Wanderlust 5 Ways for Your Little Yogi to Cultivate Emotional Intelligence Through Practice

Crystal McCreary’s Little Yogi Deck: Simple Yoga Practices to Help Kids Move Through Big Emotions is out now!

“Our children see the impact of all our broken systems,” says Crystal McCreary. “When these challenging realities go unacknowledged, anxiety is the underlying emotional reaction in our kids.” When these anxieties are compounded by the commonplace anxieties of being liked or succeeding at school (not to mention the not-very-commonplace anxieties of persevering through a global pandemic), our kids are facing what seems like a deck stacked against their ability to thrive. 

Enter: Little Yogi Deck, a deck that arms the next generation with resources and insight to conquer and calm the vast tumult of emotions they experience. 

Little Yogi Deck is a reflection of the work that Crystal McCreary has engaged in as a yoga, mindfulness and health educator. “I have always believed [yoga] to be the most powerful tool for connecting our body, mind, heart and intuition. It is such an amazing way to support children and their inherent capacity to be vital, loving, authentic human beings who can walk freely through the world. This is the birth right of every child, yet many children do not have access to the resources that support this potential. I created Little Yogi Deck as a way to change that.”

The gorgeous deck (illustrated by Andrea Pippins) contains 48 simple yoga practices aimed at helping kids move through big emotions. We’ve selected five of our favorites to share with you, in the hopes that the next time your little yogi is feeling some really big feels, you can give them a way to notice, honor and take care of that emotion in a skillful and empowering way. 

5 Practices for Little Yogis with Big Emotions

ATTENTION: Swirling Twirling Feelings

AWARENESS: Ready, Set, Listen

PRACTICING THE PAUSE & THE BREATH: Anchor Breath 

EMPOWERED LANGUAGE: Map Your Feelings

RESILIENCE: Grasshopper Flow

Excerpted from Little Yogi Deck: Simple Yoga Practices to Help Kids Move Through Big Emotions by Crystal McCreary (Bala Kids, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.) Illustrations by Andrea Pippins.

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Crystal McCreary is a yoga, mindfulness, and health educator, actor, speaker, and writer. She consults for CUNY Hunter’s public health department research studies on the impact of mindfulness on health outcomes for youth. She serves on the Yoga Alliance Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Advisory Committee and is currently involved with organizations that aim to support youth with embodied contemplative practice including Mindful Schools and Bent on Learning.

Crystal’s programs and continued collaboration with schools in New York City, organizations, and corporations emphasize self-care as the gateway to social justice and community healing.

Crystal graduated from Stanford University with a BA in African and African American studies, completed the American Conservatory Theater’s Master of Fine Arts program in Acting and works full-time as a health educator at The Dalton School in New York City.

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