yoga joes toy soldiers find zen through headstands and downward-facing dogs

headstands, scorpions, and downward-facing dogs are no match for the yoga joes — a quirky collection of figurines modeled after toy soldiers. no ordinary plastic pieces, these miniatures make even the most advanced yoga and meditation techniques look easy, shifting from peacock to king pigeon with apparent ease despite their rigid plastic abs.

first conceived in 2014 by dan abramson, yoga joes have been recently released in an ‘advanced’ set to include poses like: firefly, advanced side plank, scorpion, peacock, king pigeon — mermaid arm variation, and lotus headstand — spherical helmet variation. these little green soldiers are fixed in challenging yoga poses, a result that has been carefully prototyped over the past few months in terms of the figurines’ balance and attention to posture. ‘my hope is that advanced yoga joes inspire beginners to reach for the stars or, at the very least, to reach for their foot backward over their head’ abramson says. ‘I hope they inspire seasoned yoga masters to expand their own practice by showing off next to them on instagram. but whatever your skill level, I truly hope they inspire calm and focus, and hopefully more than a few smiles and laughs.