Album Notes

\"Dance for the Sun: Yoga Songs for Kids\" is the Winner of two Independent Music Awards: Best Children\'s Album and Best Song (\"caterpillar caterpillar\"); a 2007 Parents\' Choice Award, and two Children\'s Music Web Awards: Best Recording for Preschoolers and Best Song (\"caterpillar caterpillar\").

\"Three out of three stars--surefire hit! Don\'t let the Yoga Songs for Kids subtitle fool you, this is not New Agey meditation music. Written to correspond to yoga poses, these songs are joyful, upbeat, and eminently danceable. Willey\'s vocals have a breezy coffeehouse quality that will appeal to listeners young and old alike.\" -Cookie magazine

\"This new album inspires young and old(er) with hip tunes that range from bluegrass to doo-wop. The accompanying booklet will have you all crawling like caterpillars, pretending to surf, and doing other fun exercises that build strength and flexibility...\"-Parenting.com Editor\'s Pick

\"Dance for the Sun: Yoga Songs for Kids\" is the debut album from children\'s yoga teacher, songwriter and mom Kira Willey. Inspired by jazz, doowop, bluegrass, and African tribal songs, Dance for the Sun is a unique collection of great family music. \"The song(s) would definitely work in a very hip children\'s film or children\'s TV...the chord choices are very strong...the lyrics are great, very cool and original,\" writes Julie Alexander, Talent Coordinator for Flight Safe Music. But Dance for the Sun is more than just great music - it\'s also a fun way for you and your child to do yoga together. Kids will build strength, flexibility and confidence while having a blast surfing the waves, crawling like a caterpillar, and going on many other musical yoga adventures!

The CD includes a beautifully illustrated, instructional booklet, and 16 Bonus Yoga Tracks. Listen to the Yoga Tracks and join in as Kira takes you through musical segments of a Fireflies Musical Yoga class. With the help of Pose Key figures on each page of the booklet, you\'ll see how the poses and movements fit with each song. The Yoga Tracks include live African percussion and the happy sounds of the children participating in the class.

Kira Willey began playing violin at the age of five. As an adult she taught herself guitar and mandolin, and has been writing songs from the time she was a teenager. Before having her own kids, Kira taught music to young children in New York City, where she found that the most fun and effective parts of class were when the children were able to get up and jump, dance, and move. Having practiced yoga for ten years, Kira had the idea to combine music and yoga as a way to fully engage kids - giving them the wonderful benefits of yoga, plus the joy and benefits of exposure to different styles of music.

So when she began teaching kids\' yoga, Kira brought along her guitar. The children loved it when she sang and played in class, and they always asked for more music! Kira created Fireflies Musical Yoga for Kids, and began writing more and more songs to use in class, which led to the recording of Dance for the Sun.

Children\'s yoga is booming as more and more parents realize the many benefits of yoga for kids: development of motor coordination, balance, and body awareness; increased respect for themselves, others, and the world around them; and improved self-esteem and ability to focus. Practicing yoga with your child is also a fun, playful way to strengthen your bond - and the totally unique Dance for the Sun package provides everything you need to practice yoga as a family. Plus, these are songs you\'ll all love to listen to again and again!