Kids Teach Yoga

PreS-Gr 6—Twelve-year-old Haley leads a class of diverse boys and girls ranging in age from 4 to 11 through a series of yoga poses and balance activities in this well-executed program. Conducted in a beautiful garden, she takes the children through breathing exercises; sun salutations; poses such as the eagle, the tree, and the plank; and group balancing activities. Haley demonstrates each pose while describing the actions in a soothing voice. Occasionally poses are demonstrated with added difficulty, but participants are encouraged to perform the easier version if that is more comfortable. A couple of times, Haley calls upon one of the other children to lead the group in an exercise. The great thing about the children conducting the poses and activities is that they are not so rehearsed that they do everything perfectly. There are wobbles and bobbles that make viewers feel that mistakes are acceptable. There's a nice relaxation story sequence where footage of eagles is shown while a song is sung and a story about an eagle is told. A nice introduction to yoga for children.—Veronica De Fazio, Plainfield Public Library, IL