by sara | Mar 12, 2017 | Benefits
What kind of parent do you want to be? Author Meryl Davids Landau is the kind of parent any child would be fortunate to have. Her knowledge of parenting and demonstrating unconditional love is evident throughout her latest book, Enlightened Parenting 
. This book isn’t your normal “how to make your child mind” type resource. Instead, it is filled with knowledge and insight on how to parent from your heart and soul while keeping the connection to yourself in the face of everyday parenting. The book is divided into three sections; Attitudes, Actions, and Nourish Yourself. Each section provides real life examples and anecdotes to support the journey of parenting. Parenting is not an easy journey but this guide will help both new and seasoned parents to know that they are not alone.
About the Author
Meryl Davids Landau is the author of ‘Enlightened Parenting: A Mom Reflects on Living Spiritually With Kids.’ She also wrote the spiritual women’s novel ‘Downward Dog, Upward Fog,’ named a fiction book of the year finalist by Foreword Reviews. An award-winning magazine writer, her works have also appeared in numerous publications, including Parents, O: The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Self, Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Prevention, Huffington Post and more.
Both of Meryl’s books reflect her interest in bringing a spiritual (not religious) perspective into our everyday lives. Books about jetting off to India or Bali or an intensive yoga retreat are fun, but keeping your connection to your highest self in the face of everyday parenting, work, love and life challenges is where the real practice begins. Her intention is to bring light–and levity–to these situations through her words.
Meryl is a certified yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, and is the mom to two kids, now young adults.
Read more about Meryl at her website MerylDavidsLandau.com
by sara | Aug 3, 2016 | Benefits, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan
“Yoga is gaining in popularity all over the United States in yoga studios, gyms, YMCAs, fitness centers, and in schools. Yes, schools. Teachers, administrators, and students are discovering the power of yoga and pranayama (breathing exercises) to calm, focus, and inspire students. excitement, and energy…”
“Yoga taught to youngsters is fun for all involved and creates a connection between body and mind that will serve the kids for a lifetime…Not surprisingly, yoga classes for kids don’t look exactly like the yoga for adults. ”
Read more here by Carol Rinehard, kids yoga instructor at The Family Tree Yoga and Massage.
Need one complete resource to have confidence and success in introducing kids to yoga? Go Go Yoga Kids: Empower Kids for Life has complete lesson plans, games and activities for using yoga with kids of all ages. Get your FREE copy here!
by sara | Jul 1, 2016 | Benefits, Yoga Poses
I haven’t met the author of this article from Huffington Post about teaching yoga to kids, but I would love to meet her and give her a copy of Go Go Yoga Kids: A Complete Guide to Yoga with Kids.
Olga sounds like a great mom. She remembers doing yoga as a young adult and how it did wonders for her self-esteem. Now as a mom, she is looking for a way to connect with her kids and get in shape.
After a few tries, she realized that yoga with kids is different than with adults. The benefits are equally substantial, but she realized how teaching yoga to kids is busy, active and so much fun!
Here is Olga’s story…
…I decided to let go of my expectations. And this is where we start having fun.
We even make up our own yoga poses and sequences: The Head-Bump Pose (stand opposite of each other and then try to bend down and bump your heads in the process), followed by Rolling on the Floor Laughing. We lie on the floor, all three of us together (and sometimes there is a baby lying on my belly), and we hold hands and laugh some more. There are plenty of Cuddle Poses, I’m sure. I stop caring whether the yoga pose is perfect or whether it lasts as long as it should.
Instead, I focus on the fun stuff.
Like roaring like a lion, and making “ssss”-sounds like a snake, and stretching our necks like a giraffe. Now this is something the children can actually relate to, and they want to join me!
We’re finally having fun and connecting.
I love that! That is what it is all about! Having fun, being healthy and connecting with your kids. All at the same time! Read more of Olga’s story here.
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The Best of Kids Yoga
by sara | Jun 14, 2016 | Benefits, Mindfulness
Adults aren’t the only ones who are stressed. Yoga can also be used to help anxious kids and achieve many healthy benefits in the process . Learn simple poses and ideas to introduce and practice yoga at home with your kids.
Yoga for kids is becoming increasingly popular. It is showing up in school classrooms, daycares, sports, in addition to yoga studios and other health clubs. The physical benefits of yoga are lifelong and include flexibility, strength, and coordination. Yoga is also recognized as a relaxation technique and used to help combat anxiety in kids as well as adults.
Here is what Today’s Parent had to say on helping to calm little minds while practicing yoga.
by sara | Jun 8, 2016 | Benefits
Why should children practice kids yoga? There are so many reasons to introduce kids to yoga and the benefits keep rolling in! Be sure to check out our previous Fab Four Benefits of Yoga for Kids. Here are even more that you don’t want to miss.
1. Yoga Boosts Confidence
Yoga makes you feel good which increases confidence. I see this all the time in my kid yoga classes when a child is able to master a pose they have been working on or see their flexibility and balance improve, it is amazing what it does to their confidence. You can literally see them step out of the kids yoga class, standing up straighter and more self-assured. They are also more calm, poised, and self-assured in their abilities for not only in the next class but throughout their daily activities. The more you practice yoga, the better you feel.
2. Promotes Health and Stress Management
Yoga is a physical activity that releases happy endorphins. When you leave a yoga class you feel good inside and out, and you want to maintain that feeling. Yoga also improves your digestive system with the twisting, moving, inverting, and holding poses. Breathing exercises also help calm kids which gives them the tools to use when they are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and anxious. Instead of kids logging more hours in front of a screen yoga promotes health and positive activity.
3. Builds Positive Peer and Social Interactions
Everyone is unique and special in their own way, and we all come from different places and backgrounds. No yoga pose looks the same from person to person, child or adult. With yoga, we celebrate and respect the differences as we try new postures and poses. Kids enjoy working with each other in partner and group poses and achieving success together. Yoga is also about encouraging one another and promoting acceptance, trust, kindness and empathy.
4. Sparks Creativity and Expression
Yoga Kids classes are fun and engaging as we move in and out of games, stories, and songs while learning new poses and practicing as a group. Often yoga kids classes are centered on a theme to help them learn about new places and concepts. Yoga also helps kids be free, creative, and express themselves. Not only is this fun, but yoga also encourages kids to use their imaginations to try new things in a safe environment and to not take themselves too seriously.
by sara | Jun 5, 2016 | Benefits, Breathing Exercises, Games, Kids Yoga Lesson Plan, Yoga Poses
If you are already teaching kids yoga or even if you are just beginning to learn some yoga poses, you have probably already experienced, read or heard about the benefits of yoga for all ages. Why wouldn’t you want to introduce it those you care about most? Your family and loved ones need to know about this!
I love how yoga actually lets you connect with your child and is something you can actually do with them as opposed to being a spectator to such as soccer games, dance recitals, piano recitals, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love cheering my kids on at any of their sporting events or competitions, but the memories are made when you actually do something with them.
It doesn’t need to be a big orchestrated event, just get down on the floor and be engaged. They will love it!
Easy Ways to do Yoga At Home With Your Kids
- Make it a Routine: Doing some yoga poses together does not need to take long. Incorporate some little ways to use yoga at the same time every day. It could be first thing in the morning or by doing some bedtime calming stretches each night. These are good places to start!
- Use Props: Grab some beach towels or yoga mats to lay out and sit on. Kids love having their own space and this will give them boundaries and a sense of ownership. Include your child’s favorite stuffed animal and have it participate along with you.
- Pick a Card: I love these Yoga Pose Cards and they are great for providing a visual. Let them pick 3-5 yoga pose cards at a time to learn, practice and have fun with. Make sure that you participate as well and gain all of the benefits too.
Teaching kids yoga at home doesn’t need to take long. Just have fun with yoga together and make it a part of your life. There is no right or wrong way, but the simple fact that you are together, learning and moving will create lasting memories with your children!
For more ways to teach yoga to your kids visit here.
