"They always come in very eager," says Elbaum. "It's marvelous to be young and spirited and to have people in their lives who nourish that. Here, they work hard, but it is disguised as creative play. They're connecting to their senses. A good mind body puts you in better practice to use your mind effectively."
Elbaum, who recently moved her studio from Wynnewood to Bryn Mawr, serves many roles for her pre-teen students. She's their yoga instructor, their confidante, their pseudo therapist and their friend. Her classes are as much about yoga as they are about learning how to deal with the stresses of life.
"Life happens. They'll talk about it," says Elbaum, who adds practicing yoga is as much about the physical as the spiritual. "You want to release away from stress and tension.
"They can be struggling, and then they are introduced to some vehicle that gives them a sense of confidence and success," she added. "It shifts their entire perspective."
Besides bringing her athletic talents to her students, Elbaum also makes use of the master's degree in social work she earned at Temple University after moving to Philadelphia from her hometown of Woodmere, N.J . "I have always incorporated my social work counseling skills and experiences into my mind body teaching.
"I always like to set my students up for success. The world pushes them too much. With loving encouragement, you can set up success," says Elbaum.
The Bala Cynwyd resident adds with a laugh that she is "the only girl" in a house filled with testosterone -- her husband, son, two stepsons and two male dogs.
During a class with students ranging in age from 7 to 11, Elbaum chats with the kids as they settle on their mats "You know what you're doing. You're all good at what you do. What are our feelings today? Calm, peaceful, joyful. It's joyful for me every time I am in this circle with you," she says.
It doesn't take long for her students to start opening up. They talk about school; a series of state mandated tests have some of the group a bit tense. They talk about what is happening at home, about siblings and parents, and about plans for the weekend.
The students do stretches with their hands to their heart, utilizing breathing techniques. "The feelings in you are the feelings in me," said Elbaum as her class repeats the words. She asks them to stretch and relax their bodies, telling them to "make everything feel like cooked spaghetti" as she walks from child to child, rubbing their backs.
Elbaum says she likes to teach restorative yoga, using props such as blocks, cushions, pillows. Her students make use of all these props as they showcase some of their yoga poses for a guest: the Sun Salute, an Upsidedown Gorilla, Bow Pose, Airplane, and Brave Warrior, among others.
Asked what they like best about yoga, the students give a variety of reasons: "It's peaceful," says Kimberly Poth, 11. "It calms you down. So if you have stress, you can get rid of it."
"I like relaxing because it gives you a minute to think about the good things and the things you can improve on," explains Madeline Gerber, 10. "... Any time you are in a pose, you generally think about the pose and that's a kind of meditation."
Echoing similar thoughts are fellow classmates Sheila Sullivan, 10, Maya Abu-Zahra, 7, Tali Batlow, 9 and Aron Segal, 10.
After class, Elbaum talks about the way one of her students who had been very shy had blossomed during the eight-week yoga course. "She was really afraid. Now she is the wise girl," says Elbaum. "... Her teachers have even noticed how different she is now."
Elbaum, who has taught in large sports centers, says she prefers the smaller classes where she can experience more one-on-one with her students. "There is something nice about the intimacy," she says. "Small means friendly. You can maintain a level of quality."
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