When I Feel: Easy Yoga for Big Feelings

by Kathy Beliveau, Julie McLaughlin (Illustrations), Jesse Holland (Photographs)

Sometimes I feel angry, so I become the sea. I breathe in deep an ocean breath and breathe out peacefully. We may not be able to help the overwhelming feelings, but we can learn tools to help us regulate them. Practicing yoga can increase our ability to accept and mindfully manage our emotions. Yoga is known to have a positive physiological effect on practitioners of all ages and abilities.

When I Easy Yoga for Big Feelings offers effective yoga poses and breathing practices that help children embrace healthy ways of acknowledging their emotions. The rhythmic text and repetition engage young readers and support early literacy skills while the photographs layered with illustrations will show readers each pose in a playful way.
"This book pop[s] with personality.” - School Library Journal 

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having my granddaughter here each day for virtual school, this book was a great addition to our repertoire. She is only five and gets frustrated, angry, anxious and so on as all kids that age do. It is not always easy to deal with these emotions and using yoga seems to be one trick that helps her. Her teachers use yoga at school, so she was very open to trying the poses in this book to help her. It is a very simple book to read and discuss. Each two page spread has a rhyming paragraph about a feeling and one thing to do to help deal with it. Eg: Sometimes I feel worried, so I become a bee. I hum and hum and buzz until the worries out of me. The facing page is a mixture of an illustrated background and a photograph of children doing the action or pose. The feelings included are: worry, anxious, jumpy, scattered, frightened, angry, silly, and tired. The yoga poses are easy and all ones that she was able to perform while reading and use when I reminded her. At the back of the book, they show the poses and give a brief description of why and how they help with those feelings. I really loved this book and will be getting a hardcopy to have at the house and use with them frequently. I definitely recommend this one to schools, classrooms and families. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I Feel was a great visual book for little ones to begin their practice of mindfulness through yoga. Mixing photos of children practicing yoga poses in photography along with illustrations was a brilliant idea as most children love seeing other kids doing really anything!

The story felt a little all over the place with all the pose details in the back of the book. Maybe a focus on each pose while reading the book would be best to identify the pose, do the pose, and a small detail of why it's beneficial or how it's like a certain animal would allow young readers to engage with one pose fully at a time before moving onto the next in hopes of retaining that information for future practice.

Overall, a great beginner mindfulness book for all children! I can see this book being especially beneficial to children who are in need of self regulation of emotions as this would be a very good calming exercise in that instance.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I Feel: Easy Yoga for Big Feelings
by Kathy Beliveau

Rhyming text coupling specific feelings with yoga poses delightfully introduces children to yoga and mindfulness. I find this book to be most beneficial when read as a story and then allowing children to choose a feeling and a pose (or several!). The poses are well illustrated at the end of the book, along with explanations appropriate for children to deepen their practice and understanding.
The body of the book features photographs of diverse children doing each pose against a bright illustrated backdrop. It felt a bit too busy; there are too many visual elements for some children with sensory issues, for whom I have found the book to be especially helpful. The rhyming text flows well and the rhythm makes it simpler to memorize, becoming a tool to deal with feelings even without the physical presence of the book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review

[Lauren Geier · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many yoga books for children on the market but "When I Feel" is a true standout! I loved the careful consideration put into the visual layout of the book.. Many books on this subject use animals but often the physicality of yoga is lost in translation between furry legs, tails, and manes. By overlaying photographs of human children in the various poses on top of illustrated backgrounds and alongside engaging cartoonish figures, the reader is able to more accurately match their body to the instructions given. I also appreciated the simplistic directives that are easily committed to memory for ongoing practice long after the book has been placed on the shelf.

I recommend this book to anyone with children but also to my therapist/counseling colleagues looking for ways to incorporate mindfulness, body awareness, and grounding into their practice.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book along with my four year old son. It was a quick read and we enjoyed the rhyming and pictures.

I would think this book is more appropriate for younger children (ages 18 months - 3 years). We read this very quickly and he prefers a longer book. I think this book would be great in a preschool classroom.

The book also included information for instructors/teachers/parents about the various yoga positions in the book.

This is not a book that I would go out and purchase to read again and again. Rather, I would try to check it out at the library. I received an advance copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my review.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really like that this book uses photographs mixed with illustrations. I think that when it comes to feelings and yoga that kids like to see other kids in books instead of drawings or paintings. I really like the fact that this book incorporates yoga with everyday activities instead of just focusing on yoga; it focuses on the real world and the feelings we have everyday.

[Darcie Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixing illustrations and photography, When I Feel is a great beginners guide to yoga and relaxation for children. The book is engaging through pictures and rhyming language and is easy for children to understand.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We had fun doing these poses as we read. Simple and easy to follow along.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathy Beliveau has showcased yoga moves that can help kids deal with big feelings. The photographs of kids and backgrounds are topped with colourful illustrations. A great book for teaching social emotional learning!