Kids: My Most Meaningful Teachers

I started yoga because of my sister, Cristal. Being ill had taken so much out of her and going to yoga everyday helped her feel strong when her body was weak.  So I thought "OK let's try."

My first class was a Bikram class. Bikram Yoga is the original Hot Yoga - an intense 90 minute class in extreme heat temperatures.  I couldn't breathe within the first few seconds of stepping into the room as the air was so thick.  I was nervous, here I was trying something new and what if I wasn't good? I'm not the "athletic" type. I think I made it through the first class and then was on the floor about 30% of my second class.  But I kept going. First just to prove I could do it and then something happened - I started liking it! Feeling my body change, become stronger in both mind and spirit as well. Then I started branching out to try different classes and types of yoga - Iyengar, Ashtanga, Hatha, Power, Vinyasa. 
  

I was still hungry to learn more and decided to embark on my own teacher training, as Cristal returned from hers so invigorated and enlivened.  This time I was following in Cristal's footsteps :)

I trained with Seane Corne and Baron Baptiste. I have always enjoyed working with children.  As I found yoga so empowering for accepting and celebrating myself - I thought it would be a great medium to empower and celebrate children. 

I signed up for Radiant Child Yoga Program Levels 1 and 2, a nationally recognized children's training program that lasted 18 months.  I wanted to ensure I received the most in-depth training.  I did an intensive on teacher training with Shakta Kaur Khalsa to also become a facilitator for training adults to teach children.

After learning from these remarkable and experienced instructors, I had no idea I was about to meet my most humbling teachers.

The kids amaze me and energize me after a long work week.  They try all of the poses, make up all sorts of new poses, and help each other. They are open to trying anything and everything.

The beauty about kids is their innocence, their fearlessness, their innate sense of joy.  Hearing a 6 year old say " you know I have too many activities and I have to tell mommy that I must have 3 days of doing nothing during the week; I have to make time for me."

For me a critical part about teaching their class is making sure each one leaves feeling good about themselves - body, mind and soul. I listen to them, each one of them, tell me what happened during school that week and laugh with them as we move through class. The "trick" to a great yoga class with kids - have 100 poses in mind and "go with the flow" - the kids flourish in a space where their creativity and authenticity is spotlighted.
Each class, whether it is one with a 10 week old baby, to a child with ADD, a children's birthday party or a child with special needs reinforces the basics of yoga to me.  Acceptance, peacefulness, and just being themselves without filter or fear.  They love being unique and celebrating each others' uniqueness. 

Now I am in my 8th year of teaching children yoga and with each class I have gratitude for having the opportunity to help kids see the best in themselves and in turn the best in me. I am blessed and continue to learn from them.

Namaste
Pooja

Take Flight with Arm Balances!

Here is usually what happens.  You are grooving in your flow and finding a great harmony of body and breath.  Feeling good in your body, mind is clear and starting to feel like you can flow in class without being a breath behind or unsure of the poses and their names. 

Then it happens - class goes into an arm balance!  You stop cold - no longer feeling strong your body, mind is racing - starting to even go negative and your strong ujjayi breathing quickly becomes fight or flight!

What is it about arm balances that can totally change the nature of class?  I remember I went to a crowded NYC class and happened to be in the middle of the room.  Class had just started maybe about 2 minutes in we go into crow and then from there headstand.  I freeze and want to move to the wall.  How can you when you are jammed mat to mat!  I look up from my mat and everyone - I mean every single person is looking at me upside down from their headstands.  The instructor, Dharma Mittra, himself, comes over to me.  How could he not - I was the only person in the room not inverted.  He so lovingly was like "just put your head down and go".  He even tried to set me up so I could take flight but I couldn't do it.  He so fluidly gave the cues and it was as if my body was in quicksand.  We moved on in class but my entire practice I never got that euphoric feeling of "I feel good" as I could not even do the opening sequence.  It created this feeling of not being good enough and a doubt of what was I doing in this class.

It helped me start looking at the roadblocks I had in place for arm balances.  I had thought it was only those with toned arms and a strong third chakra that could invert or lift themselves. 

Actually though, arm balances, provide a place of adventure.  Arm balances are NOT announcement to the world of how much physical strength you have or even worse, do not have.  They are not an announcement of who is the most advanced in class and who are the newer students.  Instead, they are a time in practice when we break from the free flowing to explore the possibility of our bodies and minds.  We explore strength, humor, possibility, concentration and surrender.  

What defines our practice is not just our physical capacity but the intention with which we carry out each breath.  Jumping up into a forearm balance with hunched shoulders, collapsed spinal alignment and shallow breathing is not a demonstration of experience.  Experience is in concentrated lifts with awareness of breath, presence of alignment and determination to try.  It is not about holding the handstand, forearm balance or crow but rather giving yourself a chance to see your potential.

When we shift our vision on arm balances, we see that they really do provide an opportunity on our mat to stop avoiding obstacles and challenges.  Off of our mat, we may easily just walk away from difficult moments or tasks.  What arm balances provide is space to actually step up and breath by breath breakaway the roadblock of our own growth.  

The next time in class you have a choice between an arm balance and another pose pause and really identify why it is you are not trying.  If it a voice of doubt, fear or negative thought - exhale it out - and see what happens when you try.  Laugh if you fall, smile when you stumble and celebrate when a toe leaves the floor.  Enjoy the road of adventure bumps and all!

--

Namaste
Cristal

Please keep in mind, alignment and form is highly critical for any arm balance.  Take your time to setup and exit an arm balance.  If you are ever unsure don't hesitate to ask.