February 17, 2020 (2020-02-17)– February 4, 2024 (2024-02-04)
Yoga Friends is an American children's television series that premiered on the Noggin streaming service. It ran from February 17, 2020, until February 4, 2024. The series features a live-action host, Stephanie, who journeys into an animated world where she uses her knowledge of exercise and yoga poses to solve problems.[1] Music for the series was composed by the duo Andrew & Polly.[2][3]
The series ran for two seasons with 27 episodes in total.[4] In addition to the regular episodes, 28 shorts were made for a miniseries called Yoga Friends: Challenge Weeks in January 2024.[5]
The show was also released on Amazon Video[4] and Apple TV+.[6] The first six episodes were released to Paramount+ in 2020, but the remaining 21 episodes were not added.[7]
Premise
In each episode, Stephanie goes on an adventure in an animated world (like visiting the moon, traveling back in time to meet dinosaurs, or joining an animated rock band) and teaches yoga poses related to the theme of the episode. The poses usually help her solve a problem or reach a goal in the animated world.[1]
A recurring animated character is Billie the Yoga Goat,[4] who is learning yoga from Stephanie and often asks for the viewers' help to master certain moves. Stephanie is sometimes joined by a second human host, Trinidad.[1]
For example, one episode follows Stephanie (dressed as a knight) as she uses dragon-inspired yoga moves to rescue Billie from a tower. Another episode features Stephanie and Billie (dressed as builders with hard hats) on an animated construction site, learning construction-inspired yoga poses as they build a house.
Characters
Stephanie (played by Stephanie Wong) - A yoga teacher who hosts the show. She starts and ends each episode in a live-action room called the Cozy Corner. She spends the middle of each episode in an animated world.
Billie the Yoga Goat (voiced by Phoenix Averiyire)[8] - An animated goat who joins Stephanie on her adventures.
Trinidad (played by Trinidad Ramkissoon)[1] - Stephanie's friend and the only other live-action human in the series. He wears glasses and is a yoga expert like Stephanie.
History
The series was part of Noggin Originals, a set of original series made specifically for Noggin.[9] The first season was released in early 2020 and introduced one simple yoga pose in each episode. The second season, released in 2022, had longer episodes with more involved stories, animated worlds and characters, and multiple yoga poses in each story.[1]
Michael H. Levine, the president of Noggin, said that the show was meant to inspire mindfulness. He said, "Learning mindfulness and new exercise skills are an important part of wellbeing for every young child ... [the show teaches skills] that they can demonstrate in the real world."[1]
In an interview with Noggin, Dr. Ilana Nankin (the show's educational consultant) described how the show teaches social-emotional skills just as much as physical exercise. She said, "Yoga is not just the physical practice. I think, especially in Western society, we think about Downward Dog or the Warrior II poses. But [Yoga Friends] is about embodying the ethical principles of yoga, like non-violence or being kind to ourselves."[10]
To promote the show, Noggin released a set of printable Yoga Friends cards, which could be downloaded through the Noggin.com website.[11]
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