Children’s Book Review of Peaceful Piggy Yoga: Peaceful Porcine Poses Which Children Will Cherish

Peaceful Piggy Yoga was written and illustrated by Kerry Lee MacLean and was released by Albert Whitman and Company on March 1, 2008.

Kerry Lee MacLean’s first piggy installment was Peaceful Piggy Meditation, released in 2004. A meditator since the age of 14, Kerry grew up to be a yoga instructor and children’s meditation therapist. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boulder’s Naropa University. Kerry lives in Boulder with her husband Hector and their five children, Kelly, Tessa, Gregory, Sophie and Andrew. The meditative family presents meditation programs worldwide.

Kerry was inspired to present peaceful poses practiced by pigs to show the gentle stretches which are enjoyed through yoga poses and to convey the peaceful, good self-image which results from caring for mind and body. The book opens with suggestions for the easy practice of yoga at home, at school, and “just about anywhere with your friends”. In the classroom, yoga is useful before a test or helpful in instilling calm and quiet. And best of all, in addition to the health benefits, is the fun value of yoga.

The fun aspect of yoga is especially conveyed on the book’s cover, which shows a cute piggy holding a popular, pretty pose on a crescent moon. The Sanskrit name for the pose, natarajasana, pronounced as not-ah-raj-AHS-anna, is translated literally into English as king (raja) of the dance (nata) pose (asana).

Charming vignettes emphasize the popular universality of yoga as piggies practice poses in various settings. For example, captioned as “Everyone loves yoga”, piggies clustered at a bus stop perform vrksasana (vrksa “tree” + asana “pose”), pronounced as vrik-SHAHS-anna, while awaiting their bus. Behind them is a vibrant tree. The next page explains simply and clearly how to do the easy pose and explains that the tree pose is valuable for balance.

Another vignette, captioned as “Kids do it for fun!”, shows a piggy family — mom, dad, and two piglets — all in candlestick pose. Known in Sanskrit as sarvangasana (sarvanga “whole body”), candlestick pose is a refreshing shoulderstand, which is noted as stretching the back and benefiting the heart.

Another vignette is humorously captioned as “Moms and dads do it for peace of mind”. Seated blissfully on a beach on the ocean, mom and dad are enjoying a full lotus pose. Known in Sanskrit as padmasana (padma “lotus”), which is pronounced as pod-MAHS-anna, full lotus pose is described by Kerry as instilling peacefulness within.

Peaceful Piggy Yoga provides an enjoyable introduction to yoga for children of all ages. The poses which are presented are perfectly selected for ease and enjoyability. Their porcine presentation is charming and emphasize their everyday applicability. Peaceful Piggy Yoga shows that no one is too young or too old for yoga and that these poses, especially when learned early in life, make for good lifelong habits.

Copyright:  Tuesday, June 19, 2012, by Stessily.