I kicked off the Sharing Circle by telling them that I was thankful for having a hot shower that morning, with clean water! I explained that not everyone in the world has the luxury of clean water, let alone HOT clean water. Also, I have a seven-month-old baby at home and anyone who has children can attest to the fact that being able to even TAKE a shower at all is sometimes a miracle because Little One needs so much time and attention!
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| We used the rocks I gave the students last class to take turns talking during circle time. |
When it came to be her turn, one caring, thoughtful girl was bubbling over about telling us her one good thing. She said, "I am thankful that Emiko joined our class today, and I am thankful that Julie teaches us yoga." Emiko was a new student to our class, and I thought it was lovely that the other student chose to welcome her in this beautiful way. I was also very honored that she chose my class as another good thing to be thankful for in her day!
After everyone had the chance to share, I had the students lay on their yoga mats and contemplate their breath. During a yoga class I recently attended, instructor Rosie Acosta asked us to visualize being wrapped in a cocoon of white light while we were in Savasana. I loved how the use of this image transformed my experience, so I decided to try it with my students. I asked them to imagine they were little caterpillars who had just completed the most magnificent cocoon ever created. Their cocoon could be made of anything: chocolate, legos, silk, petals, stuffed animals; anything that made them feel safe and comfortable. Their only job was to visualize their special cocoon and focus on their breath.
After that, we started to move! I introduced the children to Garudasana, or Eagle Pose. In both Hindu and Buddhist mythology, Garuda is a large mythical bird. Before we got into the pose I invited the students to imagine their own version of Garuda; what would their imaginary bird look like? Then I talked them into the pose.
We revisited Tree Pose, and when I told the students we were going into Tree I heard several voices call out a cheer of "yesssss!" and that made me smile. Our last pose for the day was Happy Baby in honor of Harlow, my seven-month-old.
For the art portion of the class, many of the students needed to complete their Zentangle designs on the fabric circles. Then each student began sewing his or her rock pouch to house the gift I gave them last session. Some children had the chance to move on to our next project and began to create a piece of artwork using black permanent marker and oil pastels. These drawings will be incorporated into a weaving.
Stay tuned to see how this is done!
