When Helen Garabedian says, ''Babies are born breathing," she's not just stating the obvious. She's referring to the correct breathing of yoga, breathing through the nose and into the belly instead of the shallow mouth-breathing often seen in stressed-out parents.

And when Garabedian, a certified yoga instructor and infant developmental movement educator, says, ''Babies live in the present," she's referring to the way babies are concerned with the here and now -- enjoying their happiness, feeling their hunger, focusing on the toy just out of reach -- instead of fretting over the disgusting peas they had for lunch yesterday or worrying what to wear for tomorrow's play date.

So one has to wonder -- is Garabedian's Itsy Bitsy Yoga program, now out in book form, for the babies or the parents?

''Parents are able to learn from doing yoga with babies," said Garabedian of Sudbury, whose book, ''Itsy Bitsy Yoga: Poses to Help Your Baby Sleep Longer, Digest Better, and Grow Stronger" (Simon & Schuster, 2004), has just been released.

Practicing special yoga poses Garabedian designed with a baby's delicate spine in mind helps parents slow down and connect with their young ones on a deep level, says the author, who grew up in Ashland. Through the Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes she teaches in Marlborough and Wellesley, Garabedian has observed parents focusing on their infants and toddlers, noticing little details about their personalities or the way they move, she said.

''Yoga gives them time to dedicate to the baby, where there are no cellphones and no laundry," she said.

Garabedian, who is expecting her first child, said parents of toddlers report they use the yoga positions or the songs and games they've learned in class to distract their children from negative behavior and redirect it into positive behavior. Most importantly, she said, yoga helps the parent and child connect on a level where the parent can ''meet the child where he is."

''If parents are aware of their little ones, they can see who they are rather than who they want them to be," she said.

Garabedian will present a workshop and book signing at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Borders Books in Framingham.

By Cate Coulacos Prato
©Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.