The Kids Yoga Resource

The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success. A book review, giveaway, and free gift!

Let’s face it.  Some days it’s awfully tough being a kid.  School work, social pressures, parent expectations and overscheduled activities can all lead to stress and anxiety for children. 

As physical problems like headaches, sleeplessness, panic attacks and bedwetting appear, parents will want child psychologist Dr. Charlotte Reznick on their side.  In her book, The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (a Los Angeles Times Best Seller), Reznick shares her nine tools for using imagery to empower children and alleviate stress. 

The Power of Your Child’s Imagination is based on Reznick’s nine tools for handling common struggles.  Reznick does a great job of explaining each tool, then providing a sample script for adults to explain it to a child, variations on the technique, the way a child will use the tool and troubleshooting. 

Reznick begins by teaching Balloon Breath, which we love, because it incorporates deep breathing as the foundation to any relaxation practice.  Once the reader learns and understands the value of deep breathing (or belly breathing-the practice of filling your abdomen and not just your chest with air), he or she can move on to the remaining skills, including Discovering your Special Place, Tapping into Energy, Using Color for Healing, and Meeting a Wise Animal Friend.  Because Reznick builds each tool upon one another, one does not feel overwhelmed when beginning this practice.

“These tools facilitate a child’s inward journey to that deep place sometimes called the subconscious or unconscious.  Each touches a world of metaphor, creating a waking dream,” says Reznick in her book’s introduction.   “These images help children direct their attention to problems and symptoms they want to change.  They are easy-to-use, whimsical, and remarkable effective.”

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Reznick’s imagery-based practice is that all the tools are easy for a child to use on his or her own.  Parents or teachers provide the guidance a child needs to learn these techniques, but kids are then free to access and utilize them as needed.

“You’ll help your kids use imagination to access their natural strengths and wisdom, and deal with their problems,” says Reznick.  “With just a little guidance, our kids can gain access to the answers for most of life’s questions within themselves.”

Here at ChildLight Yoga and Yoga 4 Classrooms, we’re big believers in using imagination-based techniques for relaxation, play and staying healthy.  Teaching children tools for stress management, resilience and emotional regulation through yoga, mindfulness and reflection is the cornerstone of our programs.  We’re thrilled that Dr. Reznick has shared her techniques, used for over twenty-five years to help kids, parents and professionals.  In fact, we honor Dr. Reznick in the opening pages of our Yoga 4 Classrooms Teacher's Guide as her important work helped to inspire some of the 'Imagination Vacations' that are part of of the Y4C classroom curriculum and Card Deck activities.  As well, her book is listed as a must-have resource in both the ChildLight Yoga Teacher Training and the Yoga 4 Classrooms Teacher Workshop and Instructor Trainings.  We've recommended it to many parents who have children suffering from anxiety, and have successfully used these visualizations at home with our own children.

For more information on Reznick, her program and where to buy The Power of Your Child’s Imagination book, CDs (listen to samples!), and others products, please visit www.imageryforkids.com.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 9 TOOLS in our post from Sept. 11th, 2009.


ENTER TO WIN!  Win a copy of The Power of Your Child's Imagination by Charlotte Reznick. 

Leave a comment here telling us why you feel it's important to encourage children's imaginations and how you plan to use the book should you win it. 

Contest is open to US and Canadian residents only.  Contest will close on Dec. 31st and a winner will be selected and notified on or around Jan. 1.  Good luck!


FREE BONUS GIFT:  Dr. Reznick gifts you with a free White Light Meditation. Listen and be transported to a sanctuary of inner peace.

Yoga Monkey and the Search for the Prana-Banana

Every now and then a book comes along that grabs you, mind and spirit.  Yoga Monkey and the Search for the Prana-Banana by Sophie Fairweather and James Marasa is one of those special books.  The book's hero, a young monkey named Pip, is desperately trying to help his family.  Times are tough in the Monkey Business, and Pip's father is working harder than ever to keep bananas on the table.  Therein lies Pip's dilemma - how can he relieve Father's stress and restore his flagging energy, so the family can be happy together again?  

Pip turns to Grandfather, his wise and peaceful mentor who can be found, every morning, practicing yoga in the garden.  Grandfather tells Pip about prana.  "When we work for all things, not just for ourselves, we are connected to our prana.  Therefore, our work carries much greater meaning and we may be inspired to accomplish extraordinary things." 

And thus, Pip sets off in search of the prana-banana - the magical energy banana that he believes will help his Father.  What follows is Pip's own yoga journey, as he learns about compassion, helping others and connecting to a higher purpose.  This   60+ page book is a fun read for children in grades 2 - 6 and older, and one that parents will thoroughly enjoy reading to their younger children.  Intersperced with Rachel Mindrup's charming illustrations, the story teaches yoga poses while it tells an engaging and inspiring story about what it really means to practice yoga. 

This is one of the best yoga story books we've seen for children yet, and we are delighted to recommend it for children - and adults - of all ages.  Yoga Monkey and the Search for the Prana-Banana is expected to release on December 11th.  The book is just $20.  We can't think of a better yoga-themed holiday gift for a young yogi or yogini. Pre-order your child's copy at www.yogamonkey.com.  We will also offer it  at our online boutique and in our Dover, NH studio, as soon as it becomes available, most likely by Dec. 18th.

My First Yoga: A Simple and Sweet Yoga Book for Children

Whether you are five or fifty-five, yoga can be daunting to a beginner.  It's often helpful to start slowly, and with the guidance of a great teacher or simple instructions.

Abbie Davies, owner and founder of My First Yoga, provides both, with her recently published children's book, My First Yoga: Animal Poses. 

This simple and sweet yoga book for children teaches ten movements and poses by comparing each to an animal.  The sequence flows from monkey, where the child warms up with a breathing exercise and arm movement, continues with standing poses like giraffe and flamingo and ends with several seated poses, like butterfly and turtle.

Davies does a lovely job illustrating to demonstrate how a child can resemble a living creature by moving and stretching his or her body.  With her brief directions, Davies gives a child or a parent ease in following directions.  

The book's design, a wide, paperback, makes it easy to follow while lying the book flat on one's yoga mat.  Any parent could do the same, alongside a child not yet able to read.

While the activities listed under each pose are meant to provide a useful application for yoga with other activities, many of them seem too old for young or school-aged children, for whom the descriptive content seems to be written.  However, the important aspect is that children see how yoga can make them strong, balanced, focused and relaxed.  

Davies does a beautiful job inspiring children to learn yoga.  We hope kids of all ages will enjoy yoga through the use of classes, books and videos, and will soon learn to practice and share it on their own.  

This just in!  My First Yoga: Animal Poses was recently recognized by Creative Child magazine as part of their annual toy awards.  For 2010, My First Yoga was awarded a Preferred Choice Award in the "Books for Kids - Education, Heath & Wellness category," and a Seal of Excellence Award in the "Books for Kids - Movement" category.  Kudos! 

My First Yoga: Animal Poses is available on Amazon.com.  Also available: My First Yoga flash card appliation for iPhone.

To win your own copy of the book, tell us:  what kinds of movement come naturally to your child, and how does he feel about himself or herself as a result?  To enter, simply post your answer here on this blog.  A winner will be chosen at random on Friday, July 2nd. Good Luck! — Amy Bevan

Amy Bevan is a freelance writer, local reporter and host of The PranaMama, an online wellness and lifestyle magazine, and frequent contributor to ChildLight Yoga's blog, The Kids Yoga Resource, as well as certified ChildLight Yoga Instructor and Itsy Bitsy Yoga facilitator.  Amy resides in South Berwick, ME with her husband and two young children.

Nature Deprivation? 3 Great Books Bring Families Closer to Nature

Technology, media and a focus on structured play has produced a culture that essentially discourages children to play outside. In fact, studies are showing that our children's health and wellness has been negatively impacted by what is being called, 'nature deprivation'. (Visit the Children & Nature Conservancy for more info on this topic.)  The good news is, we can begin to reverse these effects simply by spending more time in nature... but many of us have either forgotten or never learned how to have fun outside.

We recently learned of three fantastic books for families wishing to experience nature together.  We love these books, not only because of the obvious connection between many of yoga's traditional poses, which are named after animals and other natural objects, but because the outdoors provides a valuable opportunity to step away from the hustle and bustle of every day life.  By simply going for a walk, sitting in the grass or finding a quiet tree to lean against, we are able to quiet the mind, reflect on ourselves, recharge our batteries, and connect with our families. These are all very important for our stress levels and overall happiness.

Jennifer Ward's I Love Dirt! is written for younger children - we guess around ten years old or younger.  The book's cover promises "52 activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature."  These activities range from experimentation, physical movement, observation and playful games.  Not surprisingly, we are particularly attracted to the activities that closely resemble the activities you might find in our yoga classes for kids, such as the grass activity in chapter one, where families are guided to grow their blades or grass and bloom like flowers, using large movement activities to mimic each action. 

In Let's Go Outside, a follow-up to I Love Dirt!, slightly older children aged 8-12 are guided in similar ways, but with some more scientific, project and value-based lessons.  In this book, a child can learn to make music with blades of grass, acorns and sticks, grow fruits and vegetables as a lesson in local farming and sustainability, and much more simple activities to be done outside, like the chapter covering ten different varieties of tag (who knew?!).

Finally, in Todd Christopher's The Green Hour, the author provides inspiration for families to spend one hour in nature each day, and includes ideas for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world.   A chapter on treasures from the sea guides identifies various beach objects while educating the reader on how and why those objects end up ashore.  Another lesson on going for a hike, gives parents practical advice for how to enjoy a family hike, including, "slow down," "know where you're going," "and "think small."  Let's face it, sometimes grown-ups need a reminder to see the world through a child's eyes, and this book provides spectacular information on how to do so.

Being outside in nature engages all of our senses, bringing us into the present moment.  We become instantly reflective, and literally grounded.  Sunshine encourages the release of feel good hormones and fresh air cleanses and refreshes our nervous system.  We can't help but be awed and filled with gratitude while outdoors.  We find ourselves more centered, relaxed and open...more connected to ourselves, others and this beautiful place we call earth.  For these reasons, teaching nature appreciation is an important part of our programming.  We couldn't be happier to have found Shambhala Publications' I Love Dirt!, Let's Go Outside, and The Green Hour to assist us in that endeavor.

What is your favorite activity to do outdoors with your family?  Share your answer for a chance to win an entire set of all 3 books!  One winner will be chosen from all responses on May 25th.  Good luck!