The benefits of yoga are well-established. There are plenty of health benefits to practicing, plus, for many of us it’s one of the few times in a week we have space and quiet. Time to focus on ourselves—our breathing, the physical space we occupy. There is no reason adults are the only ones who can benefit—health and otherwise—but most yoga classes are geared towards them exclusively.
Until now. Let’s Play Yoga!: How to Grow Calm Like a Mountain, Strong Like a Warrior, and Joyful Like the Sun by Lúcia Barros and Márcia De Luca is a fun, instructive guide to helping your kids experience the same benefits of yoga that you enjoy. Created specifically for kids 5 to 8, Let’s Play Yoga! uses colorful characters to promote balance and discernment—through creative stories kids can read on their own, all grounded in traditional yoga poses.
Kids will learn 13 poses with beautifully illustrated step-by-step instructions as well as the ten principles of yoga. Parents will help their kids learn a lifelong skill and a compassionate approach to life.
One of the poses is excerpted below, along with the story that accompanies the practice. For more kid-friendly yoga poses and lessons, check out Let’s Play Yoga!–available for preorder here and wherever books are sold on August 21.
Once Upon A Time . . .
. . . there was a magic tree called Vriksha. It gave people anything they wanted—all they had to do was ask. Everyone was good to each other. They shared what they had and treated each other with respect. As time went by, some people started wanting more and more, much more than they needed. They also stopped sharing the things they had with their friends and neighbors. Vriksha was sad when it saw this happening. It was so sad it decided to move.
It was chaos! People came looking for the magic tree and couldn’t find it. Some people were angry. Some people wept.
Little by little, men, women, and children came to realize that the world was better when everybody received and shared like Vriksha. People also found out that having lots of things didn’t make anyone happier. Happiness is having just enough of what we need—including good friends!
Vriksha was so moved when it saw people changing their minds that it decided to come back home, to the place in the town where it stood before.
Don’t you think the trees where you live are a little magic as well, like Vriksha? They bloom flowers and create shade; they are home to birds and other animals; and, above all, their roots hold the soil all around us in place. Take good care of them, and they will take care of you!
