Kids Say The Deepest Things
Last week President Obama visited College Heights Early Childhood Education Center where I teach yoga to 1 year olds and up since last year. When I asked my students several questions regarding the time they spent with President Obama, my passion for the importance of teaching yoga to preschoolers was completely validated. Read on and I’m sure you will appreciate the brilliance of these kids as much as I did. 
My first question was to my Toddler class. I simply asked “how was seeing the President?” They are 2 years old and these are some of their answers. “ He is as big as a mountain.” “He is strong.” “He has big ears.” “He smiles”.
I probed a little deeper with the older kids. I inquired, “How is meeting President Obama related to what you have been learning in Yoga? “ These kids are 3 and 4 years old and their answers blew my mind, put a smile on my face and no doubt melted my heart. These are some of their responses.
“He is tall and strong like a mountain.”
“He stops and breathes when he talks.”
“He stands strong.”
“His heart is open.” Then I said “please tell me what makes you think that?” The little boy who is 4 said, “Because Ms. S. (that’s me J), his shoulders are back and that keeps the heart open.”
A few other amazing answers from these children are “His words are clear.”
“He is nice to every body because his heart is open.”
“His heart is open so he shares his light with everybody.”
“He is happy when he sits because he sits up straight and lifts his heart.”
“He has power in his belly.”
We all have moments in our lives when we say to ourselves; wow I have done my job well. Kids listen. They are hungry for information. They remember. It’s very important for us teachers to teach them well. With answers like that, I know I have done my share. Let your light shine. Namaste’.
For many of us, a new year represents a blank slate, a Tabula Rasa. Imagine being able to “refresh” any or all areas of your life. Now visualize this table with two columns, Yes and No. You create your truest life by thoughtfully choosing what goes in the No column and what is a Yes. Everything you say YES to and everything you say NO to matters. What if your yes’s and no’s were tabulated and at the end of a day, week, year, lifetime, you could see how the data, otherwise known as your life, balanced out?
{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam}
