Yoga Ma, Baby Ga: Mama & Me Postnatal Yoga

Jo Ann Colker Arison knows how much of a victory it is for many new moms just to manage a shower some days, let alone a workout. In this lovely, adaptable 3-in-1 approach, viewers can select a 55-minute yoga lesson aimed at postpartum women, with a special emphasis on gently working the abdominal muscles (many poses are adapted so babies can participate, too--in fact, the instructor calls “Full Frog” the “Happy Baby”), or viewers can choose a “baby only” section featuring bright and colorful images--beach umbrellas, splashing water, multicolored balls, other babies, etc.--accompanied by music ranging from “Itsy Bitsy Spider” to Mozart's “Ave Verum Corpus.” Best of all, the two individual programs can be combined in a “mom and baby” version, which uses a picture-in-picture format to put the baby's bright images on 3/4ths of the screen, with mom's workout appearing in the bottom right-hand quarter (here, the smart juxtaposition of images of animals with related poses--dogs for the “Down Dog” demonstration, for example--offers mothers the opportunity to talk with babies about the natural world while performing their yoga poses and stretches). Though some familiarity with yoga is assumed, beginners should be able to easily follow along in this fine program for mothers hoping to start/maintain a yoga program. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)