Babies come into the world as enlightened yogis, able to effortlessly stretch their tiny bodies into a variety of positions and with a mind that’s free of worry and stress – that’s the belief of Babeeta Chhabra, a pediatric occupational therapist who recently opened a yoga studio on Sixth Street.
Unfortunately, the world gets hold and changes us, she says.
“We get moulded by society, by our parents, by our school, and we lose that sense of being a carefree soul and having a stress-free mind and a disease-free body … with age that sense of being unconditionally loved is lost,” she says.
Chhabra combines her teachings in yoga, her work with children and her background in music and dance at her various yoga classes at the new studio, Nataraja Wellness Centre.
She has worked extensively with autistic children, through her role as an occupational therapist, and found that if she shared her yoga practice, it helped the children relax.
“I was constantly thinking of ways to just get them to relax, just so I could have a 30-second window of time where I could introduce a concept of numbers or animals or something where they are getting their basic education,” she says. “I realized when I made them breathe better, and do it in fun ways because I couldn’t get them to sit … I would just say take a balloon or just imitate it … or have them whistle.
“All of those ideas were coming, and I realized ‘Oh, my God, these children can really benefit from (this).’ This is what yoga is really about, and that’s what actually inspired me to become a yoga instructor, was because I wanted to help these kids.”
The youth classes are designed for ages five and up. Parents are welcome to attend the kids’ yoga classes, which makes yoga fun and easy to learn with the goal of increasing a child’s or teenager’s ability to focus and better perform in their life.
Along with yoga, the studio offers baby-massage lessons for parents who want to soothe their little one and enhance bonding.
But the new studio isn’t just for the little ones. Chhabra offers many classes for adults.
She offers two types of yoga: a traditional Sri Sri yoga, which integrates different paths of yoga and an array of breathing techniques, and a Natya yoga, which uses dancing techniques and breathing to rejuvenate the body.
“For me, my understanding with yoga, because of my connection with the arts, is that life is like a dance, and so everything that we do in life is embedding these aspects of movement, of grace, of joy,” Chhabra says explaining the significance of Natya.
Her love of East Indian classical dance inspired Chhabra to open the new studio.
“I love to dance, and so for me, bringing people to the same place of meditation through dance is a beautiful way, I think,” she says.
The dance yoga is beneficial for those who want to have a spiritual practice, but who dread the idea of sitting still to meditate.
“This is an option of saying, ‘OK, look there’s different ways to get yourself to that place,’” Chhabra says.
Nataraja Wellness Centre is located at 335 Sixth St. in New Westminster. For more information, visit www.natarajawellnesscentre.com.
