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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. A man in a shirt and tie visiting a busy preschool classroom where children play at a table

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’.

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    So you finish your practice~
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    There is nothing you dismiss~
    You are full of BLISS bombs.
    You rejoin your family~’
    And what do you hear?
    Shouts of anxieties~
    Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!
    Does loving-kindness deflate
    As you join the contention?
    Or will your blissed state
    Transmit without tension?
    Each time you experience
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    Your bliss will flow forth~
    Like a hydraulic ram.
    Embody the KNOWING~
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    Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham
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    Your inner bliss continues
    Like you won the slot machines.
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    Blue moons and white doves?
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    Call forth our virtues,
    Our patience, our grit.
    We bridge the gap of difference
    SERVE in a profound way~
    Not cold duty or bargain~
    LOVE is the order of each day.
    Become capable with powers
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    By practicing {I AM}
    Without useless distracting.
    Place your hand over your HEART~
    Feel right beneath your palm~
    Towards your back body~
    Where this is endless peace and calm.
    Allow your attention
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    Welcome the BREATH~
    Right into your HEART.
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    Expand the warmth to and fro.
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    The exhalation feels space,
    The experience of BLISS BAM.
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    Amongst the chaotic and mundane~
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