The standard gym definitely serves a purpose as a place to exercise, but how many Mamas have longed for a more holistic approach to wellness in a safe, feminine environment that even welcomes children? Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Look no further than bbb health boutique in Amsterdam’s picturesque Jordaan, the holistic gym for women at every stage of life, where body, food, and mind naturally take center stage.
A Unique Approach
As a boutique gym, bbb employs a unique approach. The three b’s refer to the three pillars of the boutique’s approach to women’s wellness: inner beauty, body workouts, and lifestyle balance. One of the first things you see upon entering bbb’s bright, comfortable space is a series of hot cabins. These are heated enclosures to work out in which encase your body while leaving your head free. This thermo-physical exercise method was developed by Swiss therapists 30 years ago specifically for women to shape their bodies through increased energy consumption and fat burning heat.
We think every woman is different and has different needs.
Esther de Brouwer is one of the three motivating forces behind bbb, and she credits the hot cabins as the origins of the current boutique. “My mother had the hot cabins 30 years ago, so I grew up in it. We developed it from its origins as a weight loss concept into a holistic body, food and mind concept in a boutique setting. We have developed all kinds of classes in the heat cabins, including hot yoga, pilates, and high-intensity interval training. We do loads of things. We think every woman is different and has different needs,” she says.
bbb strives to make an appropriate wellness plan for women at any stage of life so they can live to the fullest. Beginners complete a detailed intake form to help determine which life stage they are in, from trying to conceive, planning to give birth, to postpartum, to menopausal. It’s healthy to keep fit during pregnancy, but your needs change. You want to work out in a safter environment with more personal attention. We have safe workouts for every phase of life, we offer personal trainers and can adjust to your needs of the moment. We have certified physiotherapists, dieticians, and psychologists.”
bbb health boutique recognizes how busy mothers of children of any age are. In addition to providing a safe supportive space, busy mothers can do a total body workout in 30 minutes. The all-women environment is also an opportunity to meet friends in the same boat as classes are grouped according to life phase. Each phase is respected as important. Pregnancy and motherhood are important phases when needs change, working motherhood is an important phase when needs change again, and menopause rewrites needs all over again. bbb is reinventing according to your needs all the time.
Bringing Baby
While bbb focuses on all stages of a woman’s life, mamas of babies know it’s never easy to leave infants in a gym daycare where you can’t see them. For mothers of tiny ones, one of the best parts about bbb health boutique is that you can keep your baby with you the entire time you are working out. Even better, the staff will act as nannies. You can bring your baby to play while you exercise as early as six weeks. “It feels safe, you don’t have to give your child to a stranger in a gym. I developed it from my own wish to have a safe place to go with my twins, I didn’t want to leave them in a childcare room in a gym and there was no place to keep them with me. This grew from true experiences,” says Esther.
Solution-based
While babies play, mothers can develop postpartum programs to get what they need to return to health, including personal trainers to help address the needs of the moment. The focus is on staying in shape safely, eating, diet, sleeping, lifestyle advice and how to deal with the big changes. Esther said that bbb focuses on solutions instead of a therapy atmosphere. “It’s fresh, it’s humorous, it’s low key, 10% about the problem, and 90% about the solution, although we do have specialists for heavier conversations and work.
bbb is located throughout the Netherlands in Amsterdam Amstel, Amsterdam Jordaan, Delft, Den Bosch, The Hague, ‘t Gooi, Haarlem, Rotterdam, Tilburg, and Utrecht. To find out more, see their website and Facebook page.
bbb health boutique has paid to be featured on Amsterdam Mamas because they believe that their services would be of interest and benefit to our readers, and we think so too. For more information on sponsored posts and advertising on Amsterdam Mamas, please see our Advertising and Disclosure policy.
Mary Petiet
Mary Petiet is an author, poet, and freelance writer. Her work is inspired by her native Cape Cod and her experiences in the Netherlands. The author of the recently released Moon Tide: Cape Cod Poems, and Owl Magic: Your Guide Through Difficult Times, Mary is also the founder of Sea Crow Press, a small independent imprint curating creative nonfiction and poetry to give her titles a home.
