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NORTH ATTLEBORO - There's cooing, lilting sing-song and a little chatter in between the simple yoga stretches - and that's from the handful of women gathered in the circle, not their tiny charges.

The women - mothers and grandmothers - along with the infants, are participants in the Baby Itsy Bitsy Yoga class at the Hockomock Area YMCA in North Attleboro.

Who else but on infants with their chubby little thighs can you perform the "chunky monkey" exercise? (That's where the adult touches the infant's tiny hand to its thigh.)

The classes are part of a program started in 1999 by Helen Garabedian, an infant developmental movement educator and yoga teacher from Massachusetts, that includes yoga poses and techniques for babies from birth to four years old, according to the program's Web site.

The babies in this class range from 3 1/2 to 7 months old. Katie Lieberman, who leads the 8-week class in North Attleboro, as well as a class at the Franklin branch on Tuesdays, said she was taught by Garabedian and has been certified and teaching the infant yoga classes for about 1 1/2 years. She said it was a "natural progression" for her after having two children, starting prenatal yoga after the birth of her first.

Babies are placed in various yoga positions on their backs, tummies or while held in adult hands or arms. Meanwhile, the adults are also getting in some stretching. There's also the socialization aspect, for both the babies and the women.

"She likes to look at other babies," said first-time mom Marcy Zipke of North Attleboro attending with her 4 1/2-month-old daughter Brooklyn.

"My back hurts constantly" from carrying the baby, "so I love to come here and stretch," Zipke said following the class.

During one exercise, the women sit in a circle and through a series of movements, place the babies on their knees with the infants facing the baby to one side and then the baby on the other.

In another exercise, the women get on all fours with their faces over the babies, they rise onto their toes and stretch by looking behind them. Then there's a "peek-a-boo" as they return to look at the babies and snuggle faces and kisses as the women return to their original positions.

Jennifer Maxwell of Plainville and her 7-month-old daughter Lydia seem to be having a good time - Lydia, who prefers to stand, draws the attention of two younger infants on either side of her and is full of smiles.

The class gives the two of them a chance to bond, said Maxwell, noting she has other children at home. "It's our quiet time."

Maxwell has been taking yoga classes with Lieberman for awhile, and now her daughter "loves it," she said of the baby yoga class. "She sleeps very well after this class."

Chase McDonald is there with his "Nana" Susan, who takes care of him every Friday. It's her first experience with yoga and the class. "It's very rewarding to be able to interact with him" and just as importantly, that there's another grandmother in the class who can relate, she said.

"Mostly, it's my time to spend with Chase," said McDonald who drives from Methuen to Mansfield to be with her grandson.

"I guess, with your first grandson, you'll do almost anything."

Linda Thomas, "Nana" to 5-month-old Thomas Constantine of Franklin, said she likewise considers it as time to spend with her grandson who she cares for three times a week. "It's a nice socialization and bonding" experience, said Thomas who takes regular yoga classes.

"He's not around a lot of other babies with the grandparents," she said. In the classes, she, too, can meet other caregivers.

There are some tiny smiles as the women "swing" the babies through their legs and then rock them back and forth in their laps in another exercise. Each exercise is accompanied by a little tune or sound.

In between, two babies are ready for feeding breaks.

"I try to make moms (and caregivers) feel comfortable about taking breaks," whether for a feeding or diaper changes, said Lieberman, noting the sessions typically run 45 minutes to an hour. She will be offering the class at the Foxboro branch of the Hockomock starting in January.

The classes, she said, offer some yoga positions for mothers and caregivers, can help babies to sleep better and supports their development as well as offer some quiet time and precious moments with the infants. "It's a time to socialize and bond and make great memories."

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.