Baby Massage and Movement, Music & Sensory classes for the tiny humans in your lives. I am a fully qualified instructor, offering small group classes and private one-to-one sessions in Worthing, Angmering and surrounding areas in West Sussex.
About
Hi, I'm Karen Goodwin, Certified Baby Massage and Baby Yoga Instructor.
Having spent a number of years teaching and taking the safeguarding lead in West Sussex schools, I became a mum to our first daughter in 2018. After Lily was born I struggled somewhat to find ‘my village’, especially having recently moved to Hampshire with my husband, a firefighter with the RAF, who was then posted to the Falklands for several months.
I joined a baby massage class which gave me more confidence in touching & handling my first-born and the chance to go out into the world to be with kindred spirits. Parenting a new born can be a lonely time too, but these classes gave me the chance to meet and connect with other 'new parents’ who, like me, were a bit sleep deprived, smelt vaguely of baby milk, and were happy to admit that being a parent was hard work... but amazing!
When I had the opportunity to train and become a Baby Massage & Baby Yoga instructor, through Hands on Babies (certified by The Royal College of Midwives), I jumped at the chance.
I hoping you'll find that I am very friendly, open and approachable. We all know that parenting can be challenging at times, but it helps when we can all smile and laugh together.
Baby Massage
Baby Massage is a centuries old tradition that provides both parent and baby with significant benefits.
Improves relaxation, encouraging longer sleep duration for infants
Relaxes both parent and child
Helps strengthen the bond between parents and baby
Can help relieve the effects of colic, teething, constipation and wind
Stimulates all of a baby's major systems: co-ordination, respiration, digestion, learning ability and language development
Baby Yoga
5 reasons why babies make natural yogis are:
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Babies prefer to breathe through their nose
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Babies are only concerned with the present moment
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Babies love unconditionally
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Babies practice non-violence
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Babies practice yoga postures naturally as part of their development
All of these behaviours and principles are just like yogis
(Helen Garabedian - Author Itsy Bitsy Yoga)
Baby yoga is not “yoga” in the traditional sense. Baby yoga uses various positions, poses, moves and stretches to help promote wellbeing and enhance baby's development, deepening the parent-infant bond through nurturing touch.
Baby Yoga helps to build trust and understanding, enhances communication and builds confidence, as both mum and baby get to know each other. This promotes a feeling of security, as baby becomes accustomed to mum’s touch, voice and smell. Baby yoga helps to release tension, is relaxing, calming and can be quite a lot of fun. It supports baby’s physical, emotional and mental development.
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Frequently asked questions..
Classes
Baby Massage: for babies 6/8 weeks to Crawling
Class Size: max of 8
Duration: 5 weeks (45 min classes)
Cost: £45
A quiet, relaxing and baby-led 5 week course of baby massage in a small group setting with a qualified instructor. Each week you will learn to massage a different part of baby, starting with the legs and moving on to the tummy, chest/arms/hands, head/face and back. The first session will start with about 20 minutes of massage, to make sure we do not overstimulate and to get baby used to it. This will increase each week as we add to the routine and cover different parts of the body. By the end of the 5 week course you will have a full routine, with strokes for all parts of the body. A complimentary small bottle of massage oil* will be provided, as well as a handout showing all the new strokes covered each week to help you practise at home. (*please do feel free to bring your own massage oil, I recommend a patch test for any new products used on you and baby).
Your touch and voice are like magic to your baby so I encourage you to use both during these sessions - there may be some singing (this will not be mandatory but I’d rather not show off how tone deaf I am alone!).
The benefits of Baby Massage are numerous, but this class will provide you with: the time and opportunity to bond with each other, helping to improve sleep, gaining confidence in handling your baby, aiding relaxation, connecting with other new parents/carers, helping to relieve some of the effects of wind, colic, teething and constipation, whilst practising nurturing touch.
Baby Senses - Movement, Music & Sensory:
for babies 4 months to Toddling
Class Size: maximum of 10
Duration: 5 weeks (45 min classes)
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A fun, yet relaxing 5 week course which incorporates gentle movements and stretching, alongside traditional nursery rhymes and popular children's music, with sensory play and exploration. This class provides interactive sessions for both you and your baby, which reinforces your connection with each other, whilst supporting their development. There will be puppets, musical instruments, sensory items, parachutes, bubbles, lights and a lot of music!
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There are many benefits to movement, music and sensory classes. Babies start to recognise their parent's voice during pregnancy, that’s why singing to babies from early on can be a great way to bond with them. Nursery rhymes introduce babies to language and the repetition in many of these songs helps to support their language development.
Singing songs with actions is also a great way for babies to develop their motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The use of puppets in this class will help increase attention span, as well as support their social and emotional development. Sensory play is an important way that babies first get to know and explore the world around them, as well as, providing a great social environment for both mums and dads to enjoy with their baby!
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Where we are and contact info..