Title: Yawning Yoga
Author: Laurie Jordan
Illustrator: Aaron Randy
Publisher: 4th Street Media, 2011
Book Type: Fiction
Ages: 3-6
Themes: Yoga, Bedtime
Opening Lines:
“The day is done and it’s time for bed,
but your body’s still moving
and there are thoughts in you head.
So give thanks to your body
for all that it’s done;
from the moment you woke,
’til the day’s setting sun.”
Synopsis (from Yawning Yoga website):
Yawning Yoga is kid-tested (and parent approved!). It is truly and uniquely a book designed specifically to help kids sleep. The books’ careful sequencing makes it the perfect sleepy time book and helps a child establish a bedtime routine that is proven to work.
Incorporating Yawning Yoga into your child’s bedtime routine, provides the perfect sleep solution for your child by helping shift her minds’ focus from being preoccupied with daily stressors to focusing her attention to yoga postures, relaxation techniques and breath work, with the ultimate goal being a restful sleep.
But perhaps what’s most wonderful about Yawning Yoga is that it offers parents the opportunity to positively interact and bond with their children before bedtime, Not only will it help relax kids and increase the quality of their sleep, but will afford parents the same benefits.
Please check out www.yawningyoga.com for more info and to see some of the press and praise Yawning Yoga has received from leading experts in the sleep and yoga fields.
Why I Like This Book:
This is a unique book which provides kids with a sequence of yoga exercises to wind down at night. The first half of the book involves easy yoga positions to help get rid of that extra bit of energy; while the second half of the book shows relaxation exercises to calm the mind. Perfect combination to calm boisterous little tikes.
Each exercise has its own rhyming stanza and an accompanying illustration.This book is full of kid appeal with both silly exercise names like Jiggle and Wiggle or the Twister, and the accompanying artwork, that starts with vibrant colors transitioning to a soft, soothing palette. The author has also included an index at the end containing a detailed explanation of the benefits, instructions, and photograph for each of the exercises in the story. Laurie Jordan, the author, is a New York-based yoga instructor. She is the creator of Little Sprouts Yoga for Kids and the Director of Kids Programming at Kaia Yoga.
I have read this book several times with my girls and they enjoy the exercises. I love the interactive aspect of this book, it’s a great way to connect with the kids and a lot of fun. I am still working on getting my girls to relax their minds. Funny how kids have ask ten million questions, right as you are trying to turn off the light, or maybe that is just my kids.
Click here to see the book trailer on the Yawning Yoga website.
Disclosure: I received my copy of Yawning Yoga from the author. This review nevertheless reflects my own and honest opinion about the book.
