for your choices. Each of these workshops is stand alone and responsive to the group. They’re open to all babies from 3-12 months. You can ask questions in advance, so each one is tailored to the group. You can expect:

• Discussion of some common sleep myths
• Reassurance that what works for other people may not be the approach you need
• Support for your own approach
• Discussion of your own challenges and things you’d like to change
• Gentle sleep techniques and strategies
• Tea and cake
• A judgement free space

These are upcoming dates for Baby sleep support workshops. To book or for more information, please email me at [email protected] or through my website at Nikkiehuddart.co.uk, where you can sign up for the newsletter too! If you’re looking for workshops for 12-24 months, do get in touch, as there are more coming up.

All workshops are at The Baby Room, on Thursdays, 1.30-3pm and are £10 each

Thanks to Hummingbird's Photography for the gorgeous photo

I’m running some holistic sleep workshops at The Baby Room, on Thursdays, from 1.30-3pm. These workshops are an alternative to sleep training and cry it out methods. We’ll look at challenges, gentle and respectful techniques and tips for helping you and your baby to get more restful sleep. The cost for each stand alone workshop is £10 and the first one is on October 26th. Spaces are limited, so do get in touch if you’d like to book or to ask anything. You’ll be able to submit questions in advance and talk it all through over coffee and cake 😊

If you're looking for gentle sleep tips and techniques, without the sleep training, I'm running a few workshops at The Baby Room, on Thursdays, 1.30-3pm. The first one is on Thursday 26th October and the cost is £10. Spaces are limited so that everyone has a space to speak and ask questions. We'll put some common sleep myths to bed, have tea and cake and support each other. You can submit your questions and challenges in advance for me to answer on the day. There are a few spaces left for the first one, so drop me a comment here, or email me at yogawithnikkie@gmail. com. There's more information about me and what I do at Nikkiehuddart.co.uk 😊

There’s a general idea that babies should be sleeping through the night from about 6 months. There’s no research to back this idea up. In fact, it’s one of the many myths about baby sleep. A study in 2020 found that only 6% of 6 month olds sleep for a straight 6 hours three or more times a week. So, not even every night, not consistently. Night time waking is normal. Not easy, but normal. There’s nothing wrong with you and there’s nothing wrong with your baby.

These sleep myths abound out there and make us feel bad about normal infant behaviour. Babies need support during the night. It’s absolutely fine to respond to your baby’s needs. There are also things you can do to help yourself and your baby sleep more soundly and gently at night without sleep training or trying to fit them into a schedule that was never designed for a baby.

For some gentle, responsive, evidence based approaches to baby sleep and a space to bring your questions and challenges, I'm running some Baby Sleep Workshops over the next few months. If you'd like to book, then contact me on here or email me at [email protected]. Workshops are £10 each and all from 1.30-3pm at The Baby Room Exeter on these dates:

Thursday 26th October
Thursday 11th January 2024
Thursday 14th March 2024.

If you can't wait, then I also offer individual sleep support - do get in touch.

A full studio of gorgeous babies last week at Yoga Babies 💜 and my own original yoga baby turned up to help out.

I’m running this workshop in a couple of weeks at the Baby Room. It’s open to anyone who’d like to explore their story. Absolutely no writing experience is required. I’ve been a creative writing teacher for as long as I’ve been working in the postnatal world, so I’m very excited about bringing them together. We’ll be exploring different ways to tell your story, to explore your experience and tell it in your own voice, the parts that may have been challenging and the parts that may have been joyful. My approach is exploratory, creative and playful. If you’re interested, I’d love to chat to you. Message me on here, or email at [email protected].

The next course of Yoga Babies starts this Wednesday 4th January, at the Exeter Yoga Workshop, and runs for six weeks. Book your space at exeteryoga.co.uk and learn techniques for calming, energising, promoting restful sleep and postnatal recovery too. These classes have been going a long time and they are always an absolute joy to run. Hope to see you there 😊