skip navigation
Alpha Gymnastics

Born to Move 
Infant Development

Why Join Born to Move Class?

For babies 3 months to beginning walking (up to 14 months)

Unlock your baby’s full potential during their most formative months with a joyful, movement-based experience that strengthens both body and brain. Born to Move is a research-backed program designed to support critical developmental milestones through music, movement, and meaningful caregiver connection.

Rooted in neuroscience and early childhood development, this class offers more than just playtime — it provides a strategic foundation for a lifetime of learning, physical agility, emotional resilience, and deep human connection.

Move to Learn, Play to Grow™

Why Movement Matters

  • Movement is the gateway to learning during the first four years of life because sensorimotor and social development come before language and logic skills.

  • The Nurturing Pathways® Program is based on scientific research highlighting the brain-body connection.

  • The curriculum targets age-appropriate learning and growth, supporting cognitive, physical, sensory, and social-emotional development while also offering parent education.

What the Curriculum Includes

The Nurturing Pathways® Curriculum provides every component the developing brain and body needs in the early years:

  • Rhymes & chants to develop language and rhythm

  • Free exploration to encourage self-expression

  • Musical instruments to build musical intelligence

  • Partner activities to strengthen social-emotional awareness

  • Skill-building exercises to improve gross motor development

  • Obstacle courses to support motor planning and sequencing

  • Relaxation time to promote integration and recovery

Desired Outcomes — Babies Will:

  • Enjoy tummy time — without tears

  • Build strength and coordination, setting the stage for life

  • Develop motor planning and problem-solving skills

  • Master key gross motor milestones

  • Bond deeply with caregivers

  • Expand musical intelligence

  • Create early confidence and connection for social-emotional intelligence

  • Develop full sensory integration

  • Fall in love with movement, music, and language — during the most impactful stage of development

Every moment in this class is intentionally crafted to nourish your child’s whole-brain development, emotional intelligence, and lifelong love of learning.
Whether you're a first-time parent or an experienced caregiver, Born to Move is the transformational beginning your baby deserves.

Contact Us For Our Class Schedule

425-486-7429
If you are interested in a free trial or enrolling, you must email info@alphagymnasticswa.com AND register below. 

Proprioception: How Babies Learn Where Their Body Is

Babies learn through movement and touch — and through proprioception.

Proprioception is the body’s internal sense of where it is in space. In Born to Move at Alpha Gymnastics, babies build proprioceptive awareness through activities like rolling, pushing, pulling, climbing, and gentle weight-bearing. These movements help babies develop coordination, strength, and body control.

This sensory foundation supports balance, focus, and confidence as babies grow and explore new skills.

Designed for babies 3 months to walking age (up to 14 months), this research-based class uses joyful movement to build strong foundations for growth.

Why Vestibular Development Matters in the First Year

Before babies talk, they learn through movement.

Born to Move at Alpha Gymnastics is a research-based infant development class for babies 3 months to walking age (up to 14 months). Through music, guided movement, and caregiver participation, this class supports vestibular development, early brain growth, motor skills, and parent-child bonding.

By safely engaging the vestibular system, babies build balance, coordination, body awareness, and readiness for learning — all through joyful movement.

Move to Learn. Play to Grow.™

Touch Is One of Baby’s First Teachers

Touch plays a powerful role in how babies learn.

In Born to Move, babies explore textures, surfaces, and movement in a safe, guided environment with their caregiver nearby. These sensory experiences support brain development, body awareness, and emotional regulation.

Designed for babies 3 months to walking age (up to 14 months), this class builds a strong foundation for future coordination and learning.

Move to Learn. Play to Grow.™

Learning in Motion: Kinesthetic Development

Babies learn by moving.

Kinesthesia — the body’s sense of movement and position — plays a critical role in early brain development. In Born to Move, babies build body awareness, coordination, and confidence through rolling, reaching, balancing, and changing positions.

Designed for babies 3 months to walking age (up to 14 months), this research-based class uses joyful movement to build strong foundations for growth.

Motor Patterns: Building the Foundation for Movement

Motor patterns are the building blocks of every skill babies learn.

In Born to Move at Alpha Gymnastics, babies develop foundational movement patterns such as rolling, crawling, reaching, pulling, pushing, and stepping. These patterns support coordination, strength, and body control — and they form the base for later skills like running, jumping, and sports.

This research-based class uses guided movement, music, and caregiver participation to help babies practice these essential patterns in a fun and supportive environment.

Designed for babies 3 months to walking age (up to 14 months), Born to Move builds the foundation for confident movement and lifelong learning.

OUR CERTIFIED TEAM OF COACHES

Brandi Smith 

Brandi Smith, PT, FAAOMPT, OCS, is the creator of the Born to Move program and a former collegiate national champion gymnast with over 15 years of experience treating young athletes. As a board-certified orthopedic specialist and international sport science educator, Brandi takes a holistic, empowering approach to injury prevention, recovery, and performance. Her mission is to help gymnasts, dancers, cheerleaders, and youth athletes understand and own their bodies, building strength, resilience, and lifelong confidence. Through her company, Perfect 10.0 Physical Therapy & Performance Training, she’s transforming the culture of youth athletics—giving athletes a voice, coaches tools, and families knowledge to support well-being and excellence.

Jones Talmadge

Jones is an author, performer, director, and coach (www.jonestalmadge.com). Growing up in the Seattle Suburbs on rope swings and trampolines, he received a double degree in theater and dance from the University of Washington in 2000, and moved to New York and Los Angeles to train in acrobatics and dance. Jones has performed all over the world and on America’s Got Talent with movement company Diavolo-Architecture in Motion (www.diavolo.org), and was an acrobatic clown with Cirque du Soleil (cirquedusoleil.com) for 5 years in Hangzhou, China. Jones loves coaching and created a comprehensive performing arts curriculum for children and adults through his own arts companies notmanapart.com and centergravity.org. His greatest passion is generating courage in the world by teaching creativity, collaboration, and physical prowess.

Colleen Long
Colleen Long is the Owner of Alpha Gymnastics.  Colleen began her acrobatic and dance training at age 6.  At age eleven she was able to train artistic gymnastics, which led eventually to college gymnastics, until dance took over again. Colleen coaches everything from preschool to adults and recreational to level 10 gymnasts.  She loves them all.  She enjoys developing young athletes and watching their progress. 

Melody Mandrean 

Coach Melody is passionate about helping kids build strength, confidence, and a love for movement. She has taught group fitness for years, specializing in functional movement and Pilates. With an academic background in Human Physiology, Exercise Science, and Psychology, she brings both science and heart to her coaching. A Board Certified Clinical Laboratory Scientist, she spent over a decade at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She’s also a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran and the founder of Totem Lake Run Club. When she’s not coaching, she’s cheering on her own kids: a competitive gymnast and a competitive dancer.

Taeya Hackworth

As a child, Taeya competed in gymnastics before exploring other sports. In 2012, she began coaching at Apple Valley Gymnastics while studying Sports Fitness, Nutrition, and Anatomical Kinesiology at Wenatchee Valley College. She obtained her certification through NASM as a personal trainer, as well as a 200-hour Hatha Yoga instructor from Yoga Alliance. After teaching fitness classes, she resumed coaching gymnastics in 2019, adding Xcel coaching in 2021. Taeya's coaching approach focuses on maximizing children's potential while ensuring they enjoy themselves.

Natalia Zabroda 

Coach Natalia is our lead Russian Preschool and Level 2 Team coach.   With a Master's Degree from Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture in Coaching Gymnastics. She worked as a head coach for 15 years in Moscow before moving to the United States with her husband. She loves teaching beam and floor events and pushes her kids to be their best.  Her favorite quote is, “Strive for the impossible - you will reach the maximum.”   - Mao Zedong

Anne-Marie Talmadge

Anne-Marie Talmadge is an internationally recognized performer, choreographer, and educator with a passion for empowering young artists through movement. A Cirque du Soleil artist, Aerial Pole Champion, and America’s Got Talent finalist, she brings elite-level performance experience into every classroom. Anne-Marie developed 360 Flow, a signature technique that enhances full-body awareness, fluidity, and spatial intelligence—skills that translate powerfully for kids across dance, acrobatics, and martial arts. With a BA in Dance & Science from CalArts, she combines artistry with a deep understanding of physical development, and has taught workshops and master classes globally. As Board President of Not Man Apart and former Director of Art & Action, Anne-Marie has raised over $1.3 million for youth arts programs and charities, making her not just an inspiring coach, but a committed leader in youth empowerment and education.