I’m a kids’ yoga teacher, but my son, brimming with opinions and dissent from pretty much the moment he was hatched, has been one of my toughest yoga customers.
I practiced with him until around age three. I was careful never to ask but to let him join me of his own accord (for Z, pressure is the top ingredient for a big dish of insubordination). He would join me sweetly for a few yoga poses and then insist on turning my practice into an epic ninja battle or intergalactic expedition. (This was admittedly pretty fun :)
Since then, I’ve been able to trick him into practicing yoga with me by letting him be CEO. “Z, any thoughts of how to do an ostrich pose?” “On it Mom. Like this, obviously. You’ll be showing your students, right?”
In spite of his willful, managerial nature, there was this moment. He was 3 ¾. We were doing so-called “magic breathing,” a lovely technique for preschoolers to help them learn meditation. Z. said, in a moment of tranquility, “Mummy, yoga gives me a peacefuller heart.”
These types of remarks, when children are feeling at ease, are common for Yoga teachers to hear. When they happen, they are the best reminder of why we do the hard work of running our beloved Yoga Buggy.
Even kids like Z. who are resistant to the principles and practices of yoga might one day benefit from the emotional and physical support that it offers. He will one day be an adult, and life will become ever more complex and throw challenges at him, as it does. One day, everything will feel like too much and adult Z. will feel without the tools and support that he needs. When that happens, I hope that he’ll hear a faint voice from his childhood, “Yoga gives me a peacefuller heart,” and he will remember that he does have tools, that he is loved, and that he is not alone.
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