A review and a giveway to brighten your January. Leave a comment after this review to enter for a chance to win a copy of the Shanti Generation DVD. Draw date is Feb 1st.

I’ve spent the past week watching and exploring the Shanti Generation: Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers DVD. It is fabulous! Abby Wills has created a wonderful tool for teens to discover yoga and peace. With all poses, exercises and sequences demonstrated by teens, along with Abby’s calm narrative and guidance, and a grovin’ soundtrack, this DVD is a tool all teens can use to discover and practice yoga.

I especially liked Abby’s verbal cues while the teens do the poses. She provides gentle but specific instructions that guide and deepen the practice bringing awareness to the body and mind. There is plenty of variety here from active sequences to calming ones which is useful for teens to be able to choose their workout according to their personal needs on any given day. The teens themselves are wonderful and perform the poses properly, with intention and joy.

On the DVD you’ll find:

• Pathways - 5 different 30 minute yoga routines
• Library of Poses – 18 mini sequences
• Breathing Room – 5 breathing exercises
• Self-Connection – 2 awareness practices
• Interviews with the teen yogis
• Spanish and Japanese translations

From packaging to the underlying message this DVD is designed to respect nature and promote peace. It’s wonderful to see a DVD made specifically for those aged 10-15. The vocabulary, set, teen models, and concepts are age appropriate but also can apply to adults, which makes it ideal for parents/teachers and pre-teens/teens to do together.

I will be recommending this DVD during my workshop Yoga for Teens as a tool parents, teachers, youth leaders, and counsellors can use to practice yoga with youth. Thank you Shanti Generation for creating such a wonderful resource. It is desperately needed and will be well used.

Oh my, 2009 is almost over and I’ve yet to get organized for the new year. If you are like me, you’re wondering how to:

• stay motivated to healthy living
• get inspired to tackle new challenges
• keep yoga in your heart
• find the time to do it all
• enjoy life

throughout the coming year. I’ve found a number of inspiring and fun yoga calendars available for 2010 to help. Here is a run-down of my favourites.

Yoga Journal 2010 Wall Calendar

As always the YJ produces a beautiful and inspiring calendar. The location shots are as amazing as the yogis performing the poses.

Innerwear Clothing 2010 Calendar

Clean and light hearted. You’ll enjoy these photos of 16 LA yogis having fun and performing amazing poses. I can’t decide if my favourite photo is April or October. All proceeds go toward Casa de Milagros orphanage in Peru.

Yoga Dogs 2010

For the dog lover with a sense of humour. My kids especailly love this calendar and have been trying to get our Sharpei cross Buddy to perfrom the poses. You go Yoga Dog!

Yoga Cats 2010

Can’t forget the cat enthusiasts. If only I could be so flexible. Visit yoga cats to see all the pictures. This addition is for Jean, my mother in law.

Daily Yoga Meditations 2010

Daily mediations to keep you on your personal yoga journey. Lovely and insightful. I’ll use these to set the tone for my adult classes and provide focus during savasana.

Wishing you all the best in 2010.

Become a fan on Facebook and join the growing community of YIMS enthusiasts.

breathe -jecket cover

Recently I picked up a copy of Breathe: Yoga for Teens by Mary Kaye Chryssicas. What a fantastic book! Filled with colour and great photos of teens doing yoga, Mary Kaye’s no nonsense, conversational tone and clear explanations offer an introduction to yoga and its many benefits. Perfect for teens who are over-programmed, stressed, athletes, or looking to try yoga for the first time, this book, with its focus on teen interests, concerns & issues, personal diary excerpts, and inspirational quotes, reassures readers and shows how yoga principles apply to everyday life.

In addition, there is a 35 minute teen yoga DVD with one complete routine, which can be divided into different short workouts, making it easy to use for teens, parents and teachers. With two yogis performing an advanced version as well as a version for those with less flexibility/strength, the routine is divided into six sections (Warm Up, Wake Up, Soothe the Spine, Get Centered, Open Heart, Uniquely Hip, Rest and Release).

Retailing for 14.99 US$(17.99 CAN$) this book is well worth it and is a marvelous addition to my yoga library. I highly recommend this resource.

Are you, or do you have a teen who is, permanently attached to your/their iPhone or iPod Touch? My kids LOVE to play with their Uncle’s and to check out all the cool apps. So why not use that nifty little gadget for keeping up to date on your yoga practise. The clever folks at Apple have come up with a variety of yoga apps just waiting to be downloaded onto your iPhone. Some of them include:

• Yoga Cardz
• Yoga Stretch
• Yoga Deck
• Yoga Moves

Here is a terrific link for a complete rundown of yoga apps for iPhones and iPod Touch as well as a general description of what each one offers.

Thanks to Ann Pizer at About.com for her yoga blog which included this great information.