to go to yoga with me … really anytime they ask to do something with me, when I get a text from them (even if we’re in the house together ;)) that says “can we go to yoga tomorrow?” or “if you go to yoga later I might want to come with”, it makes me “double smile” because … “of course we can and of course I am!” everyday, sometimes twice a day. It is one of my best hours with my children, we’re together & because you can’t really talk there’s no chance of getting in an argument or raised voices or negotiating “pick-up times” … and I get to see their healthy, happy bodies move, I can tell the music and the motions, not just of themselves but everyone in the room makes them take notice of how thankful we should be, to be there at that moment moving & living in healthy, capable bodies. How we really are “all in it together” whether it’s a yoga class, as part of the human race, as a creature on this planet, in this universe and that we really are all interconnected. I’ve been practicing yoga for 25 years (almost half my life since I’ll be 50 in 5 minutes ;)), I can’t believe I’m old enough to say I’ve been doing anything for that long! Lately in class I’ve been noticing when the teacher has set the flow and we go through it on our own and there’s very little instruction from the teacher … it really is like a dance and I love watching everyone move to the same shapes/poses and it’s the same “dance” but at the same time different. When they say let it be a “prayer” or a “dance”, it really is … a “moving meditation” (and since I can’t sit still except to write or fold laundry it’s the only way for me to meditate ;)) and I love it still after all these years. And now that my kids are “getting it” (a little bit) about why I go everyday, I can’t explain the joy that it gives me because it gives me hope for a better world. Just like I said, we should all try to act like dogs more often, we should all practice some sort or yoga or mediation or prayer or dance & the world would be a better place.
My friend who recently took her two girls to yoga texted me to say “I kept looking over at them, so happy that they were there with me and really being present in the best possible way. I was worried they were not going to love it and it was the complete opposite … they loved it!”
From a friend who is nutritionist and teaches yoga to kids …. “Kids today are faced with so many challenges and stresses – especially from being ‘plugged in’ 24-7. Yoga is a wonderful way for kids to unplug for an hour, it reduces physical and mental stress, builds confidence, mindfulness, strength, and flexibility (physical & mental). “Yoga benefits the body, mind & soul.”
Another friend asked her two boys what they like about yoga (she’s a yoga teacher among other fabulous things) and they both said “because it makes me calm” and “we REALLY like it when daddy goes to yoga because he comes back a lot calmer” 🙂
There are so many poses named after dogs “downward facing dog”, “upward facing dog” may favorite pose “playfull puppy” …
I think because dogs live their lives and move their bodies in a mostly constant state of joy (or they’re sleeping ;)). Same with all the poses named after children, “child’s pose”, “infant pose”, “happy baby pose”, because kids for the most part (even teenagers) move their bodies in a joyful, playful manner and when they’re not moving they’re also asleep 😴 (or unfortunatley on their phones 😔, but not in yoga!).
The yoga studio I go to offers all different types of classes & my son has tried a few, one day he asked which class we were going to? When I told him, and it was a class he hadn’t been to before, he asked “is there shavasana?” and I said there’s ALWAYS shavasana, and he said “oh good, because that’s what I care about the most” I thought I had died and gone to heaven because HE GETS IT! He asked that after only having been to a few classes — it truly is the “peak pose” and I love that he knows that without someone telling him almost every day for 25 years!!!
“It’s all right, Alexander. You were anxious because you haven’t spent time with children before. But I am certain that you are up to the challenge. If you are ever in doubt, just remember that unlike adults, children want to be happy. So they still have the ability to take the greatest pleasure in the simplest things.” …”A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel” by Amor Towles.
Yoga is one of the few places you can behave like a child and get away with it, and take pleasure in the simple things, practicing headstands, handstands, crow pose, frog pose, child’s pose 😊.
Dancing, playful, joyful yoga! 💜💛💚
This is how it always is, or at least how I think it should be ... by shannon bennett 