Yoga Friends
| Yoga Friends | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Educational |
| Developed by | Shane Spiegel Chelsea Butler |
| Directed by | Mary Risk Shane Spiegel Dave Cain |
| Presented by | Stephanie Wong Trinidad Ramkissoon |
| Voices of | Phoenix Averiyire |
| Composers | Andrew Barkan Polly Hall |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Michael H. Levine |
| Running time | 11 minutes |
| Production companies | Noggin Originals Breathe for Change |
| Original release | |
| Network | Noggin |
| Release | February 17, 2020 – February 4, 2024 |
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]
In 2023, Yoga Friends won a Webby Award in the Video Animation category.[8]
Premise
[edit]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
[edit]- 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)[9] - An animated goat who joins Stephanie on her adventures. At the end of most episodes, Billie also recaps the poses that were learned.
- 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
[edit]The series was part of Noggin Originals, a set of original series made specifically for Noggin.[10] 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."[11]
To promote the show, Noggin released a set of printable Yoga Friends cards, which could be downloaded through the Noggin.com website.[12]
Episodes
[edit]Season 1 (2020)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [4] | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Robot Chair Pose" | February 18, 2020 | 101 |
| 2 | 2 | "Guppy Pose" | February 18, 2020 | 102 |
| 3 | 3 | "Cobra Pose" | March 17, 2020 | 103 |
| 4 | 4 | "Genie Warrior Pose" | March 17, 2020 | 104 |
| 5 | 5 | "Tree Pose" | April 5, 2020 | 105 |
| 6 | 6 | "Triangle Pose" | April 5, 2020 | 106 |
Season 2 (2021–24)
[edit]| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date [4] | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | "Farm Friends Yoga" | July 17, 2022 | 201 |
| 2 | 8 | "Rock 'n Roll Yoga" | July 24, 2022 | 202 |
| 3 | 9 | "Eagle Pose & More!" | July 31, 2022 | 203 |
| 4 | 10 | "5 Senses Countdown" | July 31, 2022 | 204 |
| 5 | 11 | "Happy Hands Yoga" | August 14, 2022 | 205 |
| 6 | 12 | "DIY Peace Potion" | August 28, 2022 | 206 |
| 7 | 13 | "Paw Patrol Yoga" | November 20, 2022 | 207 |
| 8 | 14 | "Space Yoga" | November 27, 2022 | 208 |
| 9 | 15 | "Ocean Yoga" | December 4, 2022 | 209 |
| 10 | 16 | "Best Friends Yoga" | December 11, 2022 | 210 |
| 11 | 17 | "Nighttime Yoga" | December 18, 2022 | 211 |
| 12 | 18 | "Butterfly Yoga" | December 25, 2022 | 212 |
| 13 | 19 | "Jungle Yoga" | January 1, 2023 | 213 |
| 14 | 20 | "Dragon Yoga" | December 31, 2023 | 214 |
| 15 | 21 | "Construction Yoga" | January 7, 2024 | 215 |
| 16 | 22 | "Zoo Yoga" | January 7, 2024 | 216 |
| 17 | 23 | "Dinosaur Yoga" | January 21, 2024 | 217 |
| 18 | 24 | "Red Light, Green Light" | February 4, 2024 | 218 |
| 19 | 25 | "Yoga Spinner" | February 4, 2024 | 219 |
| 20 | 26 | "Pose Knows!" | February 4, 2024 | 220 |
| 21 | 27 | "Yoga Balloons" | February 4, 2024 | 221 |
Awards
[edit]| Year | Presenter | Award/Category | Nominee | Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Webby Awards | Video Animation (Series & Channels) | Yoga Friends | Honoree | [8] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Breathe For Change and Noggin Launch Yoga Friends Series". PR Newswire. September 22, 2022. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
- ^ Clancy, Sean (February 1, 2024). "Andrew & Polly duo get Grammy nod". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
- ^ "Award-Winning Family Musicians Andrew & Polly Present their Grammy-Nominated album, 'Ahhhhh!'". New Music Weekly. 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Amazon Prime Video - Yoga Friends Season 2". Amazon Video. Amazon. July 17, 2022. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023.
- ^ "Yoga Friends: Challenge Weeks". Amazon Prime Video. Amazon. 2024. Archived from the original on August 25, 2025.
- ^ "Apple TV+ - Yoga Friends". Apple TV+. Apple, Inc. 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023.
- ^ "Paramount+ - Yoga Friends Episodes 1-4". Paramount+. Paramount Global. 2021. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Yoga Friends - The Webby Awards: Honoring the Best of the Internet". 2023. Archived from the original on September 21, 2025.
Honoree - Video Animation (Series & Channels)
- ^ Williams, Elliot (February 7, 2023). "Teen On 'Abbott Elementary' Learned How To Act In Prince George's County". DCist. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
- ^ "Dive Into the Met Today as Part of Platform's Expanded Learning Programs". WTNH. April 4, 2022.
- ^ "The Power of Yoga on Kids' Social & Emotional Skills". Noggin.com. Paramount Global. June 2022. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022.
- ^ "Noggin's Yoga Friends Printable Cards". Noggin.com. Paramount Global. July 2022. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Yoga Friends at IMDb
- Yoga Friends at Noggin.com (archive)