Why should I
do yoga?
Is
yoga a religion?
What ages do
you teach?
I am/my child is having problems with aggression;
wouldn't I/she be better off in a martial arts program?
I have/my child
has a lot of health problems. Should I/he do yoga?
What should I
wear or bring to class?
What's the etiquette for yoga classes?
What's this
I hear about learning to breathe "correctly"?
Q.
Why should I do yoga?
A.
Numerous recent medical and sociological studies have demonstrated that
practicing the ancient art of yoga regularly can bring the following
benefits to both children and adults:
§
Increased patience and concentration
§
More graceful adaptation to change
§
Heightened focus and learning ability
§
Greater
strength, stamina, and flexibility
§
Overall
sense of well-being
§
Enhanced compassion for oneself and others
§
Peacefulness
§
Less
anxiety, tension, and stress
Children have a
great deal of stress in their lives. They need all the benefits of
yoga just as much as adults do. In fact, I sure wish I'd started
yoga when I was a kid! Yoga has changed my life for the better in
so many ways, and I've seen it transform the lives of others. As a
natural worrier and perfectionist, I've found that this discipline
trains me to live more fully in the present moment and to be
compassionate with myself and others.
Q. Is
yoga a religion?
A. No. Yoga evolved as a complex
scientific system of poses and breathing exercises that are designed to
promote physical and mental health. One of the most popular concepts
with the children is the "monkey mind," the annoying inner
chatter that torments many
of us, adults and children alike. The kids love when I make my crazy
monkey sound and we compare Monkey Mind to having Curious George running
around in your head. Once that internal chatter settles
down, peacefulness becomes possible.
Some people have a lot of fear about
whether practicing yoga will conflict with their religious beliefs. My
feeling is that self-awareness, mental discipline, and physical
health--the main benefits of yoga---are all qualities that are promoted
as wholesome and desirable in the world's great religions. Those are the
same qualities I seek to promote in my yoga classes. Thus, yoga can be a valuable tool for spiritual growth,
if that is what one wants from it. The same results may be obtained from
playing baseball, walking the dog, or washing the dishes, if done with
mindfulness and a sense of joy in life's everyday beauty.
I focus on teaching ways for students to calm themselves
before and after tests, meetings, or anything stressful, and of course, helping
them to be physically fit. Sometimes after class I invite students to
send positive thoughts out to someone they love or care about. And
that's about it for "warm and fuzzy" stuff .
Q. What ages do you
teach?
A.
One of the great
aspects of the Little Waves Yoga™
program is its adaptability. So far I have used it successfully with
people from ages 3 to 74.
The overarching
themes of Little Waves Yoga™ apply to all ages that we teach:
kindness and compassion to oneself and others, building physical and
mental health, nurturing confidence and self-esteem, and fostering
strong character, among others. However, the ways in which we teach
these principles vary widely depending on the age of the students.
For instance, in a
lesson meant to promote physical flexibility, I might sing "Itsy-Bitsy
Spider" with preschoolers as we walk the "spiders" down our legs. For
high schoolers and adults, though, I usually teach the real asanas
(poses) that have been practiced for millennia and work on fine-tuning
alignment within those positions as a way to increase concentration and
stamina.
Q. I am/my child is having problems with
anger and
aggression.
Wouldn't I/she be better off in a martial arts program to "vent"?
A. An aggressive person is a fearful
person. Yoga teaches us to view
ourselves and others with loving-kindness (metta), the opposite of
fear.
Martial arts are
excellent for teaching assertiveness, respect, self-esteem, and
confidence, which every child needs. My little boy loves his weekly karate class!
However, using aggressive movement to release aggressive feelings doesn't
always work, depending on the child. After all, is an aggressive child who
learns a great new kick in karate class likely to restrain him- or
herself when next confronted with a difficult situation?
Yoga works differently
with aggressive feelings and impulses. Although there is a common
misconception that yoga is "just stretching," many branches of this
ancient discipline feature very challenging strengthening poses such as
Crow,
Warrior I,
II,
and III,
Chair,
and many others. (Click on links to see poses demonstrated on the Yoga
Journal web site.) These poses not only strengthen the body, but also
the mind and spirit by giving us real-time feedback on how we behave in
intense life situations. So yoga gives us a chance to practice and
simulate responding
to challenging situations with cool, mindful equanimity rather than hot,
unthinking reactivity.
In addition, many yoga
poses are specifically designed literally to squeeze toxic emotions out of
the body, such as long-held anger, resentment, and anxiety, just as you
would wring out a dirty sponge. When we don't acknowledge or deal with
them, these emotions take up residence in our bodies, which then store them as joint discomfort, muscle pain, general fatigue and
unhealthiness, and a host of other ailments. Even children experience
these phenomena--growing up is tough!
Q: I have/my child has a lot of health
problems. Should I/he do yoga?
A. I always recommend that people check with their doctor before
starting any exercise program, but especially if they have existing
health problems. However, most people--healthy or not--stand to gain
huge mental and physical health benefits from beginning and maintaining
a yoga practice. Asthma, diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, heart
problems, and arthritis are just a few of the many ailments that yoga
can help alleviate. If you or your child have physical limitations, I can work
with you to make sure you both practice yoga safely and effectively.
Q. What should I
wear or bring to class?
A. You can wear anything in which you can move freely and comfortably,
although you don't want to wear a shirt that will come over your head if
you bend forward. Girls will want to wear shorts under skirts or
dresses. You don't need to bring anything else. When working with kids
and beginners,
I generally don't worry too much about getting poses exactly right. It's
more about having fun and exploring new things. Having a yoga mat is
ideal, since it cushions joints. Target, WalMart, Big 5, Ross, and other
retailers frequently carry yoga mats. Otherwise, no other
"official" equipment is necessary.
Q. What's the
etiquette for yoga classes?
A. Please arrive at least a few minutes early so you can find a
space and begin to compose yourself after rushing to class. Let the
instructor know if you have any injuries or other issues that might
affect your practice or for which you want modifications of regular
poses. Turn cell phones off and spit
out gum. I always encourage students to ask questions, but aside from
that speaking is usually kept to a minimum as we focus on breathing and
the poses. A common error of beginners is to leave class before (or even
during) Sivasana (Corpse Pose), which is always the final pose and the
most important one by far.
Q. What's this
I hear about learning to breathe "correctly"?
A. As strange as it might seem, since we all obviously know how to
breathe, there's a huge and crucial difference between "chest
breathing," which is what most of us do, and "belly breathing," the
slow, deep, rejuvenating breathing babies do. Watch a sleeping baby
sometime, and you'll notice that his low abdomen rises and
sinks with his breaths. Compared with that breathing, the vast majority
of us use only the upper or middle portions of our lungs,
and as a result feel stressed, fatigued, and generally crummy most of
the time. In Little Waves yoga classes, we practice learning to breathe properly,
using the entire diaphragm.
