Naked Yoga Mom’s Instagram Account Is Shut Down, Of Course

original__1377361806_142.196.156.251I’m sure by now you have all seen the image of the woman in an inverted yoga pose, naked, breastfeeding her child. Of course, the Instagram account owned by Amy Woodruff, or as most know her now,”Naked Yoga Breastfeeding Mom” was shut down after the photo went viral. But the real news here is that the photo was not staged. I am now obsessed with it, and with this lovely little family.

The photo was actually posted to her blog two years ago, but no one knew who she was until Babycenter ran a story about her earlier this month. As you can imagine, not everyone reacted positively to an image of a naked woman doing a headstand breastfeeding a child. People don’t like naked. They also generally don’t like breastfeeding, if it’s seen. This photo was a recipe for Internet-judgement disaster.

But did you know the photo wasn’t staged? She told the Huffpost in an email, “The truth is we were living on a small community in Hawaii where our land was clothing optional and yoga was/is a necessity! I was just doin’ my daily flow when the little sweet pea came to sneak a suckle,” she wrote in an email. In her Babycenter interview, she said she chose the “simple life” in her early twenties and she’s been living a sort of nomadic life ever since:

In 2008, I saved a handful of money, gave my landlord a 30-day notice, quit my job, loaded up my truck and took off on a six month journey across the states. I had a 16”² teepee that I had been living in and brought it with as well. I was deep into my yoga practice and put a lot of trust in the universe knowing I was being guided and taken care of on every level. That journey changed my life forever and I met my beloved shortly after.

She talks about her desire to “nest” more now that her daughter is getting older and responds to the reactions to her photo in a very balanced, positive way:

The yoga community and earth mamas loved it! Women who didn’t seem to enjoy breastfeeding or more of the conservative crowd thought it was the weirdest thing and just couldn’t wrap their heads around it. I enjoyed hearing all sides of the spectrum as it reminded me that we are all different and if anything it may have opened the eyes and hearts for some who didn’t think multitasking to that level was possible! No regrets about posting the photo whatsoever.

The father of the breastfeeding child also responds to the closing of the Instagram account and their notoriety on Woodruff’s blog, “Daughter of the Sun.” Maybe it’s the idealist in me but I can’t help but love this family who shuns the nine-to-five routine and travels around the world. Instagram has a policy against nudity, but not against breastfeeding. Fans of Woodruff’s blog and Instagram feed are trying to get her account back up, to which she says:

If my Instagram account is not reinstated, then so be it! I will continue to create and share more beauty whether on Instagram or beyond! Let’s not attach ourselves to the imagery but LIVE the actual message!

I think I sort of love her.

(photo: Daughter of the Sun)

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