Heat players and young kids turn to yoga

LeBron James

When the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach was searching for more programs to offer patrons, it found articles written about yoga benefits to athletic teams.

Specifically, the Miami Heat basketball team now in the playoffs.

The Heat were NBA champions in 2006 and 2012. At least two of its stars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, practice yoga in the off-season.

Dwyane Wade

They told the Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal about the benefits of their yoga practice. James said to the Herald in May 2011, "I’m not a guru about how to be in the best condition — don’t let me sit here and tell you that. But it works for me." 

Wade's least favorite yoga position is the tree pose, according to a March 20, 2012, story published in the  Wall Street Journal.  "I feel so discombobulated when I do that pose," he says. "My balance is all off. I definitely don't feel the athleticism I normally do when I try to do that pose."

James' yoga practice dates back at least to the days when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here's a 2009 video of him doing a yoga session with Cleveland-area kids:

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(But James and Wade were presumably too busy with the playoffs when I called requesting interviews about how their yoga practices help their basketball games.)

Yoga buds

With that success in mind, the Mandel Library is on a mission to create programming that has an impact on people who use the library, a condition of the Mandel brothers' $5 million donation. The library used part of that money to hire programming librarian Joyce Pernicone.

The library started a Yoga Buds program for kids between the ages of 4-6 and their caretakers. Its first class was May 8 and goes through June 12. 

The Yoga Buds class, taught in the library's third-floor auditorium, provides a mat for the youngster and his/her caretaker. The class size is limited to 50 people total (25 kids and 25 caretakers) because of the number of yoga mats available, Pernicone said. As of May 12, 14 places were still open. Registration is needed, so please call (561) 868-7703 or you can register online if you have a library card with a PIN.

The teacher for the Yoga Buds program has dual certifications, Pernicone said. Ilene Glickman is both a certified yoga instructor with 200 hours of training and a children's librarian with an MLS from Long Island University in New York.

Other freebies

Yoga Bud kids also will receive a bottle of water each week, a free book weekly and then laminated cards of the yoga poses at the end of the six-week session.

Pernicone is hoping the yoga program will provide these benefits to the kids:

* more flexibility,

* increased focus and 

* increased bonding with the parent or caretaker.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Monday, May 6, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 12,201

Miles: 6.1