Our Top 10 Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Books

Over here at Appleseed we are OBSESSED with Kids Yoga and Mindfulness books.  After almost 3 years of extensive research and testing (on the kids I teach and my own babies), I've curated a list of books that will capture the attention of your child and truly edify their soul during these formative years!  You can find a book in this list for children between the ages of 1 and 12.

This list is sure to expand, evolve and change as this genre of material continues to grow, but here is Appleseed’s Top 10 Yoga and Mindfulness Books for 2019!

1.  Yoga Bug by Sarah Jane Hinder - This sweet boardbook is loved by every Appleseed toddler that has come into contact with it!  Each page associates a well-known bug with a pose and children love to move their bodies as the pages turn.  The Bug theme is expansive and sweet. (Ages birth-4)

2.  I’m The Biggest Thing In The Ocean by Kevin Sherry - Technically not a yoga book, this one makes the cut with it’s simple text and sweet oceanic creatures on each page!  Children are taken up by the story and looooove the buildup and surprise ending! (Ages 18 mos - 5)

3.  Meddy Teddy: Mindful Poses for Little Yogis - This board book goes well with a Meddy Teddy as a gift for your child!  Kids are always inspired to move their Meddy Teddy and their own bodies as they turn each page.  We sometimes use this book in our Namastuffy classes! (Ages 2 - 12)

4.  You Are A Lion! By Taeeun Yoo - This book is a great one as each page includes sweet children in various animal poses and also inspires their natural sounds!  The famous lion’s breath is always a hit with kids of any age - something they often aren’t encouraged to do outside of yoga class!  (Ages 2-8)

5.  I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds - This book is part of a fantastic series that will have great philosophical impact on the next generation.   Just as Appleseed hopes to ultimately accomplish in this world, this book highlights the fundamental connectedness of humans and their natural state of perfect imperfection. (Ages 6-12)

6. ABC Mindful Me by Christiane Engel - We love this book in our home since the boys can enjoy it on their own accord! The pictures are simple, colourful, and remind us of some of the values we hold close: love of nature, presence, and creativity! (Ages 2-8)

7. Breathe Like A Bear by Kira Willey & Anni Betts- If you teach kids (no matter the setting), or are a parent, this book is a fantastic tool. It is comprised of 30 exercises to calm, focus, imagine, energize, and relax children. These lessons are invaluable in connecting to kids and supporting them (and yourself) regardless of the situation! (Ages 2-12)

8. Yoga Bunny by Brian Russo - Each kid I read this book to loves it! The natural progression of Bunny’s yoga adventure captures a child’s attention beautifully. We also learn a few key benefits to yoga alongside sweet and simple illustrations! (Ages 3-8)

9. The Yoga Game: In The Garden by Kathy Beliveau & Denise Holmes - Children are magnetized to this book. The game that takes place through the pages holds each child’s focus and they enjoy guessing the animal and then performing the pose! Look out for the By The Sea version too! (Ages 4-8)

10. Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates - Who can’t use a book with poses to help calm and prepare their child for sleep? This book does just that and also is helpful for the mindful parent as well. Children love looking for the sweet moon kitten through the story. There is optional text instructing the pose which makes this book easily adapted for younger or older children. (Ages 2-8)

Do you have any other favourite Kids Yoga and Mindfulness books? We’d love to hear!

Peace!

Megan

5 Reasons Your Family Will Love Saturday Yoga!

It’s Friday afternoon and the excitement of the approaching weekend is soaring! You finally get to have a relaxed morning with the family, or if the stars align, maybe even an extra hour of sleep!!

Starting your family’s weekend with a yoga class at Appleseed gives you time to reconnect after a long week. Here are 5 other reasons your family will LOVE Saturday Yoga:

1. Family Time.  At our Saturday classes, you always remain with your child.  This means you get in serious family time and needn’t worry about if your child feels comfortable in class.

2. Always Drop-In.  Our drop-in classes are convenient for you!  If you need to visit family, someone is sick, or there’s a giant snow-storm, you can miss a class with no penalty.

3. Burns Energy.  Your child will be tired out after yoga! Cheers to a solid nap or low-key Saturday afternoon for the whole family. 

4. Uniqueness.  Our programming at Appleseed is unique, no doubt about it.  We are constantly using our creative imaginations, building inspiring stories, and connecting to ourselves, each other, our community at large, and the earth.  Where else do all these things happen?

5. FAMILY SAVASANA.  If you haven’t been to an Appleseed class yet, I can’t wait to show you our typical savasana.  After a class of fun, sweat, and laughter, you will be overjoyed to rest alongside your family.  Snuggle time comes with cushions, blankets, sweet music, foot massages and a surprising amount of stillness!

We look forward to seeing you soon!  Toddler Yoga is at 9am and Family Yoga is at 11:30am each and every Saturday.

For the Love of our Families,

Megan

But My Child Won't Relax!

I have an incredible story to share with you.

I have a 5 year old yoga student who is extraordinary at relaxation.  It’s remarkable.  She relaxes more easily than most adults I know!  She doesn’t flinch, and lets me do all the work to uncover her feet for massage, while leaving her legs and body incredibly limp.  In each class, about 5 minutes before savasana, she quietly asks: “is relaxation soon?!”  It’s her favourite.  I had never seen this in a young student before, until our first class together.

And do you know what her parents said when I mentioned this?  They looked at me with shock and wonder: “What? Are you sure?  She takes forever to fall asleep each night!  We actually have to give her melatonin!”

Believe it or not, children are very capable of relaxing and even love it!  And you also may be surprised by how your child responds to a yoga class.  The way I see it, there isn’t much to lose.  We look forward to exploring relaxation and many other life-giving practices with your child at Appleseed!

Want to learn more?  Check out the many other Benefits of Kids Yoga.

For the Love of Our Families,

Megan Snider 

Warm Up with the Benefits of Kids Yoga

Kids yoga. What is it?  At Appleseed, we play yoga through storytelling, and we inspire movement from seed to tree.  It's about planting, cultivating, nourishing and growing, and it's what we do. 

Why choose kids yoga for your child over other movement-based activities?  The benefits of kids yoga are seemingly endless.  In a world where it seems like we're spinning out of control, Appleseed Yoga cultivates a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment, and inspires mindful, imaginative movement with our children. 

You already know the classic benefits of yoga: stress relief, body awareness, greater mindfulness, fortification of all the bodily systems, and non-competitive activity, amoung others. Kids yoga can take those benefits and grow further. Here are a few additional benefits of kids yoga that you should be aware of. 

1. Connection to the earth and people

In our classes, your kids imagine snowshoeing through the Arctic, standing tall like a redwood, and running like a cheetah.  We nurture the feelings the changing seasons bring, eat like a kangaroo in the outback, and hold hands with our loved ones.  We connect to the earth and nature, and also with our families and friends in class.  But more than this, we recognize our dependence on nature and our commonality with all the people in our world - our collective family.

2. Educational yet imaginative play

Can you actually go to the North Pole?  How many bones does a giraffe's neck have?  How long can a dolphin hold its breath?  We talk, learn, and share all about our wacky world in kids yoga.  We seek to make sense of life and enrich our experience of it.  Truth and yet a wild imagination play large roles in our classes...you may find us learning about the tundras with one knee up like a flamingo in Greenland!

3. Learn to relax 

Relaxation is an art. At Appleseed Yoga we start it young!  In a world where it feels like we are constantly moving at a feverish pace, learning to relax is more important than ever.  Yoga is one of the only places where your children (and yourself) can purposefully cultivate this learned skill.  Kids these days are under enormous pressures at school and home. Let's give them some practical skills to ease the tension.

4. Cultivate emotional health

Kids yoga addresses the whole child, including their emotional body.  When we come to our mats, we take time for ourselves to work on acceptance and awareness of who we are and what's going on with us in the moment.  At our kids yoga classes, you can know your child is accepted for just who he or she is.  They are free to be themselves, bolstering their self-confidence and self-image, and building their emotional resilience.

Come join us for kids yoga (ages 4-8) every Wednesday from 4-4:45 at the Ralph Thornton Centre, we'd love to see you there!

For the love of our families,

Megan 

The Benefits of Family Yoga - Part #2

A few months back I posted about some of the many benefits of Family Yoga.  The list continues, so read on to learn more about how Family Yoga is good for you and your brood!   

 6. Family Yoga shows children that parents are not perfect.  Up to a certain age, children believe their parents are super-human!  They seem to never run out of time, money or resources, and this can create high expectations for parents to fulfill.  There are always poses a parent finds difficult and those a child find's difficult.  This reality check brings a humanizing quality to the parents, releasing them of expectations from the child. 

7.  Family Yoga teaches families how to relax together.  Most parents want their children to learn ways to relax and be more at peace!  What a better way to learn these skills then doing it as a family!  Yoga is wonderful for discharging energy and also engaging the rest and digest response, releasing those loving, calming hormones. 

8.  Family Yoga provides an opportunity for positive feedback among family members.  Since every person and every body can do yoga, there are always opportunities for encouragement in family yoga class!  We always encourage positive feedback for each family member in class, no matter what shape a body holds.  Yoga is about holding space for a wide breadth of experiences, from the tiniest yogi to the most experienced.

9.  Family Yoga inspires creativity as a family.  When we play yoga, we exchange roles and role-play a lot, and this contributes to increased creativity among family members.  We like to mix it up and take a dune buggy ride across the Sahara right after baking a pizza in Tuscany!  Often, this creativity translates over into moments outside of class!

10.  Family Yoga creates a sense of connection.  Each family yoga class doesn't just consist of poses alone.  Yoga is about creating wholistic community, so wether we like it or not we are sharing ourselves emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and more when we share a family yoga class.  We share this within our own family and with the families in class with us!  This happens verbally through our class introductions, and physically as we touch others in group poses, and in our ending relaxation.  In class we learn from others and garner a sense of connection to life, truly knowing that we are all connected and going through life together.  This is in large part the essence of family yoga.

I look forward to sharing all these benefits of family yoga and more as we participate in class together!  If you can think of any other benefits of Family Yoga, please share, I'd love to hear them!

For the Love of our Families,

Megan