Empower them to rest

I have been visiting schools, teaching yoga to very young children for years. I play yoga with toddlers and preschoolers, teach them important lessons, and then end by deeply relaxing them. Often, the children struggle to relax or resist completely. So many times, I have seen their classroom teachers yell at them to get them to relax. How counterintuitive is that? I do not ask for or need the "assistance" in the first place. I find it unproductive to scream a child into blind obedience rather than empower them to experience relaxation. I am not judging the teachers, either. I used to be one. I was a preschool teachers for years. I know how patience can be tested and retested a hundred times an hour some days. Yet, the yelling is merely showing them that it is ok to lash out when someone else doesn't meet your behavioral expectations. So we are teaching them to yell to get what they want and jerking them out of feeling relaxed rather than getting them there in a fluid, calming and empowering way.

What can be done? Give them the power back! Give the kids the power to reach inside, find the skills and reteach them.

Give each child a stuffed animal. Ask the children if they know how to be calm and peaceful. They will say yes. Then say, "as amazing teachers, you guys can teach the animals how to be peaceful, still and relaxed by showing them how to properly do savasana." The kids LOVE to help. They want to feel their own power. They can do it. Of course, you'll need to guide them. All you need is your calm voice as a presence to talk them onto the floor. To lay them down. To have them hold their animal to their heart. To let the animal feel the peace that the child is holding inside. This child is able to teach peace by simply being empowered to do so. Watch their little bodies become still and melt onto the floor as you guide them into deep relaxation. Then, when you reawaken them, congratulate and celebrate them. Learning to rest is a life long process. You can open doors for these kids by teaching them true balance. To move and then to be still. To teach and be the student. We can do this, together!