In my post about Kinetic Sand, I talk about the benefits of sensory play for children. One of the slots that I try to include in my children’s daily rhythm is yoga, as I have found wonderfully educational and fun yoga episodes that are hugely sensory based. They are put together by a married couple, Jaime and Martin Amor, who have a yoga business called Cosmic Kids. Their tagline is:

Your place for stories, yoga and fun!

You can read more about them at http://www.cosmickids.com/about/

Generally, yoga can help kids to develop their body awareness, learn how to use their bodies in a healthy way, manage stress through breathing, build concentration, increase their confidence and positive self-image, help them to feel a part of a healthy, non-competitive group, and have an alternative to tuning out rather than through a constant attachment to electronic devices. I have seen a lot of these things already developing in my children.

The Cosmic Kids yoga videos are all free on YouTube so that anyone with an internet connection can get the benefits of yoga. Isn’t that great! Jaime and Martin Amor fund the costs of the production with their teacher training, and kids yoga resources and lesson plans. They also earn some money from YouTube and by selling DVDs and music.

The episodes are for both boys and girls. I find it amazing how my son loves yoga time, and really takes part in it quite enthusiastically.

The videos are based on well thought out stories for the children, that they act out to, with very good backdrops to match the story’s theme. Jaime is the one who does the yoga on the videos, and she is an incredibly expressive story teller with wonderful accents for the different characters!

There are lovely sound effects and music in the background, that aids the feel of the story. Jaime is very gentle but a lot of fun! She moves from standing to sitting poses continuously, to prevent boredom, and explains the moves very well to make them easy for the children to copy.

One example of a video is Popcorn the Dolphin. It is a fun story about a dolphin who is looking for a special treasure map. It has a good old fashioned life lesson with a modern twist (“Stay calm, keep breathing and think positive happy thoughts, and love opens true happiness”), which the children listen to as they lie still on the ground at the end of the story. 

At the end of every episode the children lie on the ground as still as they can which helps them to learn to listen, focus, calm down and perform deep breathing techniques. 

There are many many episodes to watch and interact with. Here is another one:

I feel that this form of yoga for children opens up their imagination, creativity, dreams, adventurous side, and confidence, as well as strengthens, stretches and exercises their little bodies.

I found this article on Jaime’s website about how her yoga can benefit children:

6 Reasons to Try Kids Yoga

Have you heard about kids yoga, but feel unsure exactly what it’s all about?

With the good stuff ranging from improved health and confidence to a better night’s sleep, you’d be surprised just how much your child could benefit from kids yoga. If you’ve found yourself wondering what it’s all about, here’s a little introduction just for you, with six reasons to give kids yoga a try!

1. Kids Yoga Gets Children Moving (even when it’s raining outside!)

We’ve all been stuck indoors with the kids when it’s too gloomy to go outside, but what if you had a guaranteed failsafe to use up indoor energy? Families and homeschoolers tell us time and time again how much kids yoga is a lifesaver on these rainy days, when getting active outside isn’t an option. All you need is a small space, a screen big or tiny and some imagination! With Cosmic Kids Yoga, we have both short and long yoga adventures to fit your child’s needs and the amount of free time you have. There’s also our treasure trove of kids yoga playlists created for all moods and abilities, perfect to get moving whatever the weather!

2. Kids Yoga Promotes a Healthy Body, Without the Competition

For children that don’t find school sports hit the spot, yoga can be the perfect alternative. It’s completely inclusive and focuses on each child’s own personal achievements, rather than winning or losing. It can be practiced in school as a class regardless of ability, helping every child feel included. It can even give a boost of confidence to those who often shy away from sports, which is why it gets a big thumbs up from so many teachers!

3. Kids Yoga is Filled with Stories to Teach and Inspire

Yoga for kids gives a whole new spin on story time, as each yoga video brings a new adventure, with fun characters and familiar faces from film and books. Cosmic Kids Yoga stories teach children about anything from being kind to being brave and following your dreams. Every story helps children learn about themselves and the world around them.

4. Cosmic Kids Yoga Means Active Screen Time

Kids yoga helps to grow strength, build balance, coordination, confidence and so much more. With Cosmic Kids especially, all of this can be done during screen time. The best bit is that it can practiced at home in a living room, kitchen or anywhere you can take a screen! Cosmic Kids is a mixing pot of stories, movement and learning, making screen time so much more than simply watching.

5. Schools Around the World are Benefiting from Kids Yoga

We’d like to say it’s new, but actually, kids yoga is now being regularly practiced in schools all around the world. More and more teachers can see the benefits of introducing mindful activities in the classroom, from using yoga for brain breaks, to trying meditation. Just see what happened when this school replaced detention with yoga and mindfulness.

6. Kids Yoga is Fun!

Whilst there are so many benefits of kids yoga, above all, it’s fun! All children (and grown ups!) love stories, imagination and adventures. Kids yoga combines all these things with the benefits of yoga, making it above all, lots of fun.

I would highly recommend Cosmic Kids yoga, and commend this lovely couple and their team for the fantastic work that they are doing.

Give it a try and let me know what you think…