Yoga, if taught correctly, can capture the essence of what it means to educate the Whole-Brain Child. I have been blogging about what Daniel J. Siegel refers to as EsSeNCe; four components of adolescence that if ignored can lead to antisocial and disruptive behavior, and if nurtured can help to safely guide young people towards becoming healthy young adults. Yoga can provide Novelty Seeking, Social Engagement, Increased Emotional Intensity, and Creative Exploration. I have worked with story telling through Yoga, and would like to share this wonderful educational tool.
Yoga is a science of self-development that has been helping practitioners integrate various aspects of the human experience for thousands of years. Yoga can teach us to combine breath with movement, and can even help a practitioner observe thoughts instead of being controlled or stressed-out by them. Yoga does not have to have any religious, or even spiritual strings attached to it when it is taught and practiced as a technology that can be utilized for self-examination and self-improvement.
I have been very fortunate over the last fifteen years to not only become a certified Yoga instructor, but also to have been able to guide adults and children in this ancient discipline. I used a book called Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story (Storytime Yoga), when I taught elementary school, and have since been able to personalize its concepts and incorporate them into my curriculum.
A Yoga Story is a short story with a moral that can be read, listened to, and best of all, performed. The lesson it teaches can center around perseverance, respect for others, self-awareness; really any aspects of what it means to share space with others in a healthy and well-functioning community. A Yoga Story comes with a key, which describes five to ten Yoga postures. The postures might be given new names, based on the story’s repetitive words.
I like to have the kids listen to the story first, then we discuss the moral or lesson. I teach the postures, and explain any titles. The third thing I do is have them perform. I read the story as they stand or sit still, just like theater performers waiting for the curtain to open. Every time a pose or character is read I pause the narration and the students enter the posture. By story’s end the kids have gotten a physical education experience that was non-competitive, artistic, and even meditative.
The best part about Yoga stories for adolescents is when I ask them to group up and write their own. Social Engagement is instant and excitement about creative work is easy to see. Everyone seems to want to create the most original, Novel story. Emotional Intensity is allowed to Increase within the safety of their story’s structure. Writing Yoga stories is a unique type of Creative Exploration because it provides academic success for various levels of learners, physical education that can accommodate every type of athlete, and the social-emotional learning that is so important if we really want to educate the whole child.
The following Yoga story, was written by a 12 year student. At the end, you will find the corresponding key.
The Engineer Escalade
One day a couple of mountain bikers went out to Engineer Mountain. Once they were there they got out their bikes and started off. Just a little bit into the ride they saw a person on the side of the trail, right next to a yucca plant.
“Stop! Do not go ahead!” the man on the side of the road hollered while getting in the way of the bikers.
“Why not?” Asked Jeff, one of the bikers.
“There is a terrible creature of the earth near the top of the summit.”
This apparently possessed man didn’t seem to be telling the truth, so the bikers continued along the trail.
About 5000 meters ahead one of the bikers ran into a cactus and popped his tire. They now had to wait under a very large yucca bush for the sealant they repaired the tire with to dry. Meanwhile, the cactus came to life and warned them again about the mysterious earth creature. Yet the bikers paid no heed. The tire dried about a half hour later, and they were off again up the summit of Engineer Mountain.
Near the tree line the bikers spotted a monster of stone, gems, and other minerals. They saw this creature about 1000 yards away, so not only the distance made the monster look small but it also made this special creature look 10 times smaller than it actually is. Because of this, the monster looked like nothing more than a small dog comparing it of course to a yucca plant. They talked to themselves about the small atronach-like creature, and they decided to go inspect this small monster. As they were going up the summit they noticed that the creature began to grow larger very fast. At the top, the creature now looked over 50 feet tall. The creature said, “Go back or I will make you beg for mercy!”
The bikers said that they would not go. The earth creature confiscated their mountain bikes and sent them tumbling down the mountain with a sweep of his huge arm. When they got to the bottom they were battered and bruised. They discussed what had just happened.
“ I think that we should listen to everyone, George,” said Jeff.
“Yeah, no matter what they look like,” added George gruffly.
“Or where there from,” Jeff thought out loud.
“We should also try to teach this lesson to the rest of Durango before anyone else gets hurt,” they said in unison.
They kept talking until they found their car, then they drove back to Durango, determined to teach their lesson to everyone…
|Triangle||Possessed Person/Person on the side of the road|
|Twisty Triangle||Earth creature|
Thank you for reading and for sharing! If you use Yoga stories in your classroom, or have questions about them, please comment below.
Nicholas Philliou, 7th grade humanities teacher in Durango, Colorado