By Rita Zeidner
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, January 4, 2008

Amanda and Rebecca Weidman always liked watching their mother, Linda, move through her yoga routine at home. One moment she's folded in half like a teepee, the next she's on her hands and knees with her back arched like a cat.

But it's even more fun, the sisters agree, now that they know the poses themselves.

For the past several months, Amanda, 9, and Rebecca, 6, of the District have been learning basic yoga moves, known as asanas, with their mom at Circle Yoga in Chevy Chase. While many studios offer separate classes for adults and children, Circle is among a handful of local centers where families can take classes together.

During an eight-week session of weekly 45-minute classes, instructor Linda Feldman gently coaches the Weidmans and other families with kids ages 5 to 10 through poses with anthropomorphic names such as down dog (the teepee shape), tiger (on your hands and knees about to pounce) and crab (supporting your torso off the ground with your belly up).

Occasionally, Feldman throws in a partner move, such as the double tree pose, requiring grown-ups and kids to physically support each other while each balances on one leg. It's a tough move, made all the more challenging when parents and kids are overcome with giggles.

"I like spending time as a family and stretching so you won't get stiff when you get older," Amanda says. "It's sort of like playing."

In the past decade, yoga has become wildly popular with adults seeking to relax and to build strength, flexibility and improve balance. It's also catching on with youngsters. Researchers have found that even elementary school students can benefit.

The notion of families exercising together is a stretch from anything Linda Weidman, a lawyer, says she experienced growing up. Her parents encouraged her to participate in such sports as swimming and tennis, but they never joined in the fun.

"When I was a kid, the parent was the driver," she said. "The idea of them going swimming with me was just unheard of."

But family yoga classes aren't for everyone, says Susan Bowen, owner of Thrive Yoga in Rockville. She tried teaching multi-generational classes but switched to offering kids' and parents' classes at the same time but in different rooms.

"The bottom line is that yoga is a very different experience for children than for adults," she says.

Bowen, however, does welcome mature teens interested in attending adult classes with a parent.

Colm Lister, 16, and his mother, Pauliann Long, 47, are one such pair. Long, a Gaithersburg psychotherapist, had been doing yoga for about five years when Colm told her this fall that he'd like to join her. "I just love it," Colm says after a 90-minute session. "You do it in the morning, and it gets your mind working for the rest of the day."