Peaceful Kids

Charlotte’s Web is a celebration of the quiet virtues. It reminds us to keep a soft tender heart, accept our true nature, and value the unique gifts of our friends. The two main characters of Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte and Wibur, highlight the awareness of our own unique inner story.

Charlotte, the spider, represents our highest self who provides wisdom and help from above. She reminds us that we are never alone. She provides a higher, bigger perspective from her vantage point high up in the rafters. She brings a calm wisdom into an anxious situation, bolstering Wilbur’s self image by spelling out his best aspects. She represents our INHALE.

Become sensitive and aware of your breath.

Wibur, the pig, represents our vulnerable self that is at the center of our awareness. Wilbur is consistently caring and engaging. He forms a bond with Charlotte because he sees her beauty. He is accepting and compassionate and joyfully celebrates life. He represents our EXHALE.

{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam}
Patanjali’s Sutra Chapter 1, verse 3
Then the SEER abides in it own NATURE
Surely, it’s meant to BE~

To ABIDE in our own SPLENDOR~
The mind must get real quiet;
it needs to uncover the truth
and go on a Cloud free Diet.

No need to grasp for light
For it is already here and there.
Let’s thin out the distorted clouds
Of ignorance and despair.

Let’s work with the muddled mind,
Accept that clouds are blocking,
Train to be more observant
Of thoughts that keep on talking.

Just like the sun up above
Our LIGHT never dims to slur.
It does get covered up.
And distortion may occur.

Dwarfs mine for diamonds
In the classic tale SNOW WHITE.
We mine for JOY
It’s our undivided RIGHT.

SNOW WHITE sings joyfully,
As she tidies up the cottage.
Birds and animals dance along
And MiIRROR her BLISSFUL wattage.

SNOW WHITE glistens KINDNESS,
and undisturbed PURENESS,
That exists at the core of her being
Her true SELF, that’s for sureness.

In yoga, we use our practice
To support the removal of clouds~
To ground into our inner brilliance
And shine out free from the shrouds.

“Just whistle while you work
And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place
So hum a merry tune
It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace “

Keep your ankles in line with your knees
And your knees in line with your hips.
Clasp your elbows behind your back
And rise up high on your toe-tips.

Bend steady your knees.
Stay high up on tiptoes.
Whistle or hum a tune
While you work to hold this pose!

“And as you sweep the room
Imagine that the broom is someone that you love
And soon you’ll find you’re dancing to the tune

When hearts are high the time will fly
So whistle while you work”

Clean the sand trap of cluttered thoughts
With camel pose in a chair.
Sit on the edge of your seat
Place your hands behind you with care.

Lift the sides of your heart up
And the back of your heart high.
Pull your head of the arm bones back.
Soften both sides of your throat and sigh.

Sigh your throat back,
And LIFT YOUR HEART HIGH.
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK
And allow time to fly.

Place hands on your lap
Lift your head back over your heart
Ground your thighs and feet,
And Feel the clouds depart.

May we whistle while we work.
May we notice our inner states.
May our inner states be bright.
And lighten our outer updates.

May the sound that whistles tunes
from within our deep heart’s abyss
Ring loud and ring clear~
OUR OWN TRUE NATURE IS BLISS!

inspired by Dr. Seuss’s Sutra: the Zax and Patanjali’s Sutra: yatha abhimata dhyanadva (Chapter 1, v. 39)

One day, making Okeys
In the mountain of Dokey,
Posed a West-Going Yogi
And an East-Going Yogi.

{See, an Okey is approval,
An endorsement as such.
Each yogi seeked okeys
So very much.}

And it happened that both of them posed in a place
Where they bumped. There they stood.
Foot to foot. Face to face.

“Look here, now!” the West-Going Yogi said. “I say!
You are blocking my mind. You are right in my way.
I’m a West-Going Yogi and I always think west.
Get out of my way, now, and let me do best!”

“Who’s in whose way?” snapped the East-Going Yogi.
“I always think east, making east-going okeys.
So you’re in MY way! And I ask you to move.
And let me go east in my east-going groove.

Then the West-Going Yogi puffed his chest up with pride.
“I never,” he said, “take a step to one side,
And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways
If I have to keep posing here thirty-nine days!”

“And I’ll prove to YOU,” yelled the West-Going Yogi,
“That I can pose here in the mountain of Dokey
for thirty-nine years! For I live by a mantra
that I learned way back in West-Going Tantra.
“Still the mind! That’s my mantra. Still the mind is the best!
I’ll pose here, quite still! I can and I will
If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still.

Hey… said East-Going Yogi
I learned that as well.
Let’s check yoga sutras
Won’t that be swell?

Chapter1, verse 39
to be quite exact.
Focus on things that
you won’t find distract.

There are numbers of ways
For the mind to become still.
Focus on what you please
To Fulfill!

It is the process of focus
Which makes us a yogi
Not the specific practice
You see, Okey-Dokey?

Patanjali says to practice
Right from the heart
Allow this to deepen,
For that is the art.

Fix the mind!
Any object you choose,
As a focusing prop to
Fully fix and bemuse.

Get absorbed in your focus,
Without distraction.
You can attain stillness
And sweet satisfaction.

push (one’s) buttons verb •    Make one react, or react unfavorably; to aggravate; to show off another’s character faults; to taunt. She knows how to push all his buttons. Unfortunately, most “button pushers” get a bad rap.  They’re considered rude and inconsiderate. They are the difficult people in life.  Teachers send them to the principals…

Sedef Dion who teaches a Pre-Grounded class at Springs Yoga shared with me the story of a four year old girl who in the cutest way mistakenly called Savasana….Lasagna.  This inspired me to write a Savasana visualization with a Lasagna theme that Amy and I recently used to connect with our Fernbank Elementary Yoga Club students.  After we did our practice complete with the Lasagna Savasana, one of our students..the Principal’s  seven year old daughter said…”that was so relaxing…this could help me fall asleep at night”.  Since it was her birthday that day, we wanted to put together a recording that her parents could play for her as she lays her head down for a good night rest after a long day.