Is yoga poTty training a thIng?

So how many different potty training sites, books, opinions can there possibly be on potty training?? They are everywhere. First of all, this is not one of them. This is a story about an unexpected potty training bonus to a new routine in an attempt to ease nap time.

Why yoga was started in the first Place

We have a very active four and a half year old boy sandwiched between two sisters. He needs a nap in the afternoon to make the evening less cranky, especially if we will be out a little later than usual. But getting his little body to wind down is a whole other story.

Nap time is almost always a fight. We have tried several discipline techniques and such but honestly that’s another story for another day. I thought maybe if he could learn to calm his body, that might help with nap.

After lunch one day we read a short devotional and then did some breathing exercises and a few yoga poses. It actually worked really well the first few days for his nap time. Now it’s not new so he has lost his attention span, but I’m not giving up yet. And this is partly why........

the siDe bonus to yoga

The baby, who is actually over two and close to three, has been working on potty training for awhile now. She has been interested and known when she needs to go for almost a year. I am a believer in potty training sooner than later. That’s just me and it’s worked fairly well so far.

She has had it down and been out of a pull up (except for nap and night time) since March. It could have been January probably or sooner, but I just hated to make others work with her in sitter situations. But oh well, we are here now.

One problem we have had though, is that I would put her down for a nap and she would sometimes go to sleep and sometimes poop in her pull up. But she would do it before she went to sleep and then talk and stay awake until I came in to check on her. Not even telling me she needed to go. Although other times of the day, if she needed to poop, she would tell me. Strange. Also, it didn’t matter what time she went down for nap or if she had just peed in the toilet, she would poop in the pull up. She isn’t an every day pooper so at least it was not every day. But still, enough.

I was close to going without a pull up at nap and hope she would tell me first and then go in the toilet. But then.......yoga happened. SO SO THANKFUL FOR YOGA!!!

here comes Yoga potty training

That first day we did the yoga before nap to help wind the Little Man down, she stood up from her downward dog pose and said she needed to poop. And she did. In. The. Toilet.

I thought at first it was a fluke. But then it happened again. And then again. She didn’t poop every day. But she didn’t before anyway. We are now two weeks into doing yoga before nap and she has pooped only once in her pull up. This is huge success!!

Tonight, I knew she needed to go but it just wasn’t happening. We did a “wind down” (that’s what we call it LOL!) in her room just before I put her down and after a few downward dogs, upward dogs and froggies (basically low squats 😉) she said she needed to poop. Woohoo!!! It worked again!

What’s your story?

Who would have thought yoga could get us over the hump of pooping at nap?! I just wanted to calm the Little Man down but I will take this extra bonus of potty training success. I am hopeful it is to stay. But as we know, parenting and potty training included is always evolving. So for today, I’ll take our successes and be thankful for what we have.

What random potty training stories do you have and want to share? What are some major victories?