July 12, 2011
Skilled, well-intentioned yoga teacher enters classroom full of wily, stressed out teens. She proceeds to put in CD of new age music and asks students to take their seats. It’s the first day of yoga. Let’s start with an “Om,” she says. She inhales deeply, closes her eyes and “Ooooohhhmmmmm.” Then, a classroom full of teens burst into laughter sending the teacher into a flustered state of confusion.
The most challenging part of guiding teens toward yoga may be the introduction. Once they experience the benefits, yoga practice can be a welcomed asset to stressed-out teens. Teens need to know from the beginning how yoga fits into their lives and what the practice can do for them.
1. Teens First
Developmental educators know that teens really are the center of the Universe! The whole world really is their stage and everyone is watching. Some teens embrace this aspect of adolescence while others shy away from it. For yoga teachers, or teachers of any subject for that matter, one approach to engaging teens from the get, is to utilize their natural egocentricity. Start the journey with a question. Let each student introduce themselves and share why they are in class. Or ask them to share one activity they truly enjoy in their lives.
2. Make It Relevant
Use every bit of information you discover from the introductions as catalysts for the yoga journey. If your students are interested in volleyball, create metaphors that speak to that. Basketball players in the class? Find examples of players and teams that practice yoga as part of their regimen. In the beginning, teens might not be ready to take in the Sutras of Patanjali. If you can get them on board with a current public figures help, though, you just may be on the way to a deeper exploration.
3. Why Does This Matter?
Why in the world would a teen want to suffer through the hard work of a Warrior Pose? They want to know that their investment will yield strength for their games and focus for their grades. Find out why Warrior Pose matters to each student and constantly remind them.
4. Pick Up the Pace
Teens don’t want to hang out in Triangle Pose for 5 minutes hearing about every single musculoskeletal nuance. Get in there, cover the basic safety mechanisms and move on. Build in the details over time. Keep the focus on safety and fluid breathing so they feel the benefits. Then, you can spend an hour on Mountain Pose in an awesome group project. (Coming Soon!)
5. Let Them Teach
New teen yoga students will likely not be ready to teach poses, but they possess a great deal of wisdom in regards to the lifestyle of yoga. Asking guiding questions like “How do you cope with a situation in which you feel insecure?” could yield wisdom as rich as Patanjali’s. It’s all in how you ask. Respect and trust their experience and they will reward you by sharing the depths of their understanding.
March 30, 2011
Featured here is a journal entry written by Jesus Barajas, one of my teen yoga students. I asked for his permission to publish this entry on his vision of peace because my heart was struck by the clarity and compassion put forth in his writing. Jesus is an exceptional yoga student. He dedicates himself to transferring his learning into daily life. I am happy to celebrate Jesus and share his vision with you!
By Jesus Barajas, 15 yrs old
I think my personal vision for peace would be for the youth. I want to change the ways kids grow up in less fortunate communities. I want to transform their neighborhood into a safe and fun environment. Our youth are the future. I was looking at the yogaforyouth.org page and I saw a video that expresses how I feel. I want to take peace and offer it to kids who don’t have the best education, community, etc. I don’t want kids to grow up with the impression that they don’t matter in society. Because that’s what happens. A kid grows up without the love and attention they need and end up joining a gang. Another thing I would change is gang violence. I hate, or rather dislike, how people will kill other people for not wearing the right color or what not. But, if we prevent those kids from feeling alone then we can stop gang violence. Because the kids are the ones growing up and if they grow up with the teachings of yoga, then they don’t grow up joining gangs. They grow up making peace between one another. This is my personal vision for peace in my life.
In this new feature on our blog, we will feature the voices of youth who’ve either participated in a Shanti Generation program or have sent us feedback on their experience with our teen yoga DVD, Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers. If you work with youth interested in voicing their experience with yoga practice, contact us and utilize this platform.
Breath and Relax
Consider Your Self and Your Life
Where would you like to feel more Balance?
Name an attribute that will aid you in achieving Balance.
Under the Full Moon, on the Eve before the Equinox,
And in the Sunshine of the Day,
Be the Balance.
As the Spring Equinox grows near, the moon is waxing into fullness and the light of day shines in brilliance as a reminder that now is the time to plant our seeds. Now is the time to focus on what we want to create in our lives. For some teens, this can be a challenging concept. The adolescent mind can become mired in what the individual wants to destroy or escape from, including peer,familial and global stressors. The coming full moon and equinox provide an opening to shed light on what is desired; an opportunity to turn the mind from what isn’t working to what is.
Yoga practice offers multitudes of ways to shift from deficit thinking to thoughts of abundance. Allowing the ebb and flow of the natural world to guide the practice is in alignment with the initial creation of the yogic systems. There are times for letting go as in the waning of the moon and the coming of winter. And NOW is the time of building, becoming and bringing into being!
To help teens discover what it is they want to create in their lives, give them some time and space to contemplate their inner being. Bring them into a comfortable pose either laying down or seated. Ask them to breath and relax, quieting the mind. Then, guide them to consider parts of their lives where they’d like to create more balance. Explain that the coming Vernal Equinox is a time when the Earth’s axis is balanced right in between it’s usual tilts toward or away from the Sun. Once they identify the aspect of their lives where change is desired, ask them to reflect on how it will look and feel different when balance is achieved. Give them time to name an attribute that will contribute to that balance. In other words, what ways of being will be allies on the path.
Give examples along the way to help foster understanding. For instance, if a student wants to create balance in peer relationships, they may choose an attribute such as patience, loyalty or courage. Or, if a student wants to balance out their academic life, they might choose discipline, clarity or wisdom. Many teen girls seek balance physically which may be about confidence, health or acceptance.
Once an attribute has been chosen, provide a piece of cardstock the size of a business card. Let the teens write their word on the card and ask them to “plant” this seed in a special place where they will be reminded of their commitment to balance in their lives. Some teens might tape the card to a mirror or place it in a drawer. Others might paste it inside of a folder or tuck it away in an iPod case.
If desired by the group, allow students to share their attribute aloud. Let the group suggest yoga poses and practices that embody each attribute. Create a yoga sequence integrating their ideas. At the end of the sequence, during rest time, ask students to choose one pose or practice from the sequence that really speaks to them and reminds them of their attribute. Suggest that they take a moment under the Full Moon during the Spring Equinox to do that practice with their attributes in the hearts and minds knowing that at that moment, they have become the change they have wished to see!
As an added bonus gift, nature has given a special moon this Equinox: a SuperMoon! The Moon is as close to Earth as it’s been in 18 years. So, for teens, the Moon will be as close as it’s ever been n their lives! What better time to step outside and make communion with the Earth’s celestial partner? The Moon, Sun and Earth all support us in different ways. We can really feel that support in our yoga practice as we naturally connect to the ground using the forces of gravity and step into gratitude for the light that warms us.
Extra Credit Exercise: Working in small groups or with a partner, students create a physical metaphor for the Equinox using yoga poses.
SuperMoon: March 19, 2011
Vernal Equinox: March 20, 2011
For fascinating information on the celestial events abound, visit Cosmic Navigator.