WOULDN'T IT BE NICE? (CLASSROOM YOGA)

About a month ago I wrote about my granddaughter's first grade classroom and how I spontaneously introduced a few yoga poses to the kids one day when I was volunteering.  Yesterday I spoke to a woman in my yoga class about how we've both introduced yoga to our grandchildren.  It's a hit and miss venture depending on their moods, but we agreed the benefits of really getting them to use yoga as a coping tool would be so beneficial.

Kids, no matter their ages, have a lot to deal with....siblings, parents, friends, teachers, childcare providers, new environments, fears, frustrations, even joyful but impatient anticipations.   What tools do we give them to cope with these life events?  Not too many, really.  We might try to prepare them, talk them through a hard situation, reassure them of our love and care, try to let them know they will be OK, that things will turn out well.  But do they believe us?  Did you, when you were in the throes of thinking "everybody hates me" and some caring family member told you to "ignore them"? Not so easy.

As we learn in yoga classes, when we are stressed (anywhere on the "Stress-O-Meter Scale of 1-10) our bodies respond as if the sabertooth tiger was at our heels --  the fight, flight, or freeze response happens: tense muscles, shallow breaths, rapid heartbeat.  Sometimes the stress is real and sometimes is is merely imagined.  "Everybody hates me" is a stressful thought -- and thoughts are not "real", but they are very powerful and we tend to believe them based usually on limited data that we interpret negatively.  We can learn to unlearn this negative thinking with all kinds of tools--cognitive behavioral therapy comes to mind as a powerful method of changing those thoughts to be more realistic and positive.  But that is a fairly sophisticated therapy and not one easily available to children.

What IS available at any age and in any situation is to breathe.  There is a reason that the directive we hear when upset is to "take a deep breath".  It works.  Taking a deep "belly breath" for a count of say 5,  and letting it out slowly to a count of 7 literally changes the way our bodies respond to stress.  We are telling our bodies to "relax; no tiger".  We are reprogramming our physiological response to a thought to be more in line with reality.  Kids get this too.

I work with children in that 1st grade class who come to school with challenges over which they have no control -- families in crisis, sleep deprivation, language barriers, learning difficulties, anxieties, social and behavioral challenges.   When I call them back to the table where I sit to help with reading, sight words, and homework, I first ask them to tell me something fun they did the previous day.  I ask them how they are feeling in that moment.  I have them stand up, reach for the sky, touch their toes, and show me their super power muscles (boys AND girls!).  Then they sit, and I tell them to close their eyes and take three deep breaths with me.  I can see their bodies become more centered, their movements less "antsy", their ability to focus a little more intentional.  Sometimes we have to do this another time or two during our work session.

Wouldn't it be great if yoga was part of every class day?  Wouldn't it be great if these tools became second nature in elementary school so that by the higher stakes (academically and socially/emotionally) years of middle and high school, they already had a "go to" practice to help them through stressful times?

I see clearly that the academic curriculum already jams up against "too few hours/too much to teach" conundrum.  I see clearly that the emphasis on "crowd control" leaves little room for innovation.  Yet....I have to believe that in the progressive schools where meditation and yoga are part of the day, the kids are learning valuable life skills that are just as important as reading and math.

For now, those of us who practice yoga can help our younger friends and family members learn a few calming asanas (although I note they most like seeing what strange pretzel shapes they can contort into).  We can teach them calming breathing.  We can model for them that grownups get stressed and there are healthy and gentle ways to deal with it, and that our thoughts come and go, even those that seem hardest to ignore.  We can take them to studios that offer yoga for kids -- just as important as T-ball and soccer!

Here's a great resource, if you are interested in more about Yoga for Kids; I get their weekly email newsletter, full of great ideas.  http://www.kidsyogastories.com    Happy Baby Poses to all!©

Namaste....donnajurene

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

FACE YOGA

We are missing a great opportunity with our asana practice.  Face yoga!

I know sometimes we open our mouths widely and stick out our tongues doing our Lion's Breath, but here is a book full of weirdly wonderful facial exercises and massage techniques designed to address an often neglected body part when thinking of strength conditioning.

I think some marketing director told them to add the "younger looking you" tag on the subtitle, because our culture has a youth fetish.  I can't tell you how offended I get at everyone striving to look younger, as if younger is the "ideal".  I disagree.  I am an outspoken proponent of aging naturally and living with as much health and vitality as I can -- at any age.

But having said that, I do note that we put a lot of emphasis on trimming, toning, and flexing our bodies, but lament in the mirror and rub magic potions on our faces.

People!  Your face is full of muscles too!  When is the last time you gave them a workout?  Doesn't it stand to reason that our face muscles will atrophy over time, just as our biceps and glutes do?

As for our yoga practice, how about bringing mindful awareness to our faces?  Is your default one of peaceful repose or scrunched up nose?  Do your lips slightly part or do you keep them pursed?  Do you look down a lot or tilt your head back?  Do you knit your brow or raise your eyebrows?  Do you even think about what your face is doing as you drive, watch TV, read a book, talk to your friends?  Is your face immobile most of the time or openly expressive and always on the move?

I found many websites and YouTube videos demonstrating 'facial yoga' and most were basically the same exercises I found in this book.  I think exercise only turns into 'yoga' with intention.  Do we want to "look younger" or do we want to be healthy, with all of our muscles working in peak performance to our benefit?  We will not stave off the process of aging forever and it's a waste of our mental and physical energy to believe we can.  However, we can take control of how we age.

Our yoga practice teaches that the body and the ego are not the "real" us anyway, so stop with the obsessing -- unless you are obsessing about being a strong, powerful, calm, resilient presence in this world, where your spirit and true essence shines through.  Let that shine begin on your beautiful, healthy, strong face!

Namaste....donnajurene

ILLNESS AS TEACHER

There is a theory going around  that people have succumbed to more mental distress and physical illness this winter than is typical.  I know that's true for me.   The idea is that with the upheaval in our political situation throughout last year's presidential campaign and especially since the election, we

are off balance.  So many conflicts, controversies, and policy changes are coming at us so fast and furiously, we are thrown into  a state of "fight or flight" emotionally, which impacts us physically  -- we feel the stress response.  For some of us concerned about the changes happening politically, we have been paying very close attention and doing what we can to raise our voices.  That can be empowering, for our democracy depends on the voice of the people to keep it strong, but it is also exhausting.

I've been sick more this winter than in recent memory.  I'm generally a very healthy person able to fend off the "bugs" that many people get.  Not this year.  Is it political stress?  Maybe.  But whatever it is, it frustrates me.  Apart from feeling physically awful, I get anxious about physical ailments, assuming they could lead to more serious diagnoses on one hand, or just that I am sidelined and my busy and productive life is interrupted on the other.  This week I had several fun outings and productive projects on tap and for two days I've barely left my sofa.  Bummer!

So....today I stopped fighting and just let myself sink into this situation.  As I sipped my tea and watched the birds at the feeder outside the window, I heard Karen's voice from class last week repeating the mantra of "self compassion".  "Be kind to yourself," "Be gentle in your judgements."  So I took some deep breaths, closed my eyes and surrendered to the reality of the NOW.  The reality of being exhausted, unwell, and "stuck" at home with an illness that I did not want.

Then I wondered, how is this illness serving me?

I'm slowing down.  I'm resting.  I'm taking a break from my busy schedule, from my "to do" list of projects and social life, from politics.  I don't have any energy right now to "resist".  All I can do is accept.

I cannot go to Yoga practice, but I'm practicing nonetheless.  Yoga is about letting go of thoughts (no I won't die of this); accepting the moment (I'm not feeling well; it will pass); being aware of our surroundings (so grateful for my warm cozy home, comfy sofa, a glimpse of the sun this afternoon.)  And I'm remembering:  Be compassionate with myself.  Be gentle with my judgements.

I'll be better soon and back on the mat with a renewed sense of acceptance, even of those things we don't want but must manage in every moment.  The Power of Now is the Power of Yoga.  Breathe.  Embrace.  Let it go.

Namaste...donnajurene

Photo credit: Pixabay