Ever since I first blogged about yoga, I have stumbled upon many great kid-related yoga resources.
The first, of course, is my friend Katy's new online shop LotusPad which carries eco-friendly yoga mats and straps made to fit the yogini in your life.
Then, while researching for my "real" job, I came across a new book called Storytime Yoga: The Treasure In Your Heart: Yoga and Stories for Peaceful Children. Written by (Ms.) Sydney Solis, it goes hand-in-hand with her unique concept for teaching children the benefits and joy of yoga. As her Storytime website describes, she "retells classic wisdom tales from around the world, and children act them out with yoga poses! Or children learn to tell their own stories and fairytales and script yoga poses with them!" This sounds like a great technique and one that I would love to try with my children. Has anyone participated in her classes or has anyone read her book?
The stars keep aligning so it was no surprise really when I saw an article on children and yoga in the latest issue of Washington Parent. First there was the most beautiful cover featuring the most serene-looking child as introduction to an article by Gina Roberts-Grey entitled "Young Yogis Balancing Mind and Body". It covers the basics of yoga for kids including the risks and many physical and emotional benefits of yoga. It also features several quotes by Baron Baptiste of Cambridge, Massachusetts (my old stomping grounds), a well known yoga instructor and author. Which...
Perfect transition! The wonderful folks at Barefoot Books, also of Cambridge, Massachusetts, were kind enough to send me a copy of Baron Baptiste's wonderful book, "My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids". As is with virtually all of the Barefoot Books I have seen, the illustrations, here by Sophie Fatus, are colorful and vibrant and feature people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Throughout the book yoga poses that relate to a parents occupation are featured and the text assists both parent and child in safely trying stretches such as The Triangle Post (Trikonasana), The Plow Pose (Halasana), and eventually, of course, The Pretzel Pose (Marichyasana). My three year old son tried all the poses and had a great time doing so. This book is also great for inspiring his highly sedentary mother (eh hem) to get up off her duff.
2 comments:
A couple months ago my toddler was really into doing "downward dog" (my daughter had taught him). I thought at the time it might be fun to have a simple yoga book or video to do with him just for fun.
I love Baptiste studio! I've been going there for 6 years and it's the best yoga practice I've experienced. Eleanor at 14 months loves to do downward dog, but she's not quite ready for the poses in this book - I can't wait until she is though - it's a cute, simple book. Thanks so much for the call out for Lotuspad!
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