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Rhode Island Monthly /  April 2008 /  Om School /  Looking for More?

Looking for More?

Some yoga classes target a very specific demographic, from those with pregnant bellies to gay men and their straight girlfriends. Here are some unique Rhode Island offerings if you are...

A Kid
Think Montessori. These classes are about a playful environment and self-expression, some incorporating storytelling, music and games. For the particularly tiny, there’s Itsy Bitsy Yoga, in which parents move babies into different postures that aid in their development. A few places that offer a variety of children and baby classes: Bellani Maternity (1276 Bald Hill Road, Warwick, 234-1279, bellanimaternity.com); Center for Preventive Medicine (instructor Katie Lieberman, 191 Nashua Street, Providence, 434-3550, riprevmedcenter.com); and Breathing Time Yoga. Soma Yoga offers adaptive yoga for children with special needs.

Pregnant
Prenatal yoga is generally less strenuous (ie: no headstands) and keeps students off their backs. Classes give moms-to-be the tools to destress and stay limber, and postures and breathing techniques that might help during labor. They are also a great way to start your “mommy network”—classes often begin with a check-in, so students get to know each other. You can find prenatal yoga at Bellani Maternity, the Center for Preventive Medicine and Breathing Time Yoga.

Disabled
Adaptive yoga modifies traditional postures to individual needs and is ideal for students in wheelchairs, with health problems or with other physical disabilities such as MS or arthritis. The Raffa Center has an adaptive yoga class for students with a variety of physical limitations. Breathing Time Yoga has a class specifically for people with MS.

A Beach Bum
Yoga instructor Kelly Walsh opened Elevation Studio on Block Island with Pilates guru Danielle Duffy. Both teach classes on the beach (33 Ocean Avenue, Block Island, 466-9642, elevationstudiobi.com). Natural Fitness in Narragansett offers a class that meets every morning in the summer on Narragansett Beach (76 Narragansett Avenue, Narragansett, 783-9229 or 640-1673, naturalfitnessyoga.com).

A Surfer
Sol Sessions offers two women-only, week-long surf and yoga programs on Block Island—usually held in late August and early September and led by California surfer Sandra Gartland (858-456-1666, solsessions.com).

A Will (with a Grace)
Psychotherapist Tom Fronczak teaches a weekly Vinyasa class in Providence for gay men. Once a month, the men bring a female friend to class (which is why it’s called Yoga for Wills and Graces). The group has bonded so well that they also meet monthly for dinner (286 Thayer Street, Providence, 431-2953, tomfronczak.com).

—Denise Dowling

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