Yoga may be fun — and helpful — for adults but can prove to be a bit challenging for the little ones. But that's where Crystal McCreary — actress, health educator, and accomplished yogi comes in.
Recognizing that it's sometimes difficult for our little humans to convey big emotions, McCreary created The Little Yogi Deck. This 48-card deck conveys the eight emotional states (anger, worry, excitement, sadness, joy, peace, jealousy, and shame) in a kid-friendly way.
By using the cards to convey complex human emotions, McCreary says that children will learn how to express themselves healthily. What's more, these complex emotions will be fully realized with time, and The Little Yogi Deck helps them to do so.
Artist Andrea Pippins illustrated each card in the deck, which features various yoga poses with children from varying ethnic backgrounds. And best of all, The Little Yogi Deck comes with a handy booklet for parents to refer to as their little ones are making their way through both the complex minefield of human emotions and the simple yoga poses.
While yoga has historically been used by Black women for healing— like seemingly everything else — it has a bit of a problem with diverse representation. According to The Atlantic, while yoga is typically associated with the image of "rich, skinny white women," there is an increased number of Black yogis — and almost 20% of Black women report using yoga and other alternative medicines as a form of health care. (And that number is quickly growing!)
McCreary's deck will not only teach your child about coping with complex emotions and yoga poses but will also serve as a reminder that there are plenty of yoga practitioners that look just like him or her.
To order your own The Little Yogi Deck, please click here.