Learning from the Kiddies

I thought I'd share a few tidbits about the things I've learned from my students, and some of their funny comments....so here goes. My 5-8 year-old students love practicing inversions! Handstands! Headstands! You name it, they want to learn it. They can barely wait for me to explain the poses to them before they fly their legs up in the air or on the wall. It is amazing to see such fearlessness in them. I envy their amazing ability to trust the ground beneath them, and to trust their own bodies in order to kick up into handstands. Little do they know, they are teaching me a great deal. One day, after chanting a few Oms, I asked the little ones what they thought the word meant. One extremely bright yogi said Harmony. His extremely bright answer allowed me to better explain the meaning of the word in a way that they could grasp. I basically told them that Om is the sound of the whole entire world, and chanting Om brings everyone in the whole entire world in harmony with each other, and connects everyone together. During another class, I taught a girl with some developmental disabilities. It was a private class so I was lucky enough to be able to practice some partner poses with her. She especially loved Seesaw, whereby we sat back to back and took turns forward folding while the other person leaned back to allow the other person to deepen into their forward fold. Later on, she noticed a picture of the Chakras on the wall. She was so curious about all of the different Chakras and their meanings and she begged me to explain to her what they meant. I hadn't planned on teaching her the Chakras, but it seemed to be a perfect opportunity to share one of my favorite things with her! I explained to her the different Chakras, or main energy centers along the center of the body, and their meanings, and the colors associated with them. We began with the 1st Chakra and worked our way up to the 7th Chakra, stopping after I explained every Chakra to practice a song, pose, or breathing technique associated with the Chakra. I was so, so glad to have been able to share this with her! She even told me at the end that she thinks her 1st Chakra is blocked and that she wants to get more rooted! It was so precious! Today, during one one of my classes, I taught Tree pose, and one of my students always closes his eyes while practicing the pose. While the other kids were practically flailing about, he stood there, literally as strong as a tree, with his eyes closed. It was amazing to watch. The same boy, at the beginning of every class, always looks so peaceful with his eyes closed when we practice our breathing. Most of the other students ALWAYS peak, but he keeps his eyes squeezed tight. He inspires me to be more sattvic, or peaceful. I can go on for hours about all of the things I have learned from my little yogis, but there is more to come!