Yoga Kids ABC's by Marsha Wenig

Ana has outgrown the Mall indoor play areas, and I am not sure how to get her to expend her energy constructively during this Winter break.

Cooped up indoors a lot, with no clear structure like in her school, she seems to want to bother Oggie all the time, not let him be. I seem to be spending half my time telling her not to do the same things I've asked her not to do a hundred times so far that day! My mum-in-law assures me that Ana is just being a little girl and that she just wants someone to play with...

For now, every few days, if she is in the mood, "we" do Yoga Kids ABC's by Marsha Wenig. "We", in quotes, because, I have become so stiff that I can't seem to be able to do some of the stretches in the DVD and I simply pretend and let Ana do it with full gusto.

The concept is nice, although a bit New Age-y with cloying text/script that Marsha communicates in a calm smooth voice. But, I like it nonetheless!

Each letter of the alphabet is given an animal, flower or a posture name and Marsha leads a group of kids, in a bright outdoors park, by showing them how to hold that particular pose and how to properly stretch and bend to work the muscles.

To quote, they say that Marsha's Yoga kids ABC's "gives children lifelong tools for refocusing mindset and mood, teach yoga fundamentals, build physical fitness and self-confidence and challenge coordination and imagination."

I agree with this. Ana picked up many of the 26 postures and motions easily. While this is not a true yoga discipline, it helps with her co-ordination and physical fitness, and her moods, being shut indoors these days...

The only other physical activity I have lined up for her indoors is to put on some music and move to it - maybe throw in some jumping jacks and some kicks and punches into the "dance" moves... Ana still being 3, not quite 4, is not quite well-coordinated so watching her do jumping jacks is a load of fun - I never realized how tough it can be!