Originally published October 7 2005
Yoga prepares women for the physical demands of motherhood
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
New yoga programs include pre-natal and postal classes, which focus on the physicality of motherhood and gives women the needed strength to care for their newborn child.
In the dim lights and calming music of a morning yoga class, underneath generously draped iridescent green fabric, Alen Kapetanovic is blowing raspberries.
They might not bear the serene posture of a stone-carved Buddha, but these little yoga practitioners are getting a lot out of their class --- and so are their mothers.
Reyna Gonzalez, a registered yoga teacher, leads the class with a big stuffed red Elmo by her side, which she uses to demonstrate how mothers should hold their babies during certain poses.
From prenatal and postnatal yoga to programs including pre-crawlers, the classes focus on the physicality of pregnancy and motherhood, and the ability of women to bond with the life inside or the new arrival.
Jennifer Terranova of New Rochelle is a soccer player, but the 34-year-old said taking prenatal yoga classes was the best physical preparation she could have had for her two labors.
She brought her older son, Kenan Kapetanovic, almost 4 years old, to the class for babies, and he carefully decorated a "Wiggles" coloring book as she tended to Alen.
Gonzalez has the mothers hold jangling bracelets as they stretch arms from one side to the other, and the babies rake the air to try to get to them.
"For me having these classes, it's great to see women come in for prenatal classes and come back a few weeks later with their babies," Sanctuary owner Ellen Patrick said.
Dahlia Swerdloff, 30, of Larchmont held up her arms and legs while balancing on her lower back, with little Riley perched on her stomach.
There are other babies for her to socialize with, while the moms can swap notes on local baby-music classes or pediatricians.
Amy Tucker, now in Mount Vernon, was a chef until taking maternity leave for Rowan, and she needed an outlet after her husband returned to work.
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