A mother and daughter’s story of yoga – and food

EkhartYoga member, Patricia, shares how she and her 8 year old daughter Sofia found yoga, plus Sofia's yummy banana peanut butter sandwich recipe!

kids recipe

When it all began…

My yoga journey began when I first started medical school, 6 years ago. I was a new mother at the time to my 2-year-old daughter Sofia, and in search of some serious stress management. I wanted some kind of exercise I could do at home and one that would not only benefit my body but also my mind. My husband was the one who actually recommended we start a yoga program so the search was on. It didn’t take long to stumble across Esther’s YouTube channel at the time and after the first class we were both hooked. There was a certain calmness and serenity about Esther’s classes that really resonated with me.

There was a certain calmness and serenity about Esther’s classes that really resonated with me.

Through the years my practice has changed and evolved and even through the times when I felt like I “fell off the yoga wagon” something has always pulled me back. My body is not the most flexible and I’ve struggled to learn and accept my limitations. That acceptance, on and especially off the mat, is one of the greatest benefits I attribute to my yoga practice.

How my daughter got involved

My daughter Sofia is now 8 years old and has been doing yoga with me since the beginning. At first she copied my poses during the videos I was doing, trying to crawl through my Downward Dog. But as she got older she started taking yoga a lot more seriously. She does classes all on her own sometimes and even meditation videos to help her with her emotions. She has even recorded a few yoga videos to teach other children some of the yoga poses she knows, as well as some new ones she made up!

Sofia’s words

This is what Sofia has to say about her experience with yoga:

kids yoga

I started doing yoga when I was very little but I don’t really remember it. I always liked that yoga videos had a story and taught us to be kind and nice to everyone. Last year I started doing acro yoga with my dad and my younger brother Phoenix. I love how fun and stretchy acro yoga is. We made up some of our own postures like humpback whale and the hermit crab. Yoga has helped my relationship with my family by giving us time together to do something we love. Yoga helps me deal with times when I am angry and to remind me to shake out a smile. I think I will still do yoga when I grow up because I think it will help me figure out some of the secrets about myself that I don’t understand.”

I will still do yoga when I grow up because I think it will help me figure out some of the secrets about myself that I don’t understand.

Sofia often practises with me, either regular classes or the kids’ acro yoga videos and she really wanted to share a recipe with the other EkhartYoga children out there. 

Sofia’s Banana Peanut Butter Sandwiches

This is a quick, delicious and healthy snack or breakfast. It’s also great for building acro yoga muscles!

Ingredients:

1 banana, 10 strawberries, 1/2 cup of nut butter (we used peanut butter)

Instructions:

  • Wash the bananas and strawberries well.
  • Cut the banana into small slices with the peel on (because it’s sometimes easier than peeling it).
  • Cut the strawberries into 2-3 slices each.
  • Put a teaspoon of peanut butter between one piece of banana and strawberry and put it all together and voila!
kids yoga

Kids yoga on EkhartYoga! 

From baby yoga through to yoga for teenagers, browse our Kids Yoga classes (EkhartYoga members only).

About the author:

Patricia Smuga is a mother of three, an animal lover and passionate activist, who spent the majority of the last decade studying medicine. Her first encounter with yoga was years ago with Esther Ekhart via her YouTube videos and she has been a dedicated EkhartYogi ever since. Patricia lives in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia with her family and their two rescue dogs and dedicates her time to educating people about the benefits of a healthy plant-based diet and living in harmony with the fellow beings who share our planet. Visit her website Cici Kitchen 

Share article
EkhartYoga Written by one of the EkhartYoga staff or guest writers. A dedicated team of yoga teachers, yoga students, anatomy geeks, and recipe creators.