Every once in awhile, I come across a product that far exceeds your expectations.  For us, that is Angel Bear Yoga.  To be honest, I was skeptical.  I kept thinking, what makes this so different from any other yoga I could do with my daughter?  Well, read on to find out the answer.

Christ is a certified yoga instructor who is qualified to teach children’s yoga as well.  When she began practicing yoga herself after having her baby, she discovered that it helped her find peace and balance in her life.  Throughout her time teaching children’s yoga, she felt it was missing something.  She wanted it to be about more than just being active.  She wanted to come up with a way to have it be more of a creative activity and she did.

The dvd’s offer more of a story telling trait.  Each pose is designed around a character trait.  Combining yoga, with Christi’s love for nature, Angel Bear Yoga helps children embody positive behavior and to appreciate the world around them. Her goal is to open children’s hearts one pose at a time!

Here is a short video I recorded of the girls doing the DVD, don’t mind that Maggie decided to sweep everything at the exact moment I decided to video!  I love how you can see the focus on Madison, and how Maggie just stops and stares.

All of the Angel Bear Yoga products tie together and you and your children can join Angel Bear and Sweet Pea on their adventures. I would have to say that we use the DVD the most.  The first time we put it in, Maggie was done after a minute or two, so I wasn’t quite sure what to think, but then she asked for it again the next day.  The way that Christi incorporates yoga poses with a character trait, breathing techniques, nature facts, animal photos and ends with relaxation time keep your little one interested.  This DVD has helped teach Maggie visualization, and keeps kids interested because it’s fun!  There are 2 different 30 minute classes – listening and courage, and now, Maggie can tell you all about them.  We love how the story embraces the trait throughout the class.

The 2 CD‘s contain 50 stories, each focusing on a positive character trait and how it exists in nature.  You can join Angel Bear, Sweet Pea, AND Grandmother Bear as they explore new sights and learn about nature!  These are perfect for helping your children calm down before bed or naptime, or anytime you need your child to stay calm.  We have used these in the car quite a bit when Charlie decides he is going to scream the entire trip…it has benefited us all!

The Pose A Day Play Deck is a fun way to help your child focus on one pose and character trait at a time.  The first thing I noticed about these cards is how large they are.  Each one is 5 x 7 with colorful illustrations your child will love.  The deck consists of 60 cards with poses and activities on each one.  Each card has a picture of Angel Bear and Sweet Pea on the front doing the pose, some poses have 2 cards to show you what to do.  On the back, they focus on the trait by having visualizations and breathing exercises you can do.  My favorite may be the heart affirmations, I will tell you more about these in a minute.  The angel moments are ways to connect with your child, and it ends with incentives for your child to earn their wings.  Here is a picture of the front and back of the LOVE card. It helps us as parents to reinforce certain concepts when we pull the card of the day out.  We can find ways to talk about and incorporate the concept into our lives which is awesome.

Now that you know about the products, you HAVE to hear what Maggie thinks.  This is the best thing about this stuff.  So, we were sitting in the car and Maggie started saying, up, down, up, down, Mama, do it with me.  I turned around ( I wasn’t driving) and she had her hands pressed together and she was going up and down, like she sees Christi and the other kids do in the video.  Melt my heart!  Then she started doing the “I’m bringing listening into my heart.”  Umm, what mom doesn’t want to hear that!!!  She does the breathing a lot of the time now, just randomly, whenever she feels like it.  Plus, I love when she pulls out our yoga mats and turns it on by herself, hello smart girl!

Then, one day we were playing in the living room and she grabbed her foot and started going in and out with it saying, I want to do this, I want to do my yoga.  {Giving pose}

I was really impressed when one day, she picked the Trust card to work on and she could do it.  It’s a tough pose for a 2 year old, but she has pretty good balance.  If you want to find out what pose this is, you will just have to check out Angel Bear Yoga for yourself.

Okay, the last story I’m going to share with you to tell you how much I LOVE Angel Bear Yoga is this.  She started telling us to close our eyes in the truck one day and that was that.  Then, she said to open them.  Nothing more and I didn’t give it another thought.  Then, the other night at dinner, after we said our prayers, she said, “Mama, close your eyes” so I did.  Then she started telling me a story, imagine you are walking into the forest mama, way into the forest (all while her eyes were squeezed tight too), you are going up a hill and you see a bear, be courageous mama (you should hear her say this).  Don’t be scared, keep walking mama.  Okay, open your eyes.  Ummm, melt my heart again, this child is so stinking adorable!  John and I sat there speechless staring at each other for a moment.  Then, beaming smiles because we were so proud of what she was learning and how she was able to tell a story to us like that.

If you have read this entire post and aren’t sold, you should read it again.  Angel Bear Yoga is definitely a favorite in our house now.  My almost 7 year old niece was here for the week and she wanted to do the yoga with Maggie.  Over and over and over and over again.  The girls loved the end of the classes where you lay down and rest and visualize what is happening.  I have to tell you, out of all of the products I have received to review, this is my very favorite thing.  We have enjoyed it so much, and John and I really love watching Maggie grow and think because of Angel Bear Yoga.  I absolutely cannot say enough about how wonderful this is.  It far surpassed my expectations, and even my doubts when it first arrived.  Thank you so much Christi for a fun activity that is great for my daughter and gives us another reason to spend time together doing something that will stay with her throughout her life.

Angel Bear Yoga is designed, not only for parents and their children, but also for teachers as well.   Give your child an outlet that helps them relax, build strength, and find balance.

Be sure to “like” Angel Bear Yoga on Facebook and hear the great things other parents are saying.

Buy it: Purchase the Pose A Day cards, DVD, or CD’s for $19.99 each on their website.  Or, check out the rest of the  Angel Bear Yoga line of products.

Win it:  Christi is offering one lucky reader the chance to win ALL of the products I reviewed!  Are you excited?

*Edit:  This giveaway is closed*

Giveaway open to US only
Ends 11:59 pm EST April 1, 2013