Health and fitness are key to our well being and quality of life – and it’s never too early to start! My Gym is a new baby and children’s fitness center that has opened in Bandra. The state-of-the-art facilities are perfect for letting your children run around and explore all types of fun activities. Living in a city, it’s hard to find clean and spacious outdoor playgrounds (where you would feel comfortable taking your baby) – and that’s just going to become more true with monsoon season about to start!
By baby gym, I do not mean they are lifting weights or on treadmills. 😉 This is more of constructed playtime. The activities are focused on helping babies and kids develop physically, cognitively and emotionally. We at Team MissMalini thought it would be interesting to track this development, and I’ve enrolled my daughter Veda at just 9 Months old. My Gym offers classes for babies as young as 6 weeks old, and for children up to 13 years of age.
During our first session, Veda was all smiles. The class started with some free playtime to get the babies comfortable with their new environment. Then, following proper gym protocol, we did some stretching. As you can see, some of these “workouts” were very fun (mommies had a little arm workout too)! Jamin was our instructor for the class and I found him to be very friendly and encouraging. Yashica was also there to help and was wonderful with the babies.
After the stretches, we did a little singing and dancing. This was followed by some free time to explore the gym while the staff set up the next activity. I took Veda on the trampoline and then we “hung out.”
The staff had created a little maze, that Veda immediately went to explore. I think this is a great way to develop her spatial recognition. I then placed her in a sled and pulled her through the other direction. I think this was some more Mommy workout. 😉
Veda’s favorite activity was the swings. My Gym uses safe and sturdy plastic swings that hang from the ceiling. While the babies would swing, the staff would blow bubbles, providing lots of happy stimulation!
To get the babies active again, we had a crawling race! It was really cute to see the babies crawling towards their moms and the toys (although Veda went to another mom).
Finally, it was time to wind down. All the babies were gathered back in the play circle for a little puppet show and song. What’s not to love about a cute fuzzy penguin?!
Veda really had a great time and took such a great nap after! My Gym has geared the classes to allow children to have fun while they gain strength, flexibility, coordination, balance and confidence. Though there is only one structured class per week, members have access to 5 other Play and Practice sessions. For class schedules and further information, please visit My Gym.
Veda is currently crawling and standing up with support. She was a bit hesitant with the handlebars and the trampoline. Lets see how she is doing after the next few sessions. Stay tuned!