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March 07, 2003 - Image 68

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2003-03-07

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

ness

Julie and Lucas (10 months) Carlocks

Virginie and Zoe

(8 months) Hollebecq

BY LYNNE MEREDITH SCHREIBER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN

S

unlight shines through
casement windows.
Lynn Shuck sits on car-
pet in black tights, her
voice resonating across a quiet
room. Ten mothers and babies
— ranging in age from 3 weeks
to 10 months — relax on thick,
Peruvian blankets. They gather
at Namaste yoga studio in Royal
Oak Friday mornings for
stretching, peace-seeking and
baby-bonding.
Two years ago, Shuck created
a class for post-partum women
to get in shape and find peace of
mind, without leaving baby
home. Shuck, a mom of two,
used yoga techniques to ease
her second labor.
For her first Baby & Me class,
Shuck wrote out plans. Halfway
through, "four out of the five
moms were nursing," so she
tossed her notes and adopted a
laid-back approach. The con-
cepts of yoga — uniting mind

6 •

MARCH 2003 • STYLE AT THE JN

and body — are perfect for new
moms, who are often over-
whelmed and exhausted, says
Shuck.
After Shuck's daughter
Sophie, 2 1/2, was born, she
liked sharing yoga with her. "I
[did] moves [to] help her body.
Some became regular games for
us." Babies participate in yoga
as props for mothers' moves and
also in their own poses, as moms
roll and hold them to ease gas
and elevate mood. The class
taught Shuck that yoga was not
merely a sweaty hour; it is the
practice of being in the
moment, which came in handy
when Sophie screamed at 2 a.m.
Madeline Tenenbaum, a
Southfield mom who helped
Shuck start the class, took her
son, Yisroel Zev, when he was
one month old. "It was a fun
way to be with my baby and
nurture both him and myself,"
she said.

The class tries to introduce
new moms, help them regain
control of their bodies and inter-
act with baby and teach center-
ing through meditation and
breath.
New motherhood is "a time
of change and transition," says
Linda Makowski, Namaste
owner. "It's a win-win situation
— mom and baby don't have to
be separated. The environment
is loving and compassionate and
so accepting of new life. Women
can get back in touch with their
bodies, with who they are."
"Getting to the gym after my
daughter was born was next to
impossible," said Gigi
VanderWeele of Pleasant Ridge.
"I could take Sophie with me,
and I built strength lifting her
during poses." She also met
"like-minded moms" who
became friends.

Sandra and Solveig

(7months) Askvold

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