Baby Om: Yoga for Mothers and Babies.
BABY OM: YOGA FOR MOTHERS AND BABIES By Laura Staton and Sarah Perron. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002. 272 pages. $17This book leaches new mothers how to begin a yoga practice with their newborns. It describes more than seventy modified yoga poses, breathing exercises, and manipulations. Almost every posture has a black-and-white photograph or illustration to go with it.
Four yoga classes are at the heart of the book, bringing recovering mother and new baby through their first year together, In addition, there are practices for nursing and colic, information about yoga and postpartum depression, a chapter on the birth process and its physical impact, and a final chapter on postpartum conditions. Testimonials from Baby Om supporters, caned "Notes from Mom," appear throughout. Here is an example: "After the birth of my daughter, I felt weak and ... disconnected from my own body. Yoga supported a type of body awareness to help me reconnect and realign my mind and body."
Moms are not the only ones who benefit from Baby Om. Babies get to explore their bodies through touch, communication, interaction, and play. Another "Note from Mom": "My daughter delights in being bounced on my lap during navasana and sliding down my legs during Flying Child III. She giggles and squeals during Downward Facing Dog when my hair touches her face."
The authors, Laura Staten and Sarah Perron, are dancers who teach yoga. It was their own experience as new mothers that motivated them to explore a yoga practice with their babies. They've published their discoveries so that other new mothers call ease back into their bodies without having to go to a studio and leave baby with a sitter. And while they're doing Baby Om, they can begin a beautiful relationship with their children. (www.henryholt.com)
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| Author: | Lydon, Kate |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Dance Magazine |
| Article Type: | Book Review |
| Date: | Apr 1, 2004 |
| Words: | 300 |
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