Teaching kids about the benefits of yoga

While you’re teaching the kids about exercise, teach them about the benefits of yoga. Wai Lana, host of the PBS seriesWai Lana Yoga, has introduced the Little Yogis Kit designed for children ages 3 to 8. Featured is a 60-minute video with Wai Lana and several little yogis pretending to be cobras, bears, butterflies, bridges, trees, bows and arrows, and lots of other fun things as they perform various yoga asanas. The kit also includes a kid-size yoga mat with little cartoon yogis in action; a colorful, sturdy mat bag complete with an extra pocket for water and snacks; and a large, full-color cartoon poster with 21 yoga exercises. SWEAT tried out the kit on a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old and it was a fun thing to do, although the 4-year-old was as interested in watching as doing. Find the kit at better exercise video stores or go to www.wailana.com.

—SWEAT magazine, February 2004

Such a sweet way to entertain and educate kids!

A friend bought the Little Yogis video for my daughter for Christmas. She loves it, and I really enjoy watching it too. Such a sweet way to entertain and educate kids! There should be more like this. I thought it was the best.

—Merrill, Toronto, Canada

Skin Inc.

Wai Lana Little Yogis Kit designed for children ages 3 to 8 is fun, safe, easy, and convenient, and provides everything a little yogi needs to get started on the path to a long, healthy life. Featuring a 60-minute video, the kit also includes a kid-sized yoga mat styled with cartoon yogis in action, a colorful and sturdy mat bag with an extra pocket for water and snacks, and a large, full-color poster with 21 yoga exercises illustrated.

—Skin Inc., November 2003

Seal of Excellence for Creative Child Magazine

Winner of Seal of Excellence for:

Creative Child Magazine’s 2003 Top Creative Toy Award program

School Library Journal

Preschool-Grade 3—Since the early 1980s, Wai Lana has produced videos and published books on yoga, and co-directs and hosts her own PBS-TV show, which is watched by viewers around the world. Now Wai Lana has expanded her audience to include children. She begins the tape with questions and answers through which she assures the children that they do not have to copy the poses perfectly to succeed, but they should try again if they fall out of a pose, and that they can quit when they are tired or have to go to the bathroom. She also emphasizes the importance of fresh air and plenty of water. The tape begins with a breathing exercise, followed by 18 poses or asanas, in which the children dance, mix cakes, and become animals, insects, trees, and more. The poses are designed to help children release tension, strengthen their bodies, improve their balance, and develop coordination. Each pose is introduced by an animated song and then demonstrated by Wai Lana while children follow along. The exercises end with the children enjoying a lively song and dance.

—School Library Journal, February 1, 2004

SanityCentral.com

It’s no secret that the fitness staple of the Hollywood set—YOGA—has swept the general adult populace. Once the domain of lithe lovelies like Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Jennifer Aniston, yoga classes are springing up as quickly as Starbucks franchises, and people are running to them like lemmings to the sea, or rather like downward dogs to the mat.

That there are also endless videos available for those who wish to achieve their inner peace and awkward positions in the privacy of their own homes is no surprise. I was, however, a bit skeptical when a children’s yoga video made its way to our review desk. Children? YOGA? Right, I thought—the only way a child is going to stay interested is if the instructor is SpongeBob SquarePants!

With apologies to both Wai Lana and SpongeBob—was I ever wrong.

Using my own three children as yogi guinea pigs, I popped the video in after school. Clad in comfy clothes and bare feet, we hit the PLAY button and began …

Wai Lana—an accomplished instructor and star of the world’s most-watched yoga television series—has combined the elements of animation, music, rhyme, participation, and fun in this highly enjoyable video. Surrounded by children, against a tropical background of surf, sun, and palm trees, Wai Lana’s quiet yet commanding voice leads both children and adults through one position to another.

Yes, I said adults. I was right there between my kids, totally enjoying achieving and holding each pose. We all giggled together as we became balloons, bridges, and even trees. When the video was over, the girls all chorused their approval and something even more surprising—a desire to do it again the next day. Since that first day, Little Yogis has become the afternoon staple in our home. Forget Nickelodeon—we are NickelYOGIing!

Their gymnastics instructors have pointed out increased balance and stretching abilities in each of my girls, and their soccer coaches have noted increased stamina and coordination. I have noted an increased sense of calm and well-being (in ALL of us)—not to mention a wonderful afternoon date with my children each day.

So give your children the gift of health, harmony, and a heck of a great alternative to just sitting and watching TV! Would make a great holiday gift for ages 3 to 8!

—SanityCentral.com, November 2003

San Diego Family Magazine

Wai Lana’s Little Yogis video, hosted by Wai Lana. This 60-minute video introduces yoga poses to children by pretending to be different animals like bears and butterflies. For ages 3-8.

—San Diego Family Magazine, November 2003

Raising Little Yogis

With the surge in yoga’s popularity over the past decade, it’s no wonder that parents are passing along the health benefits to their children. With Wai Lana’s new Little Yogis Kit, practicing yoga can even be fun. Specifically designed for children ages 3-8, this 60-minute video engages and entertains children while teaching them how to stretch and strengthen their bodies and minds. The kit also includes a kid-size yoga mat, yoga mat bag, and poster demonstrating 21 yoga exercises.

—Pulse magazine, March/April 2004

Playful Video Yoga Class for Children

Wai Lana, host of the long-running PBS series Wai Lana Yoga, has created a 60-minute video for children. Her young students cheerfully move as she does—stretching, lengthening their spines, and having fun all the while. The video is part of a kit that includes a child-size yoga mat, a colorful bag for water and snacks, and a poster depicting 21 yoga positions. Striking poses a bit more actively and imaginatively than adults do in yoga class, the children (between the ages of 3 and 8) join Lana in becoming the outward equivalent of a butterfly, a cobra, a tree, a tail-wagging dog that changes into a Halloween cat, a bear, an elephant, and other intriguing creatures from nature.

—Contemporary Pediatrics, March 2004

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This is a delightful way to introduce children ages 3 to 8 to yoga. The product includes a kid-size, colorful mat illustrated with “little yogis” in action, a yoga mat bag with a pocket for water and snacks, and a cartoon poster showing children in various poses as animals, bridges, and butterflies. There’s also a video with Wai Lana, host of Wai Lana Yoga on PBS, doing yoga with children.

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 11, 2003