Kids love yoga.

Although the book was written and illustrated for children 4 to 8 years old, the delightful surprise about Watch Me Do Yoga is that it appeals to kids of all ages! Feedback coming in says that much younger children (toddlers and babies) are also enjoying it. My youngest “reader” is my great nephew nine month old Hayden, from New Zealand. He loves having Watch Me Do Yoga read to him. Here he is with his daddy completely absorbed in the story and the pictures.

Brittany from New Jersey sent these pictures. Brittany’s initial tweet announced that she had given her niece Hannah, who is fifteen months old, Watch Me Do Yoga for Christmas and that it was Hannah’s favorite! Hannah asks her mom Shelby and her aunt Brittany to read it to her “all the time.” If they are too busy to read to her, she “reads” it to herself!

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Here is Ella, aged 7, who I met at a Thanksgiving party. We spent most of the afternoon doing yoga. Matsyasana (fish pose) was her favorite posture. At one point, Ella demanded that I call the entire gathering into the “yoga room” to watch her perform this pose. Kids love yoga. They also love being watched doing yoga!

Three little girls inspired the drawings for Watch Me Do Yoga:

Here is Mali (and also her Dad!) posing in their back yard. It was Mali who initially inspired me to write the book. She accompanied her Mom to a private yoga session with me — but she was not happy.  She was bored. She wanted to go home. She didn’t want to play with the toys her mom had bought along to keep her occupied. She was quite vocal about her misery. Finally, I pulled her into the class and I taught her along side with her Mom. She was transformed. She had a blast! She did not want to go home. She protested! She wanted to stay and do more yoga. The idea for Watch Me Do Yoga was born.

Here is Simone. You can see her beautiful tortoise pose, next to my drawing. I couldn’t have drawn this picture (and some of the others in the book) without her.

Here is Simone again with my son Jake who I co-opted into modeling for the daddy character.

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This is Lila who along with her Mom, posed for the swimming picture: “And then I’ll be a swimming fish with little brother Paul.”

More kids and their yoga.

 

Send in your “kids love yoga” photos and I will post them here.

Text and illustrations from Watch Me Do Yoga, copyright © 2010 by Bobby Clennell. Reprinted with permission of Rodmell Press. All rights reserved.