Mama’s Wellness Joint

My wife signed me up for my first yoga class and Paige was truly awesome! She made me feel super comfortable (as the only guy in the group) and the class was perfect after a long, chaotic winter day.
The space itself is ultra-​clean and relaxing. MWJ offers a wide variety of classes and I feel lucky to live so close to it.

My wife takes both prenatal yoga and baby bump boot camp classes at Mama’s and has very positive things to say about them. We attended a 5 week childbirth class there together and found it to be very informative. Mari, the instructor, was excellent: very experienced, informed, and personable. She was willing to stay late for questions, answer emails, and stay connected throughout the pregnancy. Paige, the owner, is very nice and helpful as well. The studio is clean and well kept. As a non-​yoga type guy, I was weary about taking the class here. But in the end, I was very comfortable and am glad we did.

Absolutely beautiful space and lovely, HAPPY, positive-​spirited people.
I visited MWJ for the first time yesterday (28Oct2015) to attend a Mommy & Me yoga class with my little one. It was the first time Philadelphia has seen rain in what seemed like weeks, so sadly, there weren’t many mamas and mini-me’s in attendance. Nevertheless, I had such a wonderful experience for the following reasons:
— MWJ is so well-​kept and beautifully decorated — the color scheme, setup, and overall ambiance of the place is just so relaxing.
— The staff (Betty) and instructor (Michelle) that I met yesterday were beyond SWEET and welcoming! I sometimes find the staff at yoga studios to be a bit uppity, but this place had the sweetest ladies!!!
— Fellow mama — I met a fellow new mama in the class and her little one. If all other mamas that attend that class regularly are like her, then this is without a doubt, my new spot!
— Overall experience — my little guy is quite the active one nowadays. With such a need for attention and new stimulation, he wasn’t necessarily staying still through the duration of the class. Both Michelle (the instructor) and the other mama were so understanding and totally went with the flow for the class. I didn’t once feel any pressure or intimidation… which is so rare nowadays being a new mom!
I’ll definitely be coming back to MWJ — for both Mommy & Me classes and just classes for myself to get back into my practice. With a great deal of $ 30 as a new student to the studio, I am so excited at the variety of classes I can try within the next two weeks!

I was surprised to read some of the more negative reviews below. My experience has been nothing but amazing while attending prenatal yoga classes with Paige, Rachel, Sarah, Molly, and Amanda. I am so glad I stumbled on this place just by doing an internet search!
I began prenatal classes during my first trimester and have continued through my third trimester. It has been great going to different classes at different times and getting different perspectives from the various yoga teachers here. I was not a fan of yoga prior to participating in prenatal yoga. After taking my first two weeks here of unlimited prenatal yoga classes and having my lower back pain disappear, I became a true believer!
The encouragement to go at your own pace and modify poses as needed really helped make me feel more comfortable especially since I wasn’t a yoga junkie before coming here. The instructors were all knowledgable in how to adapt poses and offered help throughout the classes if we needed. The pace was relaxing and helped rejuvenate me for the rest of the day.
After my two weeks of unlimited classes were through, I bought an unlimited 5 week pass which was also a great deal. I look forward to coming to the infant massage class after our baby is born.
I have much respect and gratitude for Paige, Rachel, Sarah, Molly, and Amanda and the care they give us expecting mamas! Check out their class schedule since they have classes geared toward mama and baby/​papa and baby as well as for toddlers. Such an amazing place!

I really can’t say enough wonderful things about Mama’s Wellness Joint! I took prenatal yoga classes there through my entire twin pregnancy and attribute how well I carried to this practice.
My husband and I took the childbirth education series at Mama’s and thought it was great info taught by knowledgable and very sweet instructors.
I now take the Align & Flow and Gentle Vinyasa classes to rejuvenate myself so I can be a good mother to my boys!
Mama’s Wellness Joint is more than just a yoga studio. It’s a community, support system and second home to me! You will not be disappointed!

I’ve taken both childbirth class and prenatal yoga classes here and I’m not impressed by either.
Yoga classes were OK. I expected very clear instruction about position and how to do certain poses especially now in pregnancy. The instruction was vague and not precise. DIG Yoga offers much more meticulous care in explaining what poses do, how to do them properly, and how to adjust them based on your needs.
The prenatal classes were a complete joke.
1. Schedule: First off, I signed up for a series that had to be rescheduled because they posted the wrong times. So right off the the bat, the class schedule was moved by about 5 weeks. When you’re pregnant and counting the weeks and are trying to schedule out your third trimester, it matters. The other class in Philly that I wanted to take was booked by that point when they let me know, so I really didn’t have much of a choice.
2. Timing: The L&D nurse who teaches them showed up late most of the time. The studio wasn’t even open and we had to wait outside for the class to start. It’s unprofessional of both the studio and the lecturer to make pregnant women wait outside. There was a day when we were waiting 20 minutes for the class to start — outside. There’s always a lot of traffic and there’s always some event in Philly — plan for it if you’re teaching a class or at least open the studio so that we can go inside and use the bathroom. We’re pregnant!
3. Content: The content of the classes was scattered, ill prepared, and Mari, who taught it constantly confused content already taught from our class with other classes. She wound up talking about her friends’ and her experiences most of the time. For a class that’s 15 hours long over the course of 5 sessions, I would say about 3 hours were of actual content. It was all focused on hospital births at Pennsylvania Hospital rather than just birth. We learned nothing about how to rotate babies or what exercises to do to get our bodies and our babies best ready for birth.
4. No Hands On: I thought we would practice breathing or massage with our partner — it was none of that. We just sat there for three hours. No getting up, no practicing poses for childbirth, or relaxation techniques, and no actual movement.
5. Information: I found the information lacking substance. She didn’t present peer reviewed studies to back up assertions and some of the information was just off. Her info on what causes hemorrhages was incompletely presented and her approach to interventions was very skewed. We (the participants in the class) were taking this class because we wanted to avoid medically unnecessary interventions as much as possible.
6. Personal Pet Peeve: When she spoke about doctors, she always referred to the person as «he» and the nurses as «she».
7. The schedule again: the last class had to be rescheduled because the presenter had a work shift or school or something. While I understand that there are occasional conflicts, these things should be known ahead of time before the class is actually scheduled and people pay for it — especially for such a huge time commitment — or a substitute should be asked to teach the class. This shouldn’t be a problem if the content of the class is well prepared.
Lastly, considering that this is a place for mothers and mothers-​to-​be, they sell a lot of raw milk goods without any warnings to expectant mothers.
I took a Breastfeeding class and a Mother/​Infant Assessment class through the birth center in Wilmington, DE and it was like night and day. The classes there are structured, have consistent content, show videos/​demos, and cover materials in a logical manner. If you have access to those classes (they’re a little out of the way), I highly recommend them.

Mama’s is one of my favorite yoga studios in the city. The space is unlike any other studio around — purely gorgeous. I instantly felt the warm and inviting vibe of this place from the minute I walked in the door. Paige, the owner, is such a great teacher. I tend to be very Type-​A and always «on-​edge.» I found Paige’s align and flow class to be calming, relaxing and challenging.
They have a variety of class types on their schedule, for moms and non-​moms alike! I’ll definitely put Mama’s in my yoga rotation as often as I can.

Way more than a yoga studio! I started at MWJ at week 13 of my first pregnancy and continued with the prenatal classes through week 41. Yes my little one was late! I truly believe the classes helped me maintain my strength, enhance my flexibility and preserve my sanity. Furthermore, I found the classes to offer an amazing sense of community and resources for pregnant ladies. My husband and I also took the childbirth education class at MWJ which lead to us finding our birth doula. I can’t say enough good things about Paige and the classes she puts on. I look back at my pregnancy and delivery of my son and am grateful for the impact of MWJ.

I love Mamas ! Took my 1^st prenatal yoga class here tonight, & it was an invigorating and inspiring environment of mamas to be that surrounded me. The teacher was clear and demonstrated each pose in a way that each one one of us could understand, sometimes walking around the room to gently make suggestions /​modifications to individual students .
The class involved both yoga postures as well as suggestions to incorporate the benefits towards pregnancy specific needs, such as a sore back, misaligned posture, or tired legs. We also did some interesting «kegel elevators» towards the end of class to strengthen our child bearing muscles. Class finishes with a relaxation time, and we leave feeling refreshed and renewed both from the prenatal yoga practice and the camaraderie of the preggy ladies who practice together. Namaste !

I really dig the whole vibe of this ‘joint’;
Somehow I’ve never left feeling like my mind and body connected though.
Keep in mind I think everyone interested should go and try a few classes to see if they jive with the classes better than I did.
Everyone has different needs from the space where they practice.
Aesthetically the practice room and and entry area are beautiul. I’m sure I’ll be back for a drop in once and a while.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have such a great experience here.
I went in to take a prenatal yoga class and had some issues. I first filled out the form that they ask all expecting mothers to fill out and I wrote that I had some previous medical issues (besides the pregnancy) that made it a little difficult for me to do some yoga poses.
During the class, I definitely struggled a little more than I had expected to (which was because of my limitations, not the instructor), but the instructor did not try to help me adjust or offer any suggestions on alternatives for the poses I was struggling with and I was in her direct line of sight. One of the reasons I go to yoga class instead of just doing a tape at home is for the instructors modifications and support of my illness, so I was disappointed.
After the class, I approached the instructor to see if she could help me find either a more gentle class or a way to help me modify this class in order to suit my medical limitations. She was unfortunately, not very empathetic to my situation. She told me that this class was one of the most mild and there wasn’t much I could do besides modify the poses to easier ones. When I asked her about specific poses, she didn’t have many suggestions. She also told me that in the future I should inform my instructor about my needs before the class (which I was under the impression I had by filling out their form). So, unfortunately, instead of feeling supported or empowered, I felt embarrassed that I couldn’t keep up and discouraged from taking another class here.
In all fairness, my experience may have been unique and I do know many people that have had good things to say about Mama’s Wellness Joint. However, it was very disappointing that the people at the studio seemed unwilling to help someone with limitations or a special situation. And it’s a shame because there aren’t that many options in the area for prenatal yoga.

I have wanted to get more involved in developing my yoga practice for years but never went to a studio long enough to become invested. I started with the $ 30 for two weeks prenatal offer at 34 weeks. I could not stop going so I followed that with the unlimited for one month prenatal offer. Now at 39 weeks, I’m hoping the baby waits a bit too arrive so I can continue the classes. I love Paige’s teaching style and feel that even with my eyes closed I can follow her instructions for getting into proper position. She’s so calm and friendly and I admire how committed she is to her business by how friendly she is and by the fact that she offers a prenatal class every day! If I could do it over, I would sign up for the beautiful belly package which offers unlimited classes throughout your pregnancy. Don’t walk, run to Paige’s studio.

After not having practiced yoga for many years I was looking to ease back into it. So far I have taken 3 gentle Vinyasa classes with Paige and they have been a great way to get reintroduced to yoga.
She offers adaptations to the poses which I appreciate as a newbie. As others have noted, the studio is lovely and everyone is very welcoming. The classes are also small which I like.

Amazing place for parents! I started to attend pre-​natal yoga a few months ago and my only regret was that I didn’t start earlier in my pregnancy! Took the 5 week child birth prep course and loved it! Highly, highly recommend MWJ!

What a great workshop I attended today! It was a Sleep 101 class for babies and it was wonderful. The instructor was extremely helpful and offered great tips, listening with a nonjudgmental ear.
Connecting with other mom’s today gave me this beautiful feeling of peaceful energy, reminding me although things are hard, we as mothers are not alone. We are all sleep deprived and trying to do the absolute best we can with the angels we have been given.
The feeling of community and belonging you get from Mamas is an energy I don’t experience at any other studio. It makes me miss the practice I had in this space and ignited a fire inside me to get back here regularly with my babe in tow.
Today was a great experience, as always and getting a squeeze from Paige made it even more worthwhile!

As a stay-​at-​home-​dad, I just can’t say enough about the coziness of Mama’s. I bring my 2-​year-​old son for kid’s yoga on Monday morning and then stay for Mama’s Movin (they don’t mind that I’m a papa) directly after. It’s really part of our routine now.
The kid’s yoga is really something unique for me, you sit with your little ones and they’re led in positions like pretzel legs, train and bicycle as we sing little songs. We crayon in yoga journals and listen as instructor Amanda reads from a children’s book from which we’ll do some animal positions. It’s really been engaging for my guy and his focus has really improved. He likes sitting on his own yoga mat and being part of the class. And he’s awesome at downward dog!
The class that follows is all about the parent. It’s a pretty mellow yoga routine, about 45 minutes, we bring a few toys and all the kids play together. The relaxed atmosphere lends to more quiet play than the usual playgroup and Amanda, who is also a preschool teacher, helps to wrangle the playing kids while you relax. Totally awesome experience. We usually go to Good Karma coffee shop and Seger Playground afterward so the location can’t be beat!

excellent prenatal yoga classes, childbirth education, and community resource!

I can’t believe more folks haven’t discovered this sanctuary in the city yet! It’s right by Good Karma Café which makes for a nice tea/​yoga day combo. Paige Chapman has something really good going on here at MWJ for adult, child and pre– and post-​natal yogis. I thought about keeping it to myself, but that is not yogic at all.
I bought a $ 30 new client special (unlimited classes for 2 weeks) and got SO much attention and helpful hints from Sarah and Paige. Would love to come for a workshop too and take more classes from the other instructors. The style and direction of the yoga here feels safe, with alignment and form being emphasized. And the music is so soothing.
The yoga room is clean, open and makes you feel bright. Often yoga and fitness studios have a wooden floor that you’re not quite sure what kind of germs are hiding in the crevices. Not the case! Here, it’s a huge white/​gray floor that reminds me of a walking labyrinth and did I mention, it’s CLEAN?! Yoga mats and props are supplied (I don’t think there’s a mat rental fee, which is awesome for those days you can’t carry it to/​from work).
I’ll definitely be back to try out massages and more yoga. They also sell essential oils and some of her mother’s (Beverly) line of culinary delights… lavender salt and also rose petal preserves for your next fancy feast. They were a hit at my last holiday party. They also offer lots of pre– and post-​natal services including fertility support groups, breastfeeding and infant care workshops. Seems like a great place to meet other like-​minded parents for good advice.

The entire space of Mama’s Wellness is soothingly gorgeous, and the space for yoga classes has got to be one of the most beautiful spaces I’ve been in! Paige and her mother, Beverly, are just wonderful women — warm and welcoming always, patiently and enthusiastically explaining different essential oils’ effects or the yoga class schedule. I’m a newbie to yoga classes, and have found Betty to be the perfect teacher — gentle, encouraging, and super knowledgeable about how the body responds to any given stretch or move. They also offer some terrific goodies like raw milk, massage therapy, etc. — I’m very excited to try out these offerings at some point, and will post a check-​in later once I do! (They also offer glasses of water in the side room — should you ever need a little hydration before or after class — I go to lunch and early morning classes, so it’s super appreciated.)