Mindful Moves: Kid-Friendly Yoga and Peaceful Activities for a Happy, Healthy You

by Nicole Cardoza

Mindfulness is proven to boost children’s physical, mental, and socio-emotional development, but establishing the practice requires making it a part of daily life. With delightful illustrations and kid-friendly language, Mindful Moves introduces kids to simple mindfulness activities that are fun, easy to remember, and available for kids to turn to any time the need arises, no matter where they are. Check Your Inner Weather encourages children to tune into how they feel in the moment and accept their feelings without judgement. Pose like a Superhero helps fill kids with inner strength and confidence, while Breathe like a Walrus helps them channel frustration or anger through breath and facial relaxation. Each of the meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and movement activities is designed to help kids stay calm, be present, and feel focused and happy. Whether it’s before a busy day at school, in the backseat of the car, during a test, or heading off to bed, this is a guide kids can refer to again and again!  

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens

64 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2021

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, colorful, helpful book to introduce young children to mindfulness, simple yoga poses, breathing exercises and stress relief. It's very encouraging and covers the topics well. I wish it named the yoga poses -- the names of poses are often worked into the text like tree, cat, cow, etc. but it never says this pose is this or that and often uses totally different words. That said, it has great tools for young kids, especially the preschool age.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Stef Bevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the cutest book and so well illustrated. It is perfect for little kids to be able to even just look at the pictures and understand different mindful moves they can take. I love how the paragraphs are short and there is bubbles of text, it would definitely keep a little kids interest because it isn't overwhelming and written in long paragraph format. My son is only almost two but I feel like this is a good book for him to at least look through the pictures of at this age and have me read to him.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started following Nicole during the #sharethemic campaign on Instagram. I saw that she came out with this book and had to buy it for my friend about to have her first baby.

In a nutshell, I loved this book. I loved the illustrations and the activities and everything. As I work from home, even these are good, easy exercises for me as an adult to perform during a break from looking at my computer screen. I loved that she included a child in a wheelchair to do the breathing and stretching exercises. I'm also big on gratitude and the acts are thrown in throughout the book. I'm definitely trying the Bedtime Blastoff when I go to sleep tonight as I am a person who has a million thoughts racing through my mind. What a great activity.

I think this book is great for all ages of children (and adults)..okay maybe not newborns, but getting them started on hearing breaths, calm, and gratitude early will help.

[RigbyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best yoga/mindfulness children's books. Mindful moves has more in depth activities and movements. It was easily followed by my 4 year and it managed to keep her attention throughout.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super engaging book for anyone - not just children - interested in being more mindful. Filled with lovely, vivid illustrations of a diverse group of human and non-human animals that guide us through different practices to help us stay in the present moment and live more peacefully. This book is filled with numbered, easy to follow instructions for a variety of meditations (including my favorite - loving kindness), breathing techniques, stretching, yoga and more! I’m big into practicing mindfulness and was surprised to find out that this book, intended for children, taught me two new techniques - taking mind pictures! & sleepy snuggles! - that I will incorporate into my practices.

The one very disappointing issue that took me out of my happy place while reading this - which I hope the author finds it in their heart to change up before publication - is the illustration of the fishes in a small fish bowl. This whole book is filled with our fellow earthlings engaging in activities with humans and being treated with respect, so an illustration of captivity does not fit well with the theme. Captivity is cruel and unacceptable for non-humans who are wild (fishes, reptiles, birds) and meant to be living free in nature.

Thank you to Nicole Cardoza, Storey Publishing, and #NetGallery for an ARC of #MindfulMoves in return for an honest review. Review will be posted on NetGallery and Goodreads.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mindful Moves" is a wonderful way to introduce kids to calmness and quiet. The author guides the reader through a variety of activities including meditation, breathing techniques, affirmations and yoga poses. The content is presented in an easy understandable way and the wonderful illustrations enrich the author's mission.

The book is an invaluable tool for parents, kids, caregivers and educators. Mindfulness contributes greatly to a kids physical, mental, and socio-emotional development and can be practised daily for optimum results. "Check Your Inner Weather" suggests that kids tune into how they feel in the moment and accept those feelings without condemnation, while "Breathe like a Walrus" deals with their anger and frustrations through breathing and facial relaxation, just to name a few. Each mindful, mediative yoga, and movement activity enables kids to calm themselves, focus and be happy. This is the perfect book to share at this moment in time with all the disruptions and unknown entities that are happening in their lives right now. I highly recommend this book.

[LEE-ANN HOLMES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mindful moves is an excellent way of introducing children to a variety of mindfulness techniques. The vibrant pictures, clear instructions and descriptions make this perfect for younger children although I certainly learnt a few new techniques too!
So many different activities are included in this book from mediation, breathing techniques, visualisation, affirmations and yoga poses. Each is described in a child friendly way which is easy to understand. Throughout the book there are opportunities to be mindful in everyday life and think of the senses we experience during a journey, a mealtime or when we are outside in nature.
There is so much I loved in this book such as the I am Royalty excerise and the Bedtime Blastoff when all thoughts can be placed in a rocket and sent to space to aid sleep!
I expected this book to be nothing more than a variety of yoga moves but it was so much more. It is a beautiful, simple introduction to mindfulness that we all need in our lives right now.

[Luca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good:
- beautiful pictures
- easy and engaging for kids
- useable tips!
- diverse faces and drawings, with disabled and racially diverse inclusion, and tips which are mostly applicable to anyone regardless of ability.

Bad
- some parent tips or school use tips would be perfect at the end, but I loved it all the same

This is a beautiful and calming book that I can see becoming a favourite in many households. I read this and even at my age, enjoyed the simple and calm pictures and language! I'm definitely considering buying this as a gift for a new baby in the family, it's perfect for little monsters to calm down with.

Meditation is not my thing but this book makes it accessable for any child.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a child, especially if they struggle to manage their emotions. Emotional intelligence is key for every child!

Overall: 10/10 :)

[Aolund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of mindfulness activities to practice throughout the day, this would be a very useful book to have on hand to work through with kids at home, trying different activities as the mood strikes or situation warrants. The writing is straightforward and full of great prompts for reflection, grounding/centering, and gratitude.

However, some caveats: while the illustrations show people with a range of skin tones and hair styles, there are only a few pages showing disabled people (most of which are on the same spread—one person using a wheelchair, one person using a cane, one person with an artificial limb), and there are no fat people depicted in this book. There is also no mention made of the cultural origins of the mindfulness practices included. While yoga moves and a Buddhist meditation are described, for instance, no attribution is made as to where these practices come from.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Storey Publishing through NetGalley.
Delightful yoga book for young readers. Cardoza takes readers and their families through a full day of possible relaxing activities. She incorporates the yoga moves into situations children will experience as part of their lives. The brightly colored illustrations encourage readers to try each offered exercise. The text is easy to follow for families to practice mindfulness together. A great read together book for young families. Cardoza shares the message that we all feel emotions and experience so many different activities and can take time to relax our minds and bodies in each one.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm all for more books aimed at engaging children with mindfulness practices, and I think this is a great one! It's quite full, and some pages involve a narrative to read through while other contain specific practices.

I do wish there was a little better order/organization to this -- maybe pairing the exercises by theme (e.g. exercises to do when feeling anxious, stretching exercises, etc). I appreciate, though, that a variety of practices are included from yoga to mindful eating.

Illustrations are vibrant and engaging and include diverse representation.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Storey Publishing. Opinions are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This is a phenomenal resource for kids, caregivers, and teachers. I love how the author explains mindfulness and its benefits. It is in kid-friendly language with illustrations showing the diversity we see in our world. I appreciate that this book talks about when and how to be mindful - while travelling, eating, being outside. There are some simple tips and exercises that are sure to help children build their own mindfulness practices in their lives. I cannot wait to gift this to my 8 year old.

[Catherine Craig (Angelic Light) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing children's book that shows children how to practice mindfulness, yoga, breathing exercises, visualisation, stress relief and much more. The book is fun, easy to read and it is very bright and colourful, which children will love. The exercises in the book are awesome. My daughter and I loved this book and I highly recommend it!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to help kids become more in tune with their bodies and to voice what they feel and what they need. It walks them through various stretches and techniques to calm down and feel the feelings in their body and mind. Plus the illustrations are simple but engaging.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for a free digital copy for my review.

[Kathy Iwanicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This super cute book is perfect for parents at home who wish to bring more mindfulness into their house. It would also be a great tool to help children cope with their emotions. I wish this book was around when my children were young. It can be used in the classroom, maybe one activity at a time. I will definitely look to adding a hard copy of this book to my book shelf.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was absolutely adorable! It was a great introduction to the general principles and tenets of mindfulness, meditation at large, yoga, presence in the moment, and movement. The pictures were very cute and made me smile :) Some of the text got a bit jumbled; not sure if this was the fault of my new Kindle or what. But it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book! Thanks for the ARC!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, this book is a tad long. It solidly falls into non-fiction. I think it would be a great in class book where there was a lesson everyday from various pages. It’s simple to understand no matter the age. It mixes yoga with lessons on paying attention to yourself, to others, and to things around you. I find this book was very well done and would be a great asset to any library.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to mindfulness practices for kids! More of a reference book than a story book, this is great book to have on hand to incorporate mindfulness into every day life for young kids. It shows people of all abilities and colors (with more BIPOC appearing folks than white folks!), with some animals to help explain practices and gain interest.

[C.D. Weatherholtz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book! This is a book you can use every day, not necessarily a sit down and read all at once, but worth having in your class, home for teaching and learning. The illustrations are adorable. Great for a classroom or for all kids to develop and learn mindfulness and be present in our ever-hectic world.

[BiblioBrandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book! So many good nuggets of wisdom. I feel like it gave me a lot of tools to try for when students need a mindful minute. I think this would be a great addition to all classroom teacher's libraries. I am adding it to our SEL collection.

[Lcharlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything that can bring you some peace and calmness in this crazy time, I am all for!

[Melissa the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to mindfulness and yoga for kids.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one to read again and again.