Over the years of learning and embodying the teachings of yoga since 2008 , today, as a yoga teacher and practitioner, I’ve grown to have a better understanding of how yoga has helped, my journey of being a parent. It has brought me a great perspective of understanding the evolvement from an infant to a beautiful being of joy. The influence and ambience that parents could provide and nurturing them from young brings a tremendous influence on the growth of a child. It is just like how we sow a seed of a plant. We take care of the soil, the ambience and the rest we can leave it to mother nature.

The reason for the creation of ‘amae yoga’ is to express how  important is ‘bonding’ between a child and parents. The word ‘amae’ is used as a term to express analytically the way of being of  a person attempting to attain full attention from an authority  person, such as parent, to take care of one. This concept of ‘amae’ received international attention after the publication of a book called ‘The Anatomy of Dependence’ by Takeo Doi in 1971.          

Doi says, “The psychological prototype of ‘amae’ lies in the psychology of the infant in its relationship to its mother; not a newborn infant, but an infant who has already realised that its mother exists independently of itself…[A]s its mind develops it gradually realises that itself and its mother are independent existences, and comes to feel the mother as something indispensable to itself, it is craving for close contact thus developed that constitutes, one might say, amae.” 

We have designed a compilation of activities that a child and parent(s) can do with together, spending time nurturing relationship in terms of ‘bonding’, ‘interdependance’, ‘connection’, ‘love’ in relation to yoga. I hope you would find it beneficial to you and your child.

Much love, Carrin,