I started writing Our Family's Doing Yoga in 2017, when my family needed it most. I'd begun yoga at home to combat postpartum depression and my kids were allured by my practice. I wanted to further encourage their interest so we began looking for books and online resources to accompany our journey.
I quickly discovered that what we were searching for did not exist. We were seeking a children's book about family yoga, a book filled with characters that reflected them. We found wonderful books but hardly any that definitively illustrated images of beautiful black children, so we decided to write our own.
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Our Family's Doing Yoga shares the story of love and fun amongst disorder and disarray in a diverse setting. It exhibits how practicing yoga as a family can help bring calm in the midst of chaos. Black people often find it hard to rest in their bodies and during these current times of a nationwide pandemic and heavy racial unrest, it is more important than ever that we all take a moment to prioritize our mental health. Family yoga is especially necessary because kids are great at imitating, therefore if their adults begin to do yoga, so will they.
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The story and illustrations in Our Family's Doing Yoga paint a picture that yoga can be found everywhere and is often practiced off the mat. The drawings show that yoga does not have to be quiet, in sync or perfect. In fact, many of the poses shown are true to the nature of a child, such as an imperfect V in Downward Dog or a barely arched back in Cat Pose.
My desire is that this book expands the image of yoga. I hope that it gives Black families the mirrors they yearn and white families the windows into Black experiences that they need. I hope that people who wouldn't typically try yoga are encouraged to do so because of my book and the images I share on social media.
Our Family's Doing Yoga by SonJoria Sydnor
