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Seen/scene: And the downward dog says arf, arf, arf

By KRISTIN DIZON
P-I REPORTER

Practitioners of yoga know downward dogs, but unless they've been to Mikki Kingrey's class, it's unlikely they've ever formed a tickle circle.

For Kingrey's Itsy Bitsy Yoga pupils -- ages 2 to 4 -- a tickle circle is a screaming joy and an occasional necessity to refocus antsy energy.

So, at a recent class, after tickling each other and squealing in a circle, the dozen or so preschoolers calmed down again.

Then Kingrey, 33, had the kids sit on the floor and reach for their toes, with an incentive.

"Can you guys kiss the stickers on your knees?" she asked, making smooching sounds as she folded in half.

"I kissed it!" said a smiling Eliana Sanchez, 4.

Kingrey offers the free class monthly at Urban Kids Play, the Queen Anne store she runs with her husband, Curtis Kingrey.

"They're seeing that their bodies can move in ways that they may not have known," Kingrey said later. And doing so without TV, toys or gadgets.

During class, she handed a tissue to each child. "Do we all have colds today?" "No," they shout in unison, except for one little girl, flush with honesty: "I have a cold."

The kids blow on the tissues with a wuuush, filling their lungs and cores with air, a kind of simplified yoga breathing. "Whoa, there's a storm coming in," Kingrey encourages, feeling the puff of wind blown by a little girl.

They do poses, balancing on one leg as trees. Swaying their backs into cow poses, they all mooooooooo. As they meow in cat pose, a girl volunteers, "I have a kitty cat."

Some of yoga's mindfulness seeps in too. The toddlers finish with hands on their hearts, legs crossed, as Kingrey says, "We're going to think thankful thoughts for doing yoga and moving our bodies today."

SCENERY

Itsy Bitsy Yoga is a program of yoga classes for children from infancy to 4 years. Mikki Kingrey's free class is held one Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. at Urban Kids Play, 1805 Queen Anne Ave. N.; urbankidsplay.com (see "store events"); 206-285-7529. The next class is Sept. 12. To find other local teachers or learn more, visit itsybitsyyoga.com.

Seen/Scene, a short take on the Seattle scene, appears every Saturday. P-I reporter Kristin Dizon can be reached at 206-448-8118 or kristindizon@seattlepi.com.

 

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