Say a couple of Om Shanti's for me because on Monday I will be teaching yoga for 10-17 year old girl and boy juvenile offenders. How did I get myself into this is what I've been asking myself. My strength lies in working with younger students and then throw in the fact that I'm not exactly sure what behavioral issues I will be dealing with makes me a little nervous. I've been reassured that there will be other adults in the room which is good. I know I just have to go in with an open mind and an open heart and do my best.
I've been on teaching overload the past few weeks. I taught the remedial reading class and then I've been teaching an after school yoga class at one of the public schools in the area. Both groups have been challenging to say the least. While I was teaching at the after school program the universe provided two very humbling experiences for me. The first one was a little girl came up to me (one of the kids who made me want to pull my hair out every single time we had class) and said "hey it's the yoga teacher" I quickly responded," I'm not teaching your group today darling, I have another group." (Praise God, Allah, Buddha and anyone else) Her mouth dropped, "oh, I love yoga!!" This from the kid who was all over the place and hardly ever followed my instructions. I asked her what she liked about yoga and she said she like playing the games. (Being the yoga genius that I am I changed Simon Says to Yogi Says and incorporated asanas into the game.) It really humbled me to see how much she really enjoyed what we did even though at the time I was teaching her, I wanted to wring her 7 year old little neck.
The next humbling experience came when I was getting myself centered for the class and happened to glance at the corner and saw a box labeled weekend backpacks here. I then remembered that this was a school that had so much poverty that they prepared backpacks full of food for the kids who needed it to take home on the weekends to ensure that they would be able to eat. If you can't even be sure your students might eat over the weekend, who knows what else is going on at home that they have to deal with. This affected me for two reasons. It reminded me that even though these kids act mean and tough that they are still little kids. Who knows why they are acting they way they act. Does it matter really? I'm only there for a short time. My job is not to whip them into meditative little yogis, but to plant the seeds that there are things they can do to help themselves. Maybe I'm just their to help them work off some energy, who knows? It made me realize I need to set an intention for my own teaching each and every time before I set foot in a room. What small gift can I offer this group, and how can I use what they offer me into my own practice. Through reading the Shambala Sun, I discovered a group in Baltimore Maryland that does a great job teaching yoga in urban settings. Check out the Holistic Life Foundation. They really inspire me to become a more loving, calm and focused teacher. Until next time my friends, love and lollipops!!
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