Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: This Moment in Your Life (and So This Is One)
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.mariamgates.com/
CITY: Santa Cruz
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
Husband is author and teacher Rolf Gates Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married Rolf Gates (a teacher and author); children: two.
EDUCATION:Harvard Graduate School of Education, Masters in Education, 1997.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, yoga teacher, educator. Formerly taught in the Boston Public Schools and directed the Citizen Schools program, Dorchester, MA; founder and director, Kid Power Yoga Program. Offers workshops and teacher trainings in the United Sates and abroad.
WRITINGS
Writings have appeared in Yoga Journal; Parents Magazine; Publishers Weekly; and MindBodyGreen.com, among others.
SIDELIGHTS
A major figure in the children’s yoga movement, Mariam Gates is the founder and director of KidPower Yoga and the author of six books for young readers on yoga and mindfulness. With an education degree from Harvard, Gates taught in the Boston Public schools for a number of years before discovering the power of Vinyasa yoga in her own life. “I came to realize the difference yoga made in my overall physical health, flexibility, and strength,” Gates told Sally Lodge in a Publishers Weekly Online interview. “And over time, there was an emotional and mental shift as well. I felt more optimistic, more at ease. It was a big shift for me, in the best way.”
Soon, Gates was using yoga in the classroom as well as teaching it at yoga studios, and she ultimately decided to enlarge her reach with a picture book for children. “I wanted to find a way to reach and support more children and families than I can teaching yoga in a school or a studio,” Gates told Lodge. “I’ve always loved stories and love to write, and I realized that a book entirely focused on kids could deliver the excitement of yoga right into their hands and help them take ownership of the practice.” She wrote the book and found U.K. artist Sarah Jane Hinder, who illustrated the work that ultimately was published as Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story.
However, from inception to publication was a ten-year-journey, as Gates could find no publishers interested in the project. Finally, as she was attempting to crowd-source a self-publishing effort, the Colorado publishing house Sounds True, which focuses on spiritual wisdom, heard of Gates’s book and published it in 2015. As it turned out, this yoga book for children was a publishing success, with about eighty thousand copies sold in its first year in print. Its success led to others by Gates, published both by Sounds True and by mainstream publishing houses.
“I am really inspired that so many children and adults are enjoying the book and feeling a benefit from it,” Gates added in her interview. “I think we all want a way to give our children tools to manage all of life’s moments, with a calm confidence.” Gates, her husband Rolf Gates–also a yoga teacher and author–and her two children, now live in Santa Cruz, CA, where she continues writing, teaching, and lecturing.
Good Night Yoga
In Good Night Yoga, Gates prepares children for bedtime with yoga poses that mimic nature’s own closing of the day. Among such poses are Sun Breath, Cloud Gathering, Ladybug & Butterfly. Young readers learn about breathing and focusing skills that help to create not only a sense of well-being, but also aid in a restful sleep.
A Children’s Bookwatch contributor had praise for Good Night Yoga, noting that this “wonderful bedtime activity [book] … is not just a read-aloud bedtime book; it encourages little ones (and adults!) to relax and get ready for sleep by sharing simple, restful yoga poses and stretches.” A contributor on the Peter J. Morris Blog similarly noted, “Where the book really works for me … is in its bold, fun and enchanting illustrations which may well speak … effectively to a young child … .” Likewise, an online Spiral Nature Magazine reviewer commented: “The calming, thoughtful text is well paired with the super cute illustrations in Good Night Yoga, and would be a wonderful aid for parents and caregivers who want to end the day in a mindful way.”
Good Morning Yoga and Meditate with Me
Gates provides a morning yoga routine for children in her 2016 picture book, Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Wake Up Story, again illustrated by Hinder. The book combines rhyming verses, classic awakening yoga poses, and illustrations of children from around the world going through a dozen yoga poses. These include poses for which Gates provides kid-friendly names, such as Tummy Twist, Volcano, Ski Jumper, and Lightning Bolt, among others. A Children’s Bookwatch reviewer noted that the publisher’s mission is to “inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening,” and that Good Morning Yoga is an “inspiring example of the actualization of this goal.” A Kirkus Reviews critic similarly termed this an “energizing yoga practice portrayed by lively and diverse characters that should inspire multiple readings.” Further praise came from online Yogi Times writer Roanna Weiss, who observed: “Good Morning Yoga is surely a perfect good morning read to set the day up for even our littlest yoginis.”
In Meditate With Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey, Gates teams with illustrator Margarita Surnaite for a meditation how-to for young children, helping them to focus on breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness. “Few titles directed to this age group include such basic, easy information, opening new doors for the young,” noted a Children’s Bookwatch contributor. Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews critic dubbed this a “impressive, thoughtful collaboration.” Likewise, School Library Journal writer Robin Sofge found this to be a “calming introduction to meditation suitable for one-on-one or group use, at home or in the library.”
Yoga Friends and This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One)
With Yoga Friends: A Pose-by-Pose Partner Adventure for Kids, Gates offers a companion book to her earlier Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga. Here she pairs kids of a various ethnic backgrounds working on fun yoga poses. A Publishers Weekly Online reviewer felt that the “cartoony pictures clearly demonstrate each yoga pose, while offering a celebration of teamwork and cooperation.” Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews critic noted: “Teachers and trained yogis will welcome the return of the diverse cast from Good Morning Yoga (2016) and Good Night Yoga (2015) to introduce playful partner yoga.”
This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga “gives middle-graders effective mindfulness techniques geared toward helping them combat stress and make good life choices,” according to Booklist reviewer Sharon Rawlins. Illustrated by Libby VanderPloeg, this work provides direction in meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises to help develop a state of mindfulness. “With its appealing combination of physical exercises and journaling activities, this is a valuable addition to the topic for young people,” Rawlins further commented. Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews critic commented: “In an encouraging and conversational tone, Gates straightforwardly presents mindfulness to a young audience without oversimplifying the content.” Likewise, School Library Journal writer Jeni Tahaney observed: “Overall, Gates’s attention to detail has a way of making stress seem manageable.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 1, 2018, Sharon Rawlins, review of This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga, p. 64.
Children’s Bookwatch, May, 2015, review of Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story; May, 2016, review of Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Wake Up Story; November, 2017, review of Meditate With Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2016, review of Good Morning Yoga; June 15, 2017, review of Meditate with Me; February 15, 2018, review of Yoga Friends: A Pose-by-Pose Partner Adventure for Kids; April 1, 2018, review of This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One).
School Library Journal, August, 2017, Robin Sofge, review of Meditate with Me, p. 115; April, 2018, Jeni Tahaney, review of This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One), p. 147.
ONLINE
KidPower Yoga, http://kidpoweryoga.com/ (August 19, 2018), “Mariam Gates.”
Peter J. Morris Blog, http://peterjmorris.com/ (July 28, 2018), review of Good Night Yoga.
Publishers Weekly Online, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (February 25, 2016), Sally Lodge, “Yoga Picture Books Posed for Success”; (April 9, 2018), review of Yoga Friends.
Sounds True, https://www.soundstrue.com/ (August 19, 2018), “Mariam Gates.”
Spiral Nature, http://www.spiralnature.com/ (July 28, 2018), review of Good Night Yoga.
Yogi Times, https://www.yogitimes.com/ (July 28, 2018), Roanna Weiss, review of Good Morning Yoga.
MARIAM GATES is a passionate and inspiring teacher with more than 20 years of experience nurturing young people. Through Kid Power Yoga, she has combined her dedication to teaching yoga with her skills as an educator to guide children in accessing their own inner source of strength, confidence, problem solving, and creativity. She has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and years of experience in the classroom. Mariam has been profiled in Boston magazine, the Boston Herald, Alternative Health magazine, and on television and presented at Esalen Institute, Big Sur CA and Wanderlust Festivals in the US. Child magazine described Mariam as a “central figure” in the children’s yoga movement. Kid Power Yoga Teacher Training programs can be found nationwide—and also online. Mariam also teaches weekly at public schools in northern California. See mariamgates.com
MARIAM GATES holds a master’s in education from Harvard University and has more than 20 years’ experience working with children. Her renowned Kid Power Yoga™ program combines her love of yoga with teaching to help children access their inner gifts. See kidpoweryoga.com.
Mariam Gates: Director and Founder of KidPower Yoga
Mariam Gates is a passionate and inspiring teacher with over 20 years of experience working with young people. Through the Kid Power Yoga Program she has combined her dedication to teaching yoga with her skills as an educator to guide children in accessing their own inner source of strength, confidence, problem-solving and creativity. Mariam received her Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1997. She taught in the Boston Public Schools and directed the Citizen Schools program in Dorchester, MA, a nationally recognized enrichment program for 9-13 year-olds.
Mariam Gates on Vinyasa: "I knew right away that this form, this flow, was both asking me to move past my perceived limitations and giving me the means to do so at the same time."
It did not take long for her to understand how powerful this work would also be for children. "It is never to early to deepen your relationship to your body. It is never to early to say 'I can do it!" In KidPower Yoga we encourage students to expand both physically and mentally to see their own truly great potential as human beings.
The Kid Power Yoga Program has been taught in the Boston and Lexington Public Schools and as a Professional Development Series for public school teachers: (YOGA 101)Yoga off the Mat: Bringing Yoga into the Classroom Setting - with a waiting list for all sessions. Mariam and her work have been featured in Yoga Journal, Boston magazine, the Boston Herald, Alternative Health Magazine, and on television and presented at Esalen Institute, Big Sur CA and Wanderlust Festivals in the US. Child magazine described Mariam as a "central figure" in the children's yoga movement.
Kid Power Yoga Teacher Trainings are now being offered nationally and now the KPY Training Materials are also available!
Mariam and her husband, author and teacher, Rolf Gates Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga now call Santa Cruz CA home and travel regularly with their two children throughout the United States and abroad offering workshops, teacher trainings and week-long intensives in Vinyasa Yoga and the principles of alignment.
QUOTE:
"I came to realize the difference yoga made in my overall physical health, flexibility, and strength," Gates told Sally Lodge in a Publishers Weekly Online interview. "And over time, there was an emotional and mental shift as well. I felt more optimistic, more at ease. It was a big shift for me, in the best way."
"I wanted to find a way to reach and support more children and families than I can teaching yoga in a school or a studio,” Gates told Lodge. “I’ve always loved stories and love to write, and I realized that a book entirely focused on kids could deliver the excitement of yoga right into their hands and help them take ownership of the practice."
"I am really inspired that so many children and adults are enjoying the book and feeling a benefit from it," Gates added in her interview. "I think we all want a way to give our children tools to manage all of life’s moments, with a calm confidence. "
Yoga Picture Books Posed for Success
By Sally Lodge | Feb 25, 2016
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In Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story (2015), first-time children’s book author Mariam Gates showcased children performing yoga poses to wind down at day’s end. This picture book also marked the children’s publishing debut of Sounds True, a multimedia Boulder, Colo., publisher dedicated to inspiring and supporting personal transformation and spiritual awakening. It proved to be a fortuitous entry into the kids’ market for the company: Good Night Yoga, which features illustrations by U.K. artist Sarah Jane Hinder, has sold close to 79,000 copies since its April 2015 release, and has spawned a sequel. In March, Sounds True will publish Gates’s Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Wake Up Story, also illustrated by Hinder.
Gates has spent two decades working with children, as an elementary school teacher and as a yoga instructor, and founded Kid Power Yoga, a yoga teaching program aimed at children and instructors. Now in her 40s, Gates first discovered yoga in her 20s, when, she explained, the public interest in yoga was minimal and there were very few outlets for learning the practice. Gates recalled watching a 30-minute video in which a “woman in a pink leotard” introduced yoga poses. That instructional method didn’t quite speak to Gates, who recalled, “I was aware that the woman in the video was talking about something I didn’t have – an awareness through my body, a connection, calm, stillness – but I instinctively knew I had to keep going with it.”
Mariam Gates.
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Gates’s perseverance paid off, and she learned to fully appreciate the benefits of yoga. “I came to realize the difference yoga made in my overall physical health, flexibility, and strength,” she recalled. “And over time, there was an emotional and mental shift as well. I felt more optimistic, more at ease. It was a big shift for me, in the best way.”
After introducing children to yoga in both the classroom and yoga studio, Gates decided to expand the reach of her knowledge and enthusiasm via a picture book. “I wanted to find a way to reach and support more children and families than I can teaching yoga in a school or a studio,” she said. “I’ve always loved stories and love to write, and I realized that a book entirely focused on kids could deliver the excitement of yoga right into their hands and help them take ownership of the practice.”
Though Gates recognized the challenge of visually “conveying something so fluid and expressive as yoga into a two-dimensional structure,” that concern evaporated when she found Hinder, after reviewing the portfolios of many illustrators from around the world. “I wasn’t sure how yoga, which is not at all static, could be shown in a static way,” she added. “But when I saw Sarah’s art, with its explosion of color and perfect balance of whimsy, beauty, and joy, I knew she had captured everything I wanted to communicate.”
Breaking into the Marketplace
When Gates tried unsuccessfully to find a publisher for Good Night Yoga, she shelved the project, but hardly forgot about it. As she continued to teach kids yoga, she recalled, “I kept feeling that this book needed to be out there, but that was 10 years ago, and interest in yoga was not yet at the tipping point, so it was difficult for me to communicate to publishers what I was saying in the book.” After deciding to self-publish and launching a crowd-sourcing effort to fund the project, Sounds True, Gates said, “caught wind of the book, and the rest is history.”
Good Night Yoga immediately clicked with Jennifer Brown, Sounds True’s acquiring editor, who had learned of the book from the author’s husband, Rolf Gates, also a yoga instructor and author of several adult books on meditation and yoga. “Mariam’s book fit squarely with our editorial mission, to provide tools and instruction in transformation, growth, and well-being,” she said. “We also strive to publish material that is evergreen, and we believe Mariam’s books are.”
Though Brown had rejected a number of children’s book submissions in her 11 years at Sounds True, “since selling children’s books was outside our area of expertise,” she felt that Good Night Yoga was the right picture book for the company’s initial foray into the kids’ arena. “The entire editorial team was so excited about this book and about working with Mariam – we had all hands on deck from the beginning,” she said.
Now in-house enthusiasm is focused on Good Morning Yoga, which Sounds True is backing with a trade and consumer marketing campaign. Highlights include Gates’s two-week blog tour, launching February 29; a retail display; a targeted mailing to teachers and librarians; a downloadable Yoga Story Hour activity kit; a book trailer, and a video of Gates reading her new book aloud (an instructional video featuring the author is still in development). Also planned are outreach to traditional media and alternative parenting magazines and yoga media outlets, and trade advertising and promotion at industry shows and conferences.
Brown reported that advance sales of Good Morning Yoga have been “very strong,” adding, “We expect the book to meet and even exceed sales of Good Night Yoga, which was Sounds True’s biggest seller last year.” The publisher has previously had success in both B&N and independent bookstores, as well as in general gift shops, New Age stores, and natural food stores, and hope for a similar response for the sequel.
“To see how quickly people embraced Good Night Yoga was rewarding,” Gates said, “since it has been such a passion project for me for so long, and at the beginning I worked so hard to convince people that this was a book that kids and families need. I am really inspired that so many children and adults are enjoying the book and feeling a benefit from it. I think we all want a way to give our children tools to manage all of life’s moments, with a calm confidence.”
Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by Pose Wake Up Story by Mariam Gates, illus. by Sarah Jane Hinder. Sounds True, $17.95 Mar. ISBN
QUOTE:
gives middle-graders effective mindfulness techniques geared toward helping them combat stress and make good life choices.
With its appealing combination of physical exercises and journaling activities, this is a valuable addition to the topic for young people.
This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga
Sharon Rawlins
Booklist. 114.15 (Apr. 1, 2018): p64.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga. By Mariam Gates. Illus. by Libby VanderPloeg. May 2018. 256p. Dial, $17.99 (9780399186622). 613.7. Gr. 5-8.
Through meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, and five-day mindfulness challenges, this book gives middle-graders effective mindfulness techniques geared toward helping them combat stress and make good life choices. Color-coded chapters allow readers to pick and choose what mindfulness practice they want to try. The same exercises are repeated throughout the book, so practitioners may find it more useful to skip around by color rather than read straight through. Colored sketches and black-and-white illustrated exercises are clear and not too difficult for beginners. Some mindfulness exercises include doodling and writing prompts. To illustrate the mind-body connection, readers are asked to imagine eating a lemon, listening to a song, observing nature, or focusing on what they feel as they taste chocolate or brush their teeth. Students' anecdotes on how certain mindfulness techniques help them cope are particularly helpful. With its appealing combination of physical exercises and journaling activities, this is a valuable addition to the topic for young people.--Sharon Rawlins
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Rawlins, Sharon. "This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation, and Yoga." Booklist, 1 Apr. 2018, p. 64. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534956924/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e72f8600. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534956924
QUOTE:
In an encouraging and conversational tone, Gates straightforwardly presents mindfulness to a young audience without oversimplifying the content.
Gates, Mariam: THIS MOMENT IS YOUR LIFE (AND SO IS THIS ONE)
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Gates, Mariam THIS MOMENT IS YOUR LIFE (AND SO IS THIS ONE) Dial (Children's Informational) $18.99 5, 22 ISBN: 978-0-399-18662-2
Life comes with challenges, but with mindfulness, young people can learn to ride life's ups and downs with clarity and calm.
In an encouraging and conversational tone, Gates straightforwardly presents mindfulness to a young audience without oversimplifying the content. The first part of the book explains the science of mindfulness and presents breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation as practice methods. Interspersed are appealing graphics: quirky illustrations of people of diverse shapes, gender representations, and skin tones; memelike quotes that offer encouragement; and short statements from young people using the practices in their own lives. The book ends with several mindfulness "challenges"--practice sequences that build daily. The practices instructed are a blend of traditional mindfulness techniques (body scan, mindful walking, etc.) and new strategies particularly relevant for young people (listening mindfully to one's favorite music). Gates never strays toward dogma; readers are constantly encouraged to try the practices and notice their experiences. She makes it clear throughout that mindfulness is not about changing one's life but about being more present for life as it is, one breath at a time. One unfortunate drawback is that some of the examples of potential stressors do reveal an assumption of privilege (schools offering modern dance, going on a ski trip with friends).
Overall, a worthy contribution not only to the market, but also within the broader canon of resources on Western yoga and mindfulness. (Nonfiction. 11-16)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Gates, Mariam: THIS MOMENT IS YOUR LIFE (AND SO IS THIS ONE)." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532700426/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b0aa9103. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532700426
QUOTE:
Teachers and trained yogis will welcome the return of the diverse cast from Good Morning Yoga (2016) and Good Night Yoga (2015) to introduce playful partner yoga.
Gates, Mariam: YOGA FRIENDS
Kirkus Reviews. (Feb. 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Gates, Mariam YOGA FRIENDS Sounds True (Children's Informational) $17.95 4, 1 ISBN: 978-1-62203-816-9
Teachers and trained yogis will welcome the return of the diverse cast from Good Morning Yoga (2016) and Good Night Yoga (2015) to introduce playful partner yoga.
Twelve poses described in a rhyming stanza are demonstrated. Most children will recognize themselves in at least one of the 24 different child models that represent different ethnicities. In the first pose, a brown-skinned girl with a thick braid and a light-skinned boy sitting back-to-back model beginning cleansing breathes. The next spread shows a darker-skinned girl with tight pigtails and a different light-skinned boy sitting in a blossoming fruit tree and twisting while holding the same back-to-back position. Though city scenes are often in the background, each partner pair is shown in a different locale. As with much yoga instruction the text compares the positions to animals or natural phenomena. These whimsical choices will either confuse or delight children who may not be adept at metaphor. A final spread with brief instructions for use by parents or caregivers shows how young yogis can "flow" from one pose to the next, and a concluding "Mirror Me" activity, clearly for use by a teacher, is included.
Partner yoga: best done with a friend--and a skilled instructor. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Gates, Mariam: YOGA FRIENDS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527247969/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7611bc6b. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A527247969
QUOTE:
impressive, thoughtful collaboration.
Gates, Mariam: MEDITATE WITH ME
Kirkus Reviews. (June 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Gates, Mariam MEDITATE WITH ME Dial (Children's Informational) $17.99 8, 29 ISBN: 978-0-399-18661-5
A cast of young, cartoon animals in children's clothes follow the narrator's directions about how to "relax, breathe, and listen." The title page shows a pig, an elephant, a rabbit, a bear, and a cat--all in school attire, including brightly colored backpacks--heading toward a large set of stairs. Behind them is an urban skyline, and around them are the flora and fauna of a park. The entire text is composed of simple instructions for relaxation, beginning with the suggestion that readers sit down and clench, then relax, "every part of your body." After the cat follows these commands, the perfect, humorous choice to illustrate noticing the breath is the elephant. The bunny, piglet, and bear show proper placement of paws for feeling breaths. Throughout, the text is straightforward, with a few gentle rhymes. As the animals use visualization, background scenes move from the classroom to an idyllic beach. A jar of glitter is used to help the animals imagine their thoughts settling down. The text moves on to helping children express different emotions with their bodies, always affirming the importance of breathing and, later, listening. A jewel-toned palette, sweet animal faces, and soothing landscapes--combined with a text infused with care--ensure that a child or adult can pick up any part of this book to take a needed break from stress. An impressive, thoughtful collaboration. (Picture book. 3-6)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Gates, Mariam: MEDITATE WITH ME." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495427892/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=665599c9. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495427892
QUOTE:
Few titles directed to this age group include such basic, easy information, opening new doors for the young.
Meditate With Me
Children's Bookwatch. (Nov. 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
Full Text:
Meditate With Me
Mariam Gates
Penguin
c/o Penguin Young Readers Group
345 Hudson Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10014
http://us.penguingroup.com
03899186615, $17.99, www.amazon.com
Meditate With Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey is illustrated by Margarita Surnaite, who provides a practical step-by-step guide designed with youngsters ages 4-8 in mind. Kids learn how to pay attention to their breathing, their bodies, and what makes for relaxation as the discussion uses five animal friends to support an easy refrain suitable for meditation. Few titles directed to this age group include such basic, easy information, opening new doors for the young.
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Meditate With Me." Children's Bookwatch, Nov. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A518588280/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cfad4836. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A518588280
QUOTE:
inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening." "Good Morning Yoga" is an inspiring example of the actualization of this goal.
Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Wake Up Story
Children's Bookwatch. (May 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
Full Text:
Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Wake Up Story
Mariam Gates, author
Sarah Jane Hinder, illustrator
Sounds True
PO Box 8010, Boulder, CO 80306
www.SoundsTrue.com
9781622036028, $17.95 HC, $9.99 Kindle, www.amazon.com
"Good Morning Yoga" presents simple but classic yoga awakening poses described in rhyming verse phrases and illustrated with cheery children of different nationalities, demonstrating poses alone or in pairs, through a series of twelve yoga poses. After reviewing each pose, with an explanatory story verse and picture on each pair of pages, there is a summary instructional page called The Good Morning Yoga Flow, which references, illustrates in miniature, and describes each pose, bestowing pose titles such as Sun Breath, Tummy Twist, Volcano, Ski Jumper, Lightning Bolt, Mountain, Forward Bend, Downward Dog, Balancing Table, Bridge, Boat and Awake. Finally, "Good Morning Yoga" closes with a visualization exercise, titled "How I want to Feel Today. This gives careful but simple instructions for a visualization meditation exercise. The experience of "Good Morning Yoga" is very empowering, for children and/or adults. The goal of Sounds True is described as "a multimedia publisher whose mission is to inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening." "Good Morning Yoga" is an inspiring example of the actualization of this goal.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Wake Up Story." Children's Bookwatch, May 2016. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A455284291/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=da3383f0. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A455284291
QUOTE:
An energizing yoga practice portrayed by lively and diverse characters that should inspire multiple readings.
Gates, Mariam: GOOD MORNING YOGA
Kirkus Reviews. (Jan. 15, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Gates, Mariam GOOD MORNING YOGA Sounds True (Children's Picture Books) $17.95 3, 1 ISBN: 978-1-62203-602-8
Morning yoga stretches for children to wake them up and launch their days. After helping young readers gently end their days in Good Night Yoga (2015), Gates and Hinder return with a salutation for their mornings. Written in first person, the book has two sets of text that can be read separately or in tandem. The rhyming lines in bold describe the primary concepts behind the book's 12 poses. A red-haired white girl imagines herself as a fiery volcano to illustrate a salutation pose. A brown-skinned boy prepares to ski jump in a variation of a mountain pose. Each pose is accompanied by italicized text that acts as both instruction and an affirmation. The soothing repetition encourages readers to focus on their breathing as they move through their morning stretches. Hinder's playful illustrations animate Gates' descriptions and affirmations. Each character fully embodies his or her pose as if ready to leap off the page. The balance of bold and soft colors mirrors the energizing yet focused movements of the stretches. Young readers will easily see themselves in one of the many diverse children in the book. Also included are a recap of the poses with short instructions and a guided visualization that adults can read to children. An energizing yoga practice portrayed by lively and diverse characters that should inspire multiple readings. (Informational picture book. 3-8)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Gates, Mariam: GOOD MORNING YOGA." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2016. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541695323/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b61d2f3e. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541695323
QUOTE:
not just a read-aloud bedtime book; it encourages little ones (and adults!) to relax and get ready for sleep by sharing simple, restful yoga poses and stretches.
wonderful bedtime activity
Good Night Yoga
Children's Bookwatch. (May 2015):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
Full Text:
Good Night Yoga
Mariam Gates, author
Sarah Jane Hinder, illustrator
Sounds True
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
9781622034666 $17.95 www.soundstrue.com
Also available as an ebook, Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story is not just a read-aloud bedtime book; it encourages little ones (and adults!) to relax and get ready for sleep by sharing simple, restful yoga poses and stretches. None of the suggested yoga poses are particularly difficult; at most, they might involve balancing on one leg. "As I breathe in, I bend my knees / and scoop the clouds around me. / As I breathe out, I stand tall / and release the clouds over my head. // and the clouds float by." Charming color illustrations show children demonstrating the poses, and the final two pages show the "Good Night Yoga Flow" succession, followed by simple instructions for "Cloud Journey Visualization". Good Night Yoga is a wonderful bedtime activity that parents and children can share together!
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Good Night Yoga." Children's Bookwatch, May 2015. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A414824692/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=01a033d2. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A414824692
QUOTE:
Overall, Gates's attention to detail has a way of making stress seem manageable.
GATES, Mariam. This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga
Jeni Tahaney
School Library Journal. 64.4 (Apr. 2018): p147.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
GATES, Mariam. This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga. illus. by Libby VanderPloeg. 248p. further reading. notes, websites. Dial. May 2018. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780399186622.
Gr 7 Up--Gates offers an extensive guide focusing on mindfulness, meditation, and yoga as weapons to combat the daily stress young people may endure. The author does a thorough job of explaining the physical and mental toll stress can take. In addition, she recommends and describes certain exercises that help one cope with such anxiety. Each component encourages participation in either physical exercises, mental journaling, or, at times, listening to relaxing music. The variety of subjects can be accessed by looking for a specific topic. However, readers may notice some repeated information if read from beginning to end. Overall, Gates's attention to detail has a way of making stress seem manageable. In addition, readers who enjoyed the format of Karen Rayne's GIRL: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You will appreciate this title. VERDICT For general purchase for middle and high school collections.--Jeni Tahaney, Summit High School, Manfield, TX
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Tahaney, Jeni. "GATES, Mariam. This Moment Is Your Life (and So Is This One): A Fun and Easy Guide to Mindfulness, Meditation and Yoga." School Library Journal, Apr. 2018, p. 147. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533409149/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8e33d085. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A533409149
QUOTE:
A calming introduction to meditation suitable for one-on-one or group use, at home or in the library.
Gates, Miriam. Meditate with Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey
Robin Sofge
School Library Journal. 63.8 (Aug. 2017): p115.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
GATES, Miriam. Meditate with Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey. illus. by Margarita Surnaite. 40p. Dial. Aug. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780399186615.
Gr 1-3--In this introduction to meditation, children learn some basic techniques to calm their minds and recognize their emotions. The author, who has also written Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga, includes four steps to meditate, starting with exercises to sit and relax. Others include breathing, listening, and keeping calm. Each practice is demonstrated by a group of cute, friendly anthropomorphized animals, depicted in soft pastel colors. The content is very accessible; for example, in teaching children to settle down, the text uses the analogy that a mind is similar to a snow globe-type object, with glitter representing thoughts. ('You can use your breath and body to set that busy mind down flat. Gently just like that. Swish! You can feel what it's like to be just here, just now.") Each page has about one to five sentences of text, making for a clean, approachable layout. VERDICT A calming introduction to meditation suitable for one-on-one or group use, at home or in the library.--Robin Sofge, Prince William Public Library System, VA
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Sofge, Robin. "Gates, Miriam. Meditate with Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey." School Library Journal, Aug. 2017, p. 115. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499597959/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cdcfa6f9. Accessed 28 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499597959
QUOTE:
Good Morning Yoga is surely a perfect good morning read to set the day up for even our littlest yoginis.
Good Morning Yoga By Mariam Gates
Reviewed by roanna weiss
Written By mariam gates
Reviews | Books | Children
the perfect good morning story for your littlest one's daily yoga practice!
Maybe you eat, sleep and breathe yoga as a yoga teacher and this has influenced your parenting. Perhaps your children have danced beside you on their own mat since they could cat-cow and stand in mountain pose. Or perhaps like me, your children have watched you more than actively share your passion for yoga. I’m a true believer in yoga off the mat and one way I practice this is by reading to my daughter. Yes, even reading a bedtime story is practicing yoga in everyday life. So, what better way to explain the stories behind the poses as well as an introduction to a daily morning sequence than with Good Morning Yoga, written by Mariam Gates, author of Good Night Yoga, and recently published by Sounds True.
Good Morning Yoga, with poetic explanations which encourage the connection between breath and movement, and calming colourful illustrations take children from their sleepy beginning of day to fully awake. Through a simple illustrated sequence, which can be practiced alone or together with mom or dad, the book leads children through imagining faraway lands, like standing on a beach, listening to the waves as they perhaps listen to their own ujjai breath create an ocean within them, to the cool stillness of standing at the peak of a mountain, hands at heart, in mountain pose.
My four-year-old daughter immediately asked me to read her the book 3 times, and I’m sure the interactive aspect of the book helps capture the imagination of children who are used to playing with smartphones and tablets from such a young age. I have to say that I was surprised the book finishes with a “How I want to feel today” visualization. My daughter has learned not to disturb me during my mediation practice, but I haven’t managed to get her to sit and listen to her breath. As I read through the final pages of the book for the third time, I realized the key for children is to see, use their imagination and participate.
Good Morning Yoga is surely a perfect good morning read to set the day up for even our littlest yoginis.
QUOTE:
Where the book really works for me though is in its bold, fun and enchanting illustrations which may well speak more effectively to a young child
Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates and Sarah Jane Hinder
Good Night Yoga – a Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story is a collaboration between Mariam Gates and Sarah Jane Hinder.
Gates holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard University. She is renown for her Kids Power Yoga program and has more than twenty years experience working with children.
Hinder is a respected illustrator having produced acrylic artwork for a number of children’s books.
The Story
Their book features a single short story that is designed to help parents facilitate the gradual movement of young children into that of a relaxed state of mind prior to bed. This is achieved through through basic yoga exercises.
The story features a young child’s embrace of the fading world around them; of awareness of the setting of the sun, the emergence of the stars and features a number of animals.
The publication is illustrated throughout with strong images of the story’s main character going through various stretching routines, squats and poses.
In its conclusion the book features a short visualisation that your child can use whilst relaxed and in bed ready for sleep.
Our Review of Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates and Sarah Jane Hinder
Sadly I did not have a young child at hand to test out the efficacy or otherwise of this book.
From a parents’s point of view though I am not keen on the methodology proposed by this book or the type of psychology behind it and so did not like it for that reason.
However, I do accept that there is no one method for getting a child to settle into bed and so this book may work for you – in which case count yourself extremely fortunate in discovering a way of getting your child to sleep!
Where the book really works for me though is in its bold, fun and enchanting illustrations which may well speak more effectively to a young child than the text which I found to be rather overly repetitive and sometimes confusing in its instructions.
Still, it’s worth buying for its illustrations if for no other reason!!
QUOTE:
The calming, thoughtful text is well paired with the super cute illustrations in Good Night Yoga, and would be a wonderful aid for parents and caregivers who want to end the day in a mindful way.
Saturday, 28 July 2018
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Good Night Yoga, by Mariam Gates
By Psyche -
11 June 2015
2
4
Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story, by Mariam Gates, illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder
Sounds True, 9781622034666, unpaginated, 2015
Written for kids between the ages of 4-8, Good Night Yoga has sturdy pages that look like they can survive pawing from younger siblings as well.
Gorgeously illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder, the colours run from bright and sunshiney at the beginning of the book, and move into twilight and night colours by the end. The young yoginis and yogis that people the book are ethnically diverse, and the animals that accompany them look open and friendly.
Mariam Gates gives a description of each of the poses illustrated, and short lyrics to focus on as each pose is enacted: “As I breath in, I bend my knees and scoop the clouds around me. As I breath out, I stand tall and release the clouds over my head.”
Kids move through embracing the sun, clouds, stars and moon, through to animals in poses meant to represent birds, ladybugs, and cats. The sequence concludes, naturally, in child pose.
At the back of the book the poses form a two page spread called “The Good Night Yoga Flow,” and each pose is recreated with instructions on how to embody them. Finally, there’s the beautiful “Cloud Journey Visualization” to send kids (and adults who try it) off into the land of sweet dreams.
The calming, thoughtful text is well paired with the super cute illustrations in Good Night Yoga, and would be a wonderful aid for parents and caregivers who want to end the day in a mindful way. Kids can stretch out the last of their energy before being tucked in for the night.
QUOTE:
cartoony pictures clearly demonstrate each yoga pose, while offering a celebration of teamwork and cooperation. Ages 4–8. (Apr.
Yoga Friends: A Pose-by-Pose Partner Adventure for Kids
Mariam and Rolf Gates, illus. by Sarah Jane Hinder. Sounds True, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-62203-816-9
MORE BY AND ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
In a companion title to Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga, pairs of peaceful, bright-eyed children from different ethnic backgrounds collaborate on yoga poses, in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings. In one scene, two sets of kids are “face to face/ and toes to toes” on a sandy beach. At a zoo, children sit back-to-back, mimicking a lizard “basking in the sun,” as two other children perform a yoga imitation of a pink, sushi-eating octopus in a tank: “One small turn and we’re an octopus/ swimming silently so as not to cause alarm./ We move slowly underneath the water,/ arm after arm after arm.” Hinder’s cozy, cartoony pictures clearly demonstrate each yoga pose, while offering a celebration of teamwork and cooperation. Ages 4–8. (Apr.