Here are some helpful resources to get us all started.
ABC Mindful Me by Christiane Engel
Preschool–1
Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire by Dharmachari Nagaraja
Ages 4–8 This bedtime book offers 20 bedtime tales like “The Grateful Bull” and “Goblin Island” for children to drift off to. The tales use ancient wisdom to teach about morals and living a good life. Never fear—it’s got an introduction for adults to understand the basics of Buddhism before sharing with their young ones. But also, the book is gorgeous, so adults will enjoy the entire book as much as children will.
Yoga Pretzels by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish, Illustrated by Sophie Fatus, Introduction by Baron Baptiste
Ages 4+
My Daddy Is A Pretzel by Baron Baptiste
Ages 4–7 Here’s Baptiste again! This book connects yoga asanas (poses) with different careers. The setting is a yoga class in which children learn what each parent does for a living. That job then ties into a yoga pose. Then we get a lesson on how to do the yoga pose properly and how it benefits us. Super clever and informative.
Yoga for Kids: Simple Animal Poses for Any Age by Lorena v. Pajalunga, Illustrated by Anna Forlati
Age 4–8
Teach Your Child Meditation: 70 Fun Easy Ways to Help Kids De-Stress and Chill Out by Lisa Roberts, RYT, RCYT
Ages 5–12 This book focuses on relaxation and confidence-building. It offers a lot of choices for integrating breathing and poses into everyday life. Again, adults can get a lot out of this book, too, either despite or even because of the fun names like Funny Bunny Breath. Once the little ones start zenning out, we can pick up on that energy and all be a little calmer. Please share your own experiences with children and yogi life. If you’re interested in more yoga philosophy, you can check out these 5 books for yogic thinking. There’s more about yoga in the archives here and more about mindfulness here. Namaste and om shanti shanti.
