Read about our new Kids Yoga program from the perspective of the facilitators!
One of the challenges of teaching the children’s yoga class at DASH is finding that delicate balance between restoring autonomy to the children and instilling in them discipline so that they can learn and benefit from yoga. Yoga is a powerful and transformative practice that ultimately is a journey inward, a journey to go back home to yourself. It is encouraging to see how many yoga poses the children retain, and every Monday when we come in, they request certain poses.
One popular request is tree pose, a balancing pose. Balancing poses cultivate humility, stability, and patience. Part of learning how to balance is teeter-tottering, falling, and picking yourself again, without getting frustrated or discouraged. With practice come the focus and the strong, steady grace needed to stand on one foot, both physically and figuratively. Some children who struggle with tree pose and waver back and forth before finding their balance get very animated and exclaim, “I did it! I balanced!” when that moment does come.
While some children are more eager and engaged than others are during yoga class, they are all respectful of the space. Once, a child spilled water on the floor and on a few of the yoga mats. Three children, including the child who spilled his cup, immediately ran to get paper towels to clean up the mess. It was touching to see how willing they were to take care of the space. The next step for us teachers is encouraging them to respect each other’s boundaries, both literally by staying on their own yoga mats, and figuratively by treating each other with more kindness and integrity.
On some Mondays, the children are overflowing with energy and guiding them through a seated meditation has helped center them. The first time we tried a seated meditation, I was surprised by how well it was received. I didn’t think that anyone would want to or be able to sit still in silence for an extended period of time. However, one child who was perhaps the most restless during that particular class wanted to stay in meditation for longer! She later shared with me that she really enjoyed meditating, and that it made her feel so peaceful and calm. Ultimately, all we can do is offer our presence to the children of DASH and plant seeds that inspire introspection, stillness, and clarity.
