Mystery Pose Awarded in International Book Awards 2021

Congratulations to Shining Kids Yoga Founder, Andrea Creel! Her book, Mystery Pose: A Yoga Guessing Game was honored as an Award Winning Finalist in the 2021 International Book Awards in the category of Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit Books!

Mystery Pose is the first book for yoga educator and business owner, Andrea Creel. The book was illustrated by Deran Deegala, a 13 year old Indian-American artist from Rockville, MD. The book uses rhyming clues and colorful illustrations to introduce young children to the calming practice of yoga.

A book and game rolled into one, children will delight in following the clues to guess all of the yoga poses. Colorful illustrations and rhyming poems help children gleefully discover the yoga pose hiding on the next page. This adorable book includes 18 child-friendly yoga poses and ends with an inspiring relaxation. Mystery Pose is a playful introduction to yoga for young children. For ages 3-8.

Purchase Mystery Pose on Amazon

For an author-signed copy of the book, visit bit.ly/mysterypose

Note: As an Amazon Associate, Shining Kids Yoga earns from qualifying purchases from the links in this blog

Meet the Illustrator: Deran Deegala

As an Amazon Associate, Shining Kids Yoga earns from qualifying purchases from the links in this blog

Meet Deran Deegala

Deran Deegala is the illustrator of Mystery Pose: A Yoga Guessing Game. He is 13 years old and is an honor roll student at Julius West Middle School in Rockville, Maryland. Read below to learn more about this talented young artist!

When did you start drawing?

I started drawing at a young age when I was in preschool which escalated in first grade.
How/when did you get into digital art?

I got into digital at the beginning of the pandemic. I’d started looking at other artists on social media creating amazing things on a tablet, so I’d thought I’d try it out.
Who are your favorite artists/cartoons/shows/illustrators?

I love looking at art from small artists on social media and my art was influenced by the cartoons I liked, like Steven Universe, The Owl House, Amphibia, OK.KO Let’s Be Heroes and Carmen Sandiego
Where have you taken art classes?/how did you develop your style?

I’m actually a self taught artist. I drew based of the shows I watched and it helped develop my art style.

What was your favorite thing about making the illustrations for Mystery Pose?

My favorite thing about working on Mystery Pose was experimenting with all the yoga poses. It was incredibly fun to draw them because of how dynamic they were.
What is your favorite subject in school?

My favorite subjects in school are history, science and art

What is your favorite color?

It’s hard for me to choose a favorite color, but I’d say any shade of blue.
Do you want to be an artist when you grow up? If so, what kind of artist/what speciality? If not, what do you aspire to be?

It’s been a dream of mine to crate an animated show and I’m working on my animation ability too. 

I have a weird passion of interior design. Maybe because of my art knowledge, I’m interested in furnishing rooms with the right colors.

To see Deran’s illustrations, Purchase Mystery Pose on Amazon

How to Pronounce Sanskrit Yoga Pose Names

Sanskrit is the language of yoga! Sanskrit comes from the Indian sub-continent and is one of the oldest languages on record. Every yoga pose has a corresponding Sanskrit name. In the book, Mystery Pose: A Yoga Guessing Game the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses are listed underneath the English names.

Just like with any new skill or language, it can take time to feel comfortable pronouncing and remembering the pose names. If you want help learning how to correctly pronounce the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses in Mystery Pose, listen to the audio clips below.