Between getting to know and caring for a new baby, the last thing on a new mom's mind may be exercise. But instructors of a gentle form of yoga that incorporates the baby into the exercises say it's the perfect way for a mom to connect with her baby while easing back into a fitness regime.

Barrie Raffel, a 39-year-old yoga teacher and mother of 10-month-old Shane, heard about the class from a friend. The two started taking a Baby and Mom yoga class in New York City called "BabyOm" when Shane was 3 months old. "It was a way I knew I could get in a little yoga, while exposing it to him also," she says.

Raffel felt it not only provided physical exercise for both, but also helped encourage the two to bond. "Everything that you do with your baby helps you bond with him," she says.

According to Helen Garabedian, who teaches a class called "Baby-Yoga with Helen" in Boston, Mass., the word yoga means "to unite," and this form of yoga can do just that for the mom and baby.

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