July 9, 2020 — Friend Nancy tends her garden. Brandon plays tennis. Susan loves to dance around her place. For our CEO Ana and me, it’s yoga that keeps us calm, joyful and together in every sense of the word.

Three times a week for the past five years, Ana in central Illinois has joined our creative coordinator and me remotely in Miami Beach to practice with Paola Villegas, an amazing instructor, muse and friend. Back on March 19th, when I called Ana around dawn with my sad list of tough Cuts We Must Make NOW if Cardthartic is to Survive, we agreed that yoga would be the absolute last thing to go.

Heading into the pandemic, when 95% of the stores that carried our cards were closing, we hoped we would somehow still be able to keep paying Paola for virtual classes to keep us centered and sane. Today, Cardies, because it’s been your online orders that have helped keep Cardthartic and Paola both going, we figure it’s high time we invite you to join us on any or every MWF from 1-2 PM ET.

If you want to do something really, really good for yourself, simply open this blank email, type Sign Me Up! in the subject line and hit send; starting Monday, on each MWF morning you’ll receive an email with all the details you’ll need. Beginners welcome — one of the cool things about Paola’s class is that she makes it so accessible and, in the comfort of your own home, you can always just sit out what might feel beyond you at the moment, or challenge yourself to go deeper, if you wish. Only Paola has her camera and mic on; the rest of us just get to enjoy the good feeling of Cardie togetherness.

At the start of class this past Wednesday, we spent a few minutes discussing why we love our yoga so much. Yes, we’re quieting our minds, balancing our nervous and hormonal systems, keeping our joints lubricated and our muscles strong. What I think I love most, though, is that we’re moving energy.

“As we go about living our lives, various emotions get stuck in different areas of the body,” Paola explained. “For example, when we feel overwhelmed by responsibilities, we’ll feel the tension in our neck and shoulders; sadness and anxiety are stored in the hips; worry and insecurities get stuck in the belly; anger and fear we feel in our backs.”

Illustrating Paola’s point, we found a great blog post by Katya Turner of Alleviant Health Centers, complete with photos of poses that can help us work through specific emotions on the mat. In another post, Katya wisely calls yoga “the holy trifecta of breath, mindfulness and movement.” She explains:

– Breathing turns off fight-or-flight response, induces relaxation, grounds us in our bodies
– Mindfulness puts us in touch with our bodies and emotions from which we might have dissociated
– Movement, coupled with breathing, moves the emotions out, leaving us calm, at peace, and renewed

Below you’ll find a selection of cards that promote keeping energy and healthy emotions moving in these crazy-making times. While none of the designs depict grunting on the tennis court, our Cardie Community Manager Jayme is living proof of the research finding that loud grunting can boost hand grip strength by 25 percent. Nor do these cards suggest emitting bloodcurdling screams under water, my favorite way of releasing anger while lap swimming. But, hey, it beats yelling at the TV!

Namasté.

jodee stevens

Founder & Chief Creative