StorytimeYoga for Kids

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was a quiet little mouse of a librarian. She loved children and was passionate about promoting literacy. One day out of the blue, she was asked to conduct the weekly story time at the public library where she worked. She had never done this sort of thing before though and she was a little bit anxious but she gave it a bit of thought, did a bit of research and imagined the possibilities, then jumped right in. What fun she had with these precious preschoolers! Reading books, doing finger plays and singing songs, she didn’t think it could get any better than this.

Right about this same time she began a practice of yoga and several sweet years went by. Before long she longed to do more than read stories to children, she wanted to TELL stories to children. She wanted to be a STORYTELLER but she didn’t want to be just any old storyteller, she wanted to be a yoga storyteller. She wanted to share her love of yoga and story with children. Now where in the world could she find training for such a thing?

Where does a reference librarian go when she needs information? The internet of course! And what did I find, Storytime Yoga for Kids at www.storytimeyogaforkids.com. Sydney Solis has developed a storytelling and yoga teaching method that is simple, yet thorough; comprehensive and compelling. These training materials are incredible. They have helped me to grow both personally and professionally.

Sydney’s course begins with “Awakening the Storyteller” which is absolutely apropos. The storyteller, who thinks, speaks and acts, as well as the storyteller within will be awakened. The adventure begins as she takes you through your dreams, learning the importance of story, symbolism and imagination. You will then be captivated by the healing power of story. Sydney’s creative techniques lead you to explore the art of storytelling and discover the many benefits of storytelling.

I have taken Sydney’s methods and modified them to fit a public library program. They would also work well in a school setting. I introduce children to yoga through storytelling. My hope is to inspire children to express themselves through story and yoga. Feedback from parents and children is remarkable. Here are a few testimonials;

mom; “My son enjoyed this so much, even more than my daughter!”

child;  “When can we do this again? It was so much fun.”

parent; “Thank you for giving my daughter this opportunity. It was fantastic.”

child; “Are we doing yoga today?”

Headstart teacher; “Thank you, the kids loved it. They are going to go home and talk about it. This was perfect; we are working on story sequencing at school.”

mom; “That was phenomenal! He is usually very shy and he participated and loved it.”

child; “I had a great time!”

dad; “This program is Beautiful!”

Story is a tool of yoga and both story and yoga awaken us to our true selves. As I work with story and yoga I am transformed.

Sat Nam

Kathe Hudson; Master Certified Storytime Yoga Teacher