Yoga for Prelinguistic Communication 67that is geared for toddlers and the early preschool years that could
be adapted and read to prelinguistic infants, especially those who
are intentional, is Rebecca Whitford’s Little Yoga: A Toddler’s First
Book of Yoga.
Summary
Caregiver-baby yoga practiced from about six weeks until the
end of the first year or when the baby becomes an independent
walker provides a context for prelinguistic development for both
the preintentional and intentional infant as well as for children
with neurodevelopmental challenges who are functioning at this
very early stage of speech-language development. In addition to
the benefits for the post-pregnancy mother in terms of returning
to her pre-pregnancy physical condition, she and the baby’s other
caretakers will have an opportunity to bond with the baby through
the various poses, songs, rhymes, and other practices described
in this chapter. In addition, the preintentional infant will have
an opportunity to engage with their caretaker in the context of
the baby yoga practice. The intentional prelinguistic child will be
able to practice some gestures and turn-taking while engaging
with his caregiver in yoga. Finally, the infant will be exposed to
language in the context of the predictability and repetitiveness
of the yoga routines, which will map words to meaning to aid
comprehension. All of this happens while both caregivers and
their children share special time together. The resource tables
in Appendices 2–8 of this book contain information on yoga
books, card decks, games, CDs, DVDs, and websites to enhance
prelinguistic communication development in children.