A Medicine for
Me
by
Harvey Chyette
Last January when I first
started attending
yoga classes, I was very depressed and felt like I was going nowhere in
life. I was very stressed out at work, I couldn't face my
parents,
and my finances were very bad. I had just been discharged from my
bankruptcy filing and I was drinking and partying a lot. One
night
at a nightclub, I suddenly felt very lonely in a crowded room. I
even felt lonely around my so-called friends. The next day I
picked
up the Bible and read a few verses. I asked God for help and
forgiveness. Then I picked up a yoga book I purchased a few years
ago. I attempted some of the exercises and thought to myself,
this
seems really cool. That is when I looked for a class in the phone
book. The Cincinnati Yoga School advertisement was the first one
I
saw. When I attended the first class, I suddenly realized my life
would never be the same again and it could only go up. Over the next
few
months, I made a commitment to myself to practice yoga at home when
time
would permit. I help manage a restaurant and have to put in long
hours. I also made the commitment to go to at least one yoga
class
a week.
I gave up the bottle for good
last May. I
then started spending more quality time with my parents. I put
together a budget that I am comfortable with and my finances have
improved greatly. A lot of things started to happen quicker than
my
cynical self could ever imagine. With my quality of life
improving,
a lot of stress had been taken off my shoulders allowing me to focus
better at work. My job has just seemed to get easier and I'm more
relaxed, less moody, and get more accomplished.
I've also
been motivated to do more
things to broaden my horizons. I have always taken an interest in
ballet, but never had the motivation to ever sign up for a class.
In about three weeks when the fall dance season starts, I'll be
attending
my first ballet class at age 30 and I'm very ecstatic about that.
Yoga has opened up a whole new world to me. Being a quiet shy person by
nature, which I have now learned to accept and embrace, I to thank yoga
for letting me believe in myself and live again.
by Maggie Breving
When the
world outside me
seems chaotic, there is always the purple mat to come home to. Each
day,
I find a little piece of heaven. My yoga routine is always changing. My
personal practice reflects what is going on in my daily life. At
certain
points, I find myself pushing too hard on the mat. I force myself to do
ten sun salutations, backbends, handstands, challenging vinyasas, and
an
abundance of push-up positions. My tendency is to push too hard, to do
things I am not ready for, and to skip steps. When I push too hard, I
usually end up injuring myself. Nothing serious, just light pain in the
low back or a crick in my neck. I sometimes fight against the softness
of
yoga, the inner journey of yoga.
I have
recently become a
certified Kripalu Yoga instructor. I chose a very gentle and
compassionate style that allows the student to pay attention to
sensations, thoughts, and feelings. The challenge for me is to slow
down
enough to allow inner sensations to emerge. My tendency is to go for
the
power yoga. My tendency is to push through pain, to become hard, to
deny
the soft side of myself.
In my life I
have struggled
with being too sensitive. Now I believe there is no such thing as being
too sensitive. It is part of me that I wish to nurture instead of
pushing
away. When I find myself overdoing it on my yoga mat, I find that in
some
circumstances of life I am not listening to my feelings. Instead, I am
trying to solve the challenge by force, rather than slowing down and
listening.
Yoga
has also helped me with
body image. At first, slowing down caused me to be very uncomfortable.
This was another reason to do power yoga. I could avoid being in my
body.
Yet, yoga is about softness, the balance between pushing to one’s edge,
allowing sensation to build, and then releasing. What I have discovered
is that the first step in yoga is to become quiet inside. To really
fill
out the cells and tissues of the body. Many times the first thing I do
is
sit and meditate for five minutes. This allows me to come in contact
with
my state of body image for the day. Sometimes I still want to run away.
Sometimes I’d rather start out with a vigorous flow of posture, without
doing any meditation or warm-up so I can avoid being in my body. Yet,
as
I roll out my purple mat each day, I am becoming comfortable with being
myself in all my imperfections and insecurities. Yoga allows the wise
inner voice inside to emerge. Even without a room of my own, I find
myself grounded and rooted when I sit and move on my purple yoga
mat.
Yoga has
also been
shown to help the hyperactive and attention-deficit child. These
children
crave movement and sensory/motor stimulus. Yoga helps channel these
impulses in a positive way. Teaching yoga classes at the end of
school day, I quickly began to understand the children’s need to expel
excess energy. So to help release some of their energy, we would
begin by playing ‘Freeze Dance’. I would play music from various
cultures while the children danced freely. After a period I would
pause the music and they would freeze in a silly position. After
a
few minutes, we’d move on to something that required focus, such as
‘Pass
the Bell without Ringing’ Game. This game not only taught the
children concentration but patience as well. For example, Luis,
one
of my 5 year old male students was not quite as centered as some of the
older children. He typically would have some trouble passing the
bell to his classmate sitting next to him without ringing it.
Fortunately, he was never frustrated by the exercise. As a matter
of fact, he really enjoyed it and even requested we play ‘Pass the
Bell’
game on the last day of class!
When it
comes to
relaxation, some children have a difficult time closing their eyes
while
others can't get enough. One technique that encourages relaxation
is a guided visualization or story with a calming theme of some
kind. For example, a child may choose to wear an eye pillow to
block out light while lying in Savasana (Corpse Pose) or choose to
color
a Mandala Design quietly while I read the visualization. I may
ask
them to imagine themselves riding on a magic carpet that passes through
a
rainbow and experience whatever sensations arise as they float through
each color. At the end of the relaxation exercise, I would encourage
the
children to share their own experiences. The idea is to instill a
sense of peace and feeling of self-confidence to share without fear or
embarrassment.
It is such
a thrill to
see kids bond and become selfless while assisting each other perform
partner poses.
My
philosophy is to
make each Kid’s Yoga class fun, yet educational by playing games that
incorporate the basic yoga postures and breathing techniques. It is my
wish that more and more parents will choose yoga classes for their
children. There is such a wealth of knowledge we can offer our children
with the practice of yoga. The simple chanting of OM makes their faces
light up and smile. My 10 year old son is an example. He
has
been practicing with me for over three years and sometimes leads my
classes. The other students look up to him as a mentor and a
fellow
yogi.
Monica Stamper is a
kids’ yoga teacher from Montgomery, OH and is in her fourth season
teaching yoga to children. She teaches at a variety of locations
which include local elementary schools and fitness centers.
Monica’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious as she incorporates
creative aspects of stories and games into her lively yoga
classes.
Contact Monica via email: bodydevelopment@fuse.net or
513/235-6734.