Storytime Yoga

2007-11-12T10:30:00.001-08:00

It was really sweet to see that one boy, Ethan, brought in his own puppet and case for it to use in yoga. He emulate my Lalita the Ladybug, who comes out of her box and opens and closes the class. He introduced it to the class, and it's his companion now for yoga! Kids really love puppets. I do to!

The fun thing was that Ethan told his dream at the beginning of class, and we made it into a warm up! He dreamt he was driving in a car and it was raining cats and dogs. So we scootched and walked on our bottoms with legs extended and pretended to drive a car. Or course we used cat and dog pose, but threw in cows, camels and other things that rained down! it rained so much we had to get in a boat, and used boat pose.

Another boy who typically has a hard time focusing, did very well to led the sun salutation chant. It made me realize that these kids, especially boys, need more leadership or activities to do during class. I noticed this as well in storytelling classes, that the boys definitely need more physcial movement. I don't think we should be drugging kids, they just need more movement! I think even some running around in the gym or wherever, active games, is almost a necessity. I told the story Raven Brings the Light and it went well, doing a lot of fun poses like crow and eagle to represent Raven.

I did my last live Storytime Yoga teacher training this weekend. It was a great group, including two school psychologists. In the family class, we had two babies. but they did great! Of course they don't get the storytelling, they are too young. But the parentsdid the yoga and these kids absorb it through them. I teach the parents to always tell stories to the kids - poetry, songs, stories - no matter what the age. It really helps the language development.

The second cycle of e-courses has started, and we have a great group as always. It's wonderful to have people from around the world! We have people from all corners of the U.S., and one from Canada and one from Australia!

2007-10-31T08:26:00.001-07:00

In Mondays’ class, during snack children talked about their dreams and also what yoga they had practiced during the week. Many used breathing, to calm down anger or fear. Many did the sun salutation. Seems to be the most favored yoga at home!
The kids wanted to start with relaxation again, as many seemed tired after school. I am fine with this, considering how over-scheduled and stressed kids are. Jean-Jacques the pirate introduced the Muslim story of Mohammad and the Cat and the theme of kindness. I had children imagine a favorite path to walk on, then lie down in a favorite place on that path to relax. Up in the big sky was a blue bird. I asked them to think kind thoughts to the bluebird, kind thoughts to the sky, ground beneath them. Then I told the story. We slowly got up, and started some warm ups. The Prize winning warm up, with lots of lunges and switching legs quickly. I’ve noticed that children of this age, at least all children below age 11, no matter how many times you tell them knee over the ankle for alignment, they fail to remember it. I don’t have a problem with it. It bolsters my theory that children’s yoga at this age should always be fun. We don’t’ expect alignment, we present body mind connection. The alignment we present, but don’t make it too technical and focused, lest we lose their interest. All I want is for children to get in their bodies. While I believe in helping children who cannot seem to grasp the pose at all, I will remind children only about the knee subtly, rather than continually correct them. I think this sets it up to be too technique focused, heady, and boring. I find the only necessary prop in children’s yoga is an eyebag. I ask children to bring in clean socks, a washcloth, or a beanie baby to cover their eyes. This cuts down the distraction a lot, as kids are still wound up and unable to lie still much of the time. Another child led the sun salutation chant. We did many poses, focusing on kindness to our bodies, not straining into the pose, kindness in the thoughts about oneself. We did the cat/cow pose, balancing poses, such as tree and eagle. The class still seemed to have focus issues, as one boy continues to wander. I had him sit in rock pose, but he wandered away again. We had to go through the rules, and my Lalita puppet helped. The one boy with behavior problems last week, after the parent call, his behavior turned around immensely. I will have to call the other boy’s parents, but he turned his behavior around at the last minute and I prasied him for it. I believe also that he should be more engaged in showing kids poses, etc. as he is older and perhaps needs the role.

The Storytime Yoga sun salutation chant is catching on in popularity! You can hear it in the background of Fox News about yoga and schools. http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4778319&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.5.1

The First E-Course wrapped up last week. It was an incredible experience, and I love the connection. Many of the participants are continuing on for Part II this November or January, as the momentum continues toward full Storytime Yoga training, culminating in a train the trainers live training with me here in Boulder this August.

I will also be offering a special Teleconference and E book about putting on a Holiday Class. My intention is that our culture return to community, celebrating together to mark the rhythms of nature, that are within us. To focus on the spiritual gifts and giving and experiencing joy, love, friendship and the gifts of each other and nature, rather than consuming a holiday. I believe the time is ripe that people are turning away from the propaganda of consumption and capitalism, self-indulgence and self-gratification that plaques the American consciousness. Following this path has only led to depression, self-destruction, isolation and loneliness. We truly seek the gifts within, that joyously radiate without. By returning to ritual, the body, nature, yoga and community, we can have peace on earth, because there is peace within each and every one of us.

In my storytelling classes, I have been giving each child a finger puppet and they must come up with a name, where it’s from, what its problem is, what happens next, and how the problem is solved. The elements of the story. After each child told, all the children renacted the story out with their bodies. We used some yoga, but more dramatic play, of wild animals, sad emotions, etc. This was done to bring the body in, and also to accommodate the overactive boys in the group. I also brought photos of my ancestors and told a family story. About how my Bohemian ancestors lived in St. Louis and had a painting company. My great-grandmother would marry off the women cooks to her nine sons. Word got out in the newspapers, and girls from all over the world would contact the family to try and get hired as a cook, so that they could be a bride. I urged kids to ask their parents to tell them a story about their ancestors, or where their name came from, or a funny story about when they were a baby, or a funny story the parent can remember from their own childhood.
Afterwards, the children drew a part of their story, and wrote down words about it. Then they took them home to tell the story to parents.

As for my own practice, I am enjoying taking classes with Richard Freeman at his studio here in Boulder. I go Sunday mornings, it’s like church to me, for his Level 1 class. I enjoy this pace, starting over, aligning with breath and finally understanding my own alignment. I’ve always been a slow learner. Richard repeats everything over and over each class, and things sink in slowly. My dear friend, Yoga Teacher Dennis Tenney, is an amazing yoga therapist, and has given me work to do for my back pain. Yikes! It happens! I discovered about my pelvic tilt, using inner spiral more, and moving the energy more in my pelvis, sacral area, as well as my feet and ankles. I see a profound improvement in my energetics, groudedness to the earth and connection. I love yoga, yoga therapy and stories!
Love,
Sydney

2007-10-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

In Monday's yoga class, we were in the choir room because of a theater rehearsal in the gym. We didn't use mats again, which lead to children losing their sense of space and making it unruly. After snacks, talking about dreams and what kinds of yoga kids did at home (sun salutations are tops) we started with relaxation. if there were any prop that I could get en mass it would be eyebags. I don't need straps or blocks, just EYEBAGS. I'll ask kids to bring in a washcloth or something, just because they are always so distracted. But Lalita came out and we first had to review the rules (one child's parents I had to call that afternoon, and another kid who is difficult has really made good improvement) I used the nonsense poem "the animal fair" which is like a song and many kids knew it. Mr. Bones talked about healthy eating and drinking water, as usual, and Jean-Jaques told people that last week we had a Jewish story, and the week before that a Buddhist, and now we would have a Christian story. I started with relaxation, having the kids relax to the glockenspiel sounds and then also visualizing the sun's rays on their body. I counted backwards with them, and then had a bit of silence, before I told the story of Jesus and the storm. I emphasized the symbols of the story, rather than any religious idea. Water, a boat, the waves getting bigger and bigger, and 12 men getting very afrai while Jesus, calmly slept. The peace inside Jesus was reflected on the outside. We practiced the sun salutation, we talked about how our lives can be rocky with waves, but we can be calm. We focused on the breath, that is like a wave, and finding the calm within. We moved through the boat pose, with many variations to strengthen our core, our sense of self. We did bow pose, pigeon pose. And in the end we did partner poses for the fun of it. As well as the balance game, running around wild, then stopping to be in the tree pose. Games are important. Break up any seriousness. I firmly believe that at this age, until they are in middle school, yoga is fun. No worry about big alignment, who is doing it wrong or right. Have fun, believe in yourself, be in the body, begin to get a glimpse of awareness to who you are, and that we always do yoga, we always breathe, we always mediate, relax and we always tell stories and love our neighbors.

For the Spanish-language storytelling last wednesday, I started with relaxation. I've noticed with these kids they are higher energy, more get into your stuff and take it out without permission, etc. I find it harder to hold them in. Perhaps because I'm not 100% fluent, and although I can understand Jorge Ramos on Univision every night clear as a bell, I have trouble understanding these kids. But this was powerful for them to just lie down and listen. I told the story of the Three Colored Horse, a magical story. They held their attention. Fewer drew pictures of the story; many wanted to draw what they wanted to draw, but that's ok. I still wrote down the words in Spanish and English for them to take home and tell parents about their pictures. As always we sing Cucu Cantaba La Rana, and they now know it by heart and love it.

In English storytelling today, we celebated Colorado's first snow, and that we can tell coyote stories, as we are respectful of the Native American storytelling tradition. I told the Zuni story of how Coyote stole the sun and moon, and how it brought cold into the world. Then I had them choose if they wanted a story about cold again in the world, or how fire came to the world. FIRE! was the answer I told the Brazilian story of Botoque, the Jaguar and the Fire, and they were all mesmerized, even the wiggly kids. Then we did the drawing and writing. Early on, one girl brought in an object, a small alien, and told a story from it. Kids are encouraged for next time to bring an object to tell a story about, as well as bring in the story of their name. What does it mean? Who are they named for? Any other family stories? I told them my own story, and that Sydney is my middle name, and if anybody can guess my first name, a la Rumplestilskin, they will get a prize!

On the home front, we had finished the Halloween costumes. I made the Pippi Longstocking wig with my mother-in-law with a coathanger and a red wig from the thrift store, and glued patches on her dress. My son's Pokemon card salesman now has my hat i got in Paris 11 years ago decorated with Pokemon cards, and the overcoat from the thrift store has plastic sleeves for the cards glued on to it. My step-daughter took her corpse bride outfit to her mothers, so hopefully they finished that there, for her sake. I love October, the dying time, as things pass away and we get ready for the solstice, that rememberance that there is ever lasting life within us, no matter how the outer form changes shape, and that we are reborn in the spring.

The online groups have amazed me. Such talented people committed to children and yoga, and their own self improvement. The online course has proven beyond my expectations in closeness, intimacy and intuitiveness. Being in touch with people over the internet I thought would be difficult. But with story, yoga and children in common, we are all the more close.

Love and Peace,
Sydney Solis

2007-10-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic after school yoga class Monday, and I'm wondering if I've discovered something that helps kids focus. The theme of today's class was SLOWNESS. To slow our minds down and get in pace with our body.
We started with snack and checking in to see how kids did this week with practicing yoga at home. Some kids did the sun salutation at home, others breathing. I brought out Lalita to emphasize correct behavior, since last week we had a rather unruly class. Jean-Jacques the pirate puppet came out early this time to talk about stillness, finding time to SLLLLLOOOOOWWWW down. I drag my words out. I ask them where are they in between their thoughts? Using big pauses, in between the words. We did the kitty cat warm up, and the serpiente, serpiente, como estas warm up, as did we a sun salutation. I had one boy, who is usually the most difficult in terms of blurting out and having trouble controlling his body, lead the sun salutation. It was his request. He's in second grade, and he did it amazingly well. I praised him. As I've learned from a preschool director that only rewarding the well behaved kids sets up kids who have a really hard time behaving for failure. I find some exceptional improvement in all kids to reward their progress, no matter how diffiult the child. We did the breathing song standing in mountain pose, and SLOWLY, feeling our feet, feeling our hands, being here now. Breath was emphasised. I also did another slow warm up of just slowly lifting arms, stretching them overhead, connecting breath to body, doing arm circles slowly. Jean-Jacques came out again to tell the Jewish story of Standing Still. We talked again about how last week we had a Zen story and looked on a map of what countires practice Zen. We looked at Israel, the U.S. and Europe. And I also said that there is a Buddhist version of this story, so it doesn't even matter what you beleive, the truth is the same! We did the staff of brahm vinyasa, which is in my second book Storytime Yoga: The Treasure in Your Heart - Yoga and Stories for Peaceful Children. This slow vinyasa makes kids focus on their body and breath. Their minds glued to their actions. Kids were so attentive and quiet. I even had an observer and she was amazed. We focused on grounding ourselves and doing the poses slowly, with breath. Again, I engage children by always asking questions, telling them to feel their body, but their breath in their movements. We did Warrior I and into Warrior III, shooting rays of love to a person across from you. We did tree pose, finding balance within, finding stillness within. Even though we are moving, we can find a still point. My son was in class, so he wanted to show his favorite pose, locust pose. He can do the advanced version. All kids tried it, and I emphasized finding stillness in learning new things! We did crow as well, and found stillness in confronting difficulty. Kids who are normally wiggly were calm and attentive. Focused on the practice. I had children show their "favorite yoga pose" which picked up the pace a bit, and the energy, so I returned to talking slowly. then we had relaxation, just letting go and finding stillness in the body, in the earth. Afterwards kids talked about how they felt, good! And I retold the story, so that they can practice at home, remember stillness, and tell the story.

I've had many yoga teachers tell me they have trouble with their own kids in class. Mine were always not the best behaving. They haven't come to my after school classes, now that my son is in the 4th. I was surprised he wanted to come today. He did very well. I think there comes a time when they pick it up from their mother/teacher by osmosis, and as they grow older begin to appreciate it. Even my daughter came, who is in the second grade and is again, usually not very behavior oriented around me. She did well. Amazing class!

On the home front. I went to my first Bar Mitzvah Saturday for a friend's son. I thought every child should have this! There are so many people who are not religious that need ritual. Children especially. Joseph Campbell said that rights of manhood are so important, because it is a psychological experience for the child to become an adult. The ritual provides the experience that he will never be a child again, dependent on mother, etc. But not a responsible, self-sufficient adult. If there is no ritual to create this shift, children are still psychologically dependent on mother, and have a hard time moving forward and become neurotic. I think we see this in American boys today. Backwards caps, infantile behavior, not taking responsibiity for themselves. Of course our market-driving economy wants infnatile teens, because it's a $60 billion a year industry for music, teen stuff. 100 years ago, teens were adults. For an interesting article on this, see March 2007 issue of Psychology Today magazine. But this Bar Mitzvah celebrated the boy's life. He shared his passions and interests, (recycling, global warming) and used a variety of quotes from Buddhist to Native American. He chose the story of Noah's Ark, and I thought, global warming! It's in his consciousness. The dinner and dance for the teens and adults was another joyous event on focusing on what is really important in life -- love, children, family, community, celebrating life together.

My rattle gourds are almost ready for picking in the garden. One pumpkin was ripe, and is now on the front porch along with old corn stalks. We have a lot of racoons visiting us lately. They like the compost bin. Will have to cover it! The school's fall festival is on Friday. Again, another wonderful opportunity to be together. I'm so glad our school is in our neighborhood. Many people opt out because we have a high number of free and reduced lunch and ESL learners. They are missing out on the roots of life. The joy to walk down to your local school, eat with people and children in your own neighborhood. What a joy!

Let's all call our congressman to override Bush's veto of the SCHIP. Bush saves stemcells but vetos children's heath care! As always, visualize impeachment!

Namaste!

2007-10-10T08:18:00.001-07:00

Tuesdays' afterschool storytelling class went well. A second-grader brought in a story she wrote about lions. It was a book of pages with illustrations about lions she did, stapled together. She read and showed it to the class. I was delighted that she was so inspire to write her own story!
We started off with telling jokes, riddles and knock knock jokes. Especially with a Halloween theme. Whey didn't the skeleton go to the party? Because he had no body to go with!
For starters I told the Aesop's fable of the Sun and the Wind, in which the sun challenges the wind that he is stronger and can make the man take off his coat. I also told the Tailor, of how a tailor reuses his clothing from a coat to a vest, to a tie, to a hat, to a button, to nothing. A great engaging one, as we make scissors with our fingers, and act out stitching, and have repetative chants such as "All worn out" and "throw it out."
Then I tol the Grimms Fairy tale of the Lady and the Lion. It's about 12 minutes, and the kids sat rather still and listened to the whole thing. And these are second and first graders! Afterwards they drew pictures of the images they saw during their listening, and then talked about that part of the story. Then I wrote down words for them on their pages. And said, see! You are a writer!
Afterward there was the book fair in the library and I had fun checking out the books with the kids. My son is really into reading his Diary of a Wimp, and he said he's really into reading now because of the book fair. What a good thing!
Today I take my daughter's second grade class on a field trip hiking at Chautauqua. Again, such a beautiful time in Colorado to be outside hiking!

2007-10-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

In Mondays' after school yoga class at Creekside Elementary, I used the Zen story of The Cherry Blossoms. We used a map to find Japan and China and other Zen-practicing countries, I explained to the kids that sometimes we will use stories from the Zen tradition, and sometimes we will hear stories from the Jewish tradition, or the Christian, or Native America or Africa, or Sufi of Muslim or maybe we will hear stories from nature.
The Cherry blossoms story is about being positive and grateful for what you have no matter what. The Nun Rengetsu is in search of lodging on her pilgrimage, only to be refused. She sleeps in a cherry orchard, and is awakened in the middle of the night by the scent and beauty of the trees in bloom under a full moon. She bows in thanks to the villagers for refusing her lodging, so that she was able to witness this beautiful sight in nature.
I realized that I had to practice this story myself, as class was a bit unruly today. We went to the courtyard again and to be near the garden like last week, however, things were different. The leaves on the ground were a distraction, and even though I had a new assistant, several kids weren't either participting or wandering around. Mats are useful for this reason, to keep them in their space. Some kids definitely have attention issues, and they are a challenge, but others start to follow. I separated some kids and in a firm but calm tone and with the help of my puppet, asked those kids who did not listen to sit out. Some I told that this was the last warning and they would not be invited back to class and I would need to talk to their parents. This seemed to help.
So! The difficulty I told the kids I was grateful for! It taught me how to deal with things and also learned what works and what doesn't work. We went through the story and used warrior one and two poses, triangle and side angle pose for traveling, the tree pose for the cherry trees, but also went through a range of hip openers and chest openers to feel the courage and opening to trust that all is well. We did twists and forward bends, always brining up the theme of the story. During snack time before class, I had asked kids what they could be grateful for right now. Some said the trees, life, food. The focus was on gratitude and that whatever life gives you, you make lemonade with. And that to have radical appreciation for everything, regardless of what it is.
It was tiring with all the dicipline issues, but next week we are back in the gym with mats. I'm glad we could be outside in the beauty of fall for the time being.

I volunteered to be the school liason for Boulder Valley School District Family Resource Schools, which assist in creating quality after school programs for disadvantaged families. I'm looking forward to it, and to doing more translating for Spanish-speaking families at our School Improvement Team meetings. I'm hoping to soon put on monthly, bilingual family yoga programs at the school with Our Love of Children Foundation, and provide info on healthy eating, and perhaps a guest lecture.

At home, we have created our Dia De Los Muertos alter with all who have passed. We have my husband's pictures, and the kids and I will celebrate his birthday Oct. 13 to remember him. My step kids have also started putting obejcts on the alter in memory of their deceased grandfather. As the leaves fall and coolness fills the air, we can help children connect to the life/death/life cycle of the earth - and ourselves - as we march toward the winter solstice. More on that to come!
Love,
Sydney

2007-10-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met for the second time with the Spanish Language storytelling group. Last week only two of the children enrolled had come, but this time we had eight. They were all girls first and second with one fifth grader. They are all Latina and most from Mexico. Many speak excellent English. They loved Sophia the snake of dreams and told some dreams to me, and the new girls were most curious to see what else I had in my bag, little fun gadgets. We had Jesus Ramon, who we are making a story about, the crocodile puppet who begins and ends the class.

I had brought a lot of my old instruments I collected with me over the years and saved from when my own children were young. A tamborine. Some wood to shake, sticks to clack, bells to ring. A kaleidoscope. I'm unsure of where my rattle that I picked up in Oaxaca is but i'm looking for it. It's so much fun to make music and dance at the beginning of class! The kids loved it. We sang the traditional song Cucu Cantaba La Rana and the ones who don't know it are learning it. We will repeat each song over again each class until they know it by heart.

I also asked the girls to retell the story that they heard last week, or at least recall parts of it. El Buhonero. The Peddler's Dream. I retold it for the children who were absent last week, and also to reinforce it with repetition to the ones who were present. I also told them a story about a Conejito, a rabbit, who goes on a journey. They then had to draw pictures from their images in the head. Then they spoke about the pictures and I wrote down those key words in Spanish and English for them.

We met outside again on the coutryard deck. My husband had returned to finish the seats, and they are almost done. It was again such a beautiul October Colorado day. This is the time to be here. We did tree pose, vrksasana, and related to trees, such as the tree that has the treasure beneath it. My Spanish sure gets a workout too. I tell them that I still have a lot to learn. We do speak some English, if I don't know how to say something. They are teaching me Spanish!

I enjoy the diverse community of our school. We have a mix of affluent people in the neighborhood, as well as foreign students whose parents are visiting teaching at the University of Colorado. And then there is are a lot of chileren who receive free and reduced lunch It's a very close neighborhood and the diversity helps everybody learn and it's so much fun!

At one of our recent School Improvement Meetings, test scores with the Spanish-language kids did great, but still have trouble with reading scores. So we shall see if storytelling, yoga and fun with music, puppets, art and story making does anything. I'm troubled that this exists. So I teach storytelling in Spanish and in English with the other group. I'm upset right now at the Boulder Valley School District right now because they are out of compliance with the class size ratio, since this is a Title I school. It should be 18: 1, the way it was for k-3, but the second grade, where my daughter is in, has classes of 20:1 and 21:1. SIT has written a letter to the superintendent but I want him to answer to what they are going to do to be in compliance. It's an issue of equality. And I am comitted to equality.

The school has done such good things to really work at making a high-achieving school dispite huge odds, and we have this gorgeous garden! I'm hoping to do more with Wellness Nights, have a family yoga night to learn about health and fitness and literature and telling stories! From this I will blog more on. I'll have Maria Cristina Aguilar do the Spanish for me while I do the English (just easier that way). She's a Storytime Yoga mentee and former bilingual principal and has numerous masters in education. I'm delighted that she will be helping me and she is also doing the translations for the Spanish versions of Storytime Yoga books.

Things are going well in the E-Courses. I'm enjoying getting to know the women and how they work with story and yoga to bring this to their own families and communities, as well as enrich their own lives. We have been sharing dreams, remembering our relationship to our inner lives, and bringing forth those symbols to share with others. Dream telling is the most ancient and simple of storytelling. To honor the dream and make something from the unconcious conscious by sharing it with another. By relaying the dream image to another. We are already affecting each others dreams. From this a new myth will emerge. Myths are public dreams, Mythologist Joseph Campbell said. When I did body and movement with Rebecca Armstrong with Mexican psychotherapists last year in Oaxaca, we got in touch with our dreams and from the others' symbols how they affected us, created a new myth. Armstrong, who is the "daughter" of Joseph Campbell and used to hear him tell stories as she sat on his lap, told me that Campbell said the new myths would come from our own collective dreams. So we shall see what emerges!

I find the roll of the storytelling yoga teacher an emerging one. It's perfect for women, especially as we grow older. The mature and powerful feminine energy that is wisdom and knowledge happens during the second half of life. I, at 40, realize that i'm not going to cling to any young version of who I was worrying about my hair or wrinkles. What a waste of energy! Age brings a certain freedom. You can be your authentic self. Who cares? I'm not going to compete with those young girls. They are in a completely different story of life. The media traps of glamour I stepped into when I was an adolescent girl are no longer on my ankles. I walk freely and I've never felt better! But of course I do not watch any commercial television, don't subscribe to any women's magazines, it's a bit easier. Unplugging from mainstream media is essential if you are going to find the power within, to listen to your own story and practice yoga and recognize who you are. We have been stuck with princess imagery for too long. It's time for her to grow up and for us to claim the mature and powerful Queen energy which leads to the Crone. The power of life and death. Life is shorter now, as we march toward our own demise. But by returning to the wisdom of the old ways and letting go of the extrenal world, while very much engaged in it, makes life quite enjoyable and very peaceful. And i love putting it in to the world and to the children.

Finally on the home front, my daughter Paloma is with her friend Leroy from next door right here at the floor of my office desk in the garage making signs to sell their peppermint tea. They picked the peppermint from the garden at our house and then also made some tea. They are writing words like "Paloma and (Leroy's) Spice Tea. My son and his friend Augustin are jumping on the tramp. Time to wrap this up and get some food going!
Until next time.
Love and Peace,
Sydney Solis

2007-10-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

At Tuesday's storytelling class we met in the library and sat in the cushiony area for a while, as the kids talked about how they used story this week. A second-grade girl brought in her drawing from when she heard me telling the Native American story of Jumping Mouse last week. She also made up her own story as she retold it to the other kids talking about her picture. Another girl told me about her dream, a boy told me a joke, and others shared a finger play they learned.

We sat out in the courtyard again to be with the beautiful garden and fall colors of trees. Then we talked about nature and our connection to animals and that there are gifts from befriending these animals. I told the Japanese story of The Grateful Crane. and later on the courtyard classroom deck, we did eagle poses, garudasana. The story is about an old man and old woman who having saved a crane earlier, find a young girl at their door one night. She becomes their daughter and makes strange noises behind her door at night, but made the parents promise never to peek and see what she is doing. Every day she comes out with beautiful cloth, which the parents sell and become wealthy. But one day the old woman can't stand it anymore and peeks in on the girl. She sees the crane weaving its own feathers into a loom to make cloth. Having discovered her secret, the girl leaves forever and as the crane flies out the window and is gone.

Children drew their images after the telling. And wrote down anything they wanted to about the picture. This afternoon I have Spanish storytelling, and I will tell Chumba la Cachumba.

I just finished writing an article entitled "Awakening the Storyteller" for some magazines. It's based on the E-Course Teleconfernece call, and summarizes storytelling and the need for image and how to use it in yoga for children.
Until next time.
Sydney

2007-10-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

All of my life I have kept journals. Funny I should resist online blogging for so long. At 40, I strangely missed the computer world. Didn’t touch one till 24, but now, having followed my bliss, I’m back into writing to talk about yoga and story.

Today I started the Creekside Elementary after school yoga class with a drum. I just beat the thing and the kids wiggled around and I told them to shake out their bodies. I wanted them to hear the rhythm, that primordial sound, like a heartbeat, the heartbeat of the mother earth. Of life.

We were outside in the community garden, because the gym, where we usually meet, was occupied for drama rehearsal. It was a perfect Colorado, October day and we met in the courtyard, where my husband, Justin Chipman, helped Bryce Brown of the Our Love of Children Foundation and many people from school build the outdoor classroom this summer. We even got wagon wheels by asking the universe for it, but that’s another story.

The fifteen kids and I didn’t use any mats. I asked the children to take off their shoes and socks, although many of them still preferred to leave them on. We warmed up with the sun salutation, and I asked them to keep a journal of their experiences during the week with yoga, life, anything. Even if it’s just a letter that they bring me back. I will star those letters and keep them. Then at the end of the 8-week session, they will get a surprise.

I find letter writing to be an effective way to get kids to write. My daughter recently lost a tooth, and we had fun with me writing her letters as Felicity the Fairy. She was reading. Kids like to read when they are really excited about it. No I have to find some fairy dust. My daughter has been slower to learn to read, but she is picking up quickly.

I have been emphasizing a yoga practice at home, and for kids to do the sun salutation. A young girl named Imani already is standing out to lead a sun salutation in the future. She took my class last year. Even though she broke her foot, she is in there.

I emphasize to the children, grades 2-5, that yoga is a discipline. Lalita, my ladybug finger puppet from Folkmanis, came out and set the rules this time. This is a privilege to be here. This class is already over filled, so, two warnings and the next time and with any disruptive behavior. They will need to go home. They know I’m serious and they show improvement because they want to stay in on the fun. So far, kids are getting it. Even the most difficult ones I find they just need lots of attention.
I told the Aesop’s fable of the Treasure in the Earth. To celebrate that we are here and now, to breath in, to be rooted like a mountain. To be like the trees around us, and to connect to the earth that nourishes and provides for us. We did warrior pose and triangle, to be rooted, grounded and feel our feet in the earth. To breathe in and then breathe out and let your energy drop down your body, down to your feet, into the earth, travel to the person across from you.

Mr. Bones, the rubber skeleton, got tough about talking about healthy eating, and also staying away from cigarettes, drugs and alcohol. I taught the mountain pose to root them into the earth and use breathing in the present moment to withstand any difficulty, such as peer pressure, that may come. I would come up to them and say, “Come on, let’s smoke a cigarette.” An the child stands firm in mountain and says, “NO.” “Come on,” I say, give me your lunch money, little girl.” And the child stands firm, breathes in and out and says, “No.” And I congratulate them on being so courageous and centered in yoga.

Then I taught them walking meditation. I instructed the children to leash in their monkey and bring their minds into their bodies, so that their bodies could be in harmony with their environment. And that they are actually very, very powerful when they are present and aware of themselves and their body and their environment. And that they can have anything they want in the world, if they focus and discipline their minds, and keep a healthy body. Of course what kids want most in the world is an X-Box, or some other material object. A young Hispanic girl, Diana, said what she wanted most in the world was to be with her family. Brava chica.

Diana led them through the garden and to gaze at its beauty. Lettuce and spinach were coming up to be used for the school salad bar. There’s usually a big Wellness Wednesday. We walked down to the creek. And I had told anybody that if they talked, they would have to go back to the courtyard. I had them raise their hands to make sure they understood. Two were sent back. But at the creek, I had them just look at the water. If any thoughts came up, for them just to notice them, and return to their breath and return to the creek’s water and the beautiful nature around them. I instructed them to just look. Then we went back, and the bus was there to pick kids up.

We sang a new version of the namaste song to close.

So I will be blogging more. Here and with my wonderful students involved in the Storytime Yoga E-course. I’ve always been a writer. I encouraged children to keep a journal because that is how you hear your own voice. In yoga it’s svadyaya, to study yourself, to really peel away any stories that are clinging to you as to obscure your true identity and lead you astray.

I am enjoying my e-course. I get to know all these amazing women and what they are doing with yoga and story and especially children in their lives. They are dedicated to helping the planet, I can feel it. I think change is afoot as we feel and reconnect with the underlying essence of the unknown informing everything. And with yoga, a return to myth and story to engage our minds with our bodies, positive thinking and discipline from each person, our world becomes a paradise on earth. Transforming suffering to joy, educating children and bringing families and communities together. That’s my idea of a good time.

This need for groundedness was a big reason I cancelled all my national and international trainings. The travel disruption was difficult. Have any of you had to go through the bomb sniffer at the airport? I swear, our government is trying to discourage travel. My last training in Arcata, California was amazing, but the journey long and I missed my family. Anyway, I’m into routine, to balance my vata tendencies, into being with my natural environment as much as I can and relating to it as much as I can. That means my own body, my family and my school. That means reading with my children and tending the garden and training the puppy and doing the laundry and checking out the Rocky’s game at a restaurant because we don’t have any cable TV, or any broadcast TV that is. I’m committed to attending to my family and making my environment harmonious. I’m committed to practicing yoga and being peaceful within, so that my environment can be peaceful. I’m committed to low impact living, low consuming, and high on gathering with friends, doing things in nature, enjoying a good meal, doing yoga and telling stories. I got a puppy recently, a little Papillion from the Boulder Valley Humane Society I named Sergeant Pepe, and I’ve never related so much to an animal, and to the intelligence of animals, as I imagine all of life is so intelligent and worthy of our care and attention. We just have to be with it.

Of course I am passionate about my work. And it is best for me to write, and teach and tell stories from here. This voice of the silence. Words, Les Mots, as Sartre wrote. They have their appeal.

I was at the Yoga Journal Conference this weekend in Estes Park with Debbie Huttner, Executive Director of the Wellness Initiative. I co-taught the conference’s first family yoga class with her, and it was a joy to have so many children and parents doing yoga in such a beautiful setting.
My hopes is that family yoga - the joyous interaction of parent and children, the group of the family extended into the community – flourishes at these conferences, and across America and the world. And that communities come together in schools across the nation to celebrate health, family, friends, nature and harmonious living. That instead of billions spent on heinous war, billions are showered upon schools, community and joyous living.

And the Peddler’s Dream DVD for Children is about to be released. Angela Beloian, the artist who did the shadow puppets for the DVD, is having an art opening at the Boulder Public Library, Friday evening Oct. 5. She is really talented. I will be there.

Tuesday I have English language storytelling. Last week I introduced a crocodile puppet and asked them who it was. Is it a boy or a girl? What’s its name? The came up with Mr. Sharpy. Where is he from? Florida, and he got to Colorado accidentally in an outhouse. A little boy barely ate his applesauce and wanted to throw it away, so I told the story of Why the Sky is Far Away. An excellent version is by Mary Joan Gersten, and you can tell kids to find it in their library. But it reaches kids to respect the gifts of nature; and that little boy ate all his applesauce. The kids are instructed to come back next week with their own Porquoi, or why story, if they wish. And also to come back with a dream they had.

Wednesdays I do Spanish language storytelling. Mr. Sharpy is Jesus Ramon, and he came from Mexico on a bus. I used a wooden frog toy that makes croaking noises with a stick to chant to Cucu Cucu cantaba la rana. We pantomimed the story and we did frog poses with yoga. I told the story of the Peddler’s Dream, and I told them to tell that story and to also remember their dreams. This week I will do Chumba La Cachumba la Cachumbamba for Halloween. It is time to mark the seasons and this turning time of nature.

At home, we are making Halloween costumes. We went to the thrift store with our Nonie, my husband's mother, and got some stuff. My stepdaughter Crosby, 11, will be the corpse bride, and we found this great old wedding outfit. My son, Alejandro, 9, is a Pokemon card salesman, and we got an old trench coat. My daughter Paloma, 7, wants to be Pippi Longstocking along with her best friend Chloe, and we found some striped socks as well. Nonie is making the wigs and we will bust out the sewing machine to finish it all off.

I set up the altar for the Day of the Dead. Or rather to grief. My late husband’s birthday is October 13, and we will celebrate. My mother passed away 6 years ago October 11. We have the pictures up there, candles, and I told them they can add objects of someone they know who has died. My stepson, Walker, 13, put the cuff link of his grandfather. Crosby had had a dream about Grandpa Chips a few nights ago. We celebrate this. We bring death right up front and look at it right in the face and embrace it. And we know we are alive. We will be having a Halloween party. Kids go trick or treating with some parents, other stay home and have their tarot cards read by La Cyd Denis. Maybe I will tell the brother's Grimm The Juniper Tree that night.

My oldest sister, Narada, moved to India this summer. Her daughter, Radhika, moved to Colorado to be near family and the temple in Denver. She has two little girls. Kamesvari, 3, and Devaki, 6 months. I feel like a grandma. I love these young years. It’s so much easier when they are not yours! I’m enjoying setting up a child-friendly environment once again in our home, as Radhika comes to do work for us. She’s also setting up her own catering company. Check out Govindastogo.com.

Live is truly a joy. A beautiful work of love.

Until next time.
Love and Peace,
Sydney Solis

2007-06-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

The Next Storytime Yoga Book is about to be published! The Treasure in Your Heart: stories and Yoga for Peaceful Children, features dozens of stories from the world’s faith traditions to teach peace, literacy and yoga and yoga philosophy to children! Look for the new book at www.Storytimeyoga.com and at Amazon in late July!

Come to a Teacher/Parent training and learn the Storytime Yoga method.
Trainings in Louisville, Colo., July 14-15, Arcata, Calif., Sept. 22-23, Newportbury, Mass., Oct 21-22 and many more in 2008, including the U.K. and Ireland! Check the schedule at www.StorytimeYoga.com Namaste!

2007-04-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Want to hold a 4-year-old’s attention? Tell him a story! Preschoolers are a joy to teach yoga to using storytelling and with a few easy methods; you will put them on a lifelong path of health and literacy.
It is very important to teach these young people, as their future depends on the attention, care and learning they receive. Maria Montessori knew all too well that by creating a child-centered environment, the child can grow into happiness, independence and harmony with adults and the world.
Children love stories and the more you tell them, the more they will ask for more! By creating their own images from the stories they hear, children develop the all important imagination and self-awareness. Ultimately it leads to critical and original thinking, and self-reliance which is essential for learning.
Ask your librarian for help in selecting stories. By telling the story orally, rather than reading it, you will create an intense connection to your children.
For preschool, keep stories short and simple. You can take any story and pull out the bare bones of it. Who is the story about? What happens? What happens next? How does it end? Look for stories with the three Rs – Rhyme, Rhythm and Repetition. Make up a funny repetitive sound that goes with the story. It can be as simple as an “OH, YEAH!” every time a character appears, to a call and response.
Engage children in clapping hands, snapping fingers, pounding feet, wiggling, roaring like tigers. Ask them questions. “SO what do you think? Should the peddler go on his journey? Why or why not?”
This all engages their active imaginations and finding themselves within.
I also use props with preschoolers. They are just so much fun. I have a special story bag that keeps them all together, and they come out one by one. Children know Lalita the Marequtia, a ladybug puppet who speaks Spanish and recites nonsense poetry and most importantly sets the rules. Then there is Mr. Bones, a rubber skeleton that emphasizes healthy eating. I have glockenspiels and bells, which draws children’s attention like magic. And those who are good at controlling their bodies and listening get the reward of ringing them! Children look forward to the ritual of these props each class and it makes it fun!
I always act the silliest with preschoolers, and it’s so much fun! I make the most exaggerated facial expressions, the strangest sounding noises for characters. I use my whole body, and children focus on it! I’ve done classes with 50 preschoolers, and teachers come up to me and say, “How did you get them to be so still?” I tell them it was all the power of story, imagery and their own imaginations, spellbinding them into finding the world within their own bodies.
Namaste!
Sydney

2007-03-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

CREATING YOUR OWN GUIDED VISUALIZATIONS
for CHILDREN
by Sydney Solis

The Greeks said that the soul speaks in an image. It is the image that arises from the heart and connects us to the divine within. It’s also the illusion, the obstacle of the sixth chakra, that we must let go of and pass through to realize the ineffable mystery of the divine.
Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagery is an important aspect of teaching children any symbolic language, such as math, reading and even computers. A child must have before the age of six a rich imagination to master this relationship between symbols. Otherwise, studies have said, that children will be unable to learn as they get older.
Imagination helps us to create. By pre-visualizing things, it is then transferred to the paper, to the action in the physical world to create. How many of you watched Star Trek in the 60s and 70s only to find that a communicator is actually a cell phone! Imagination creates the whole universe and it was essential in the evolution of humans.
Another important aspect of imagination is that is allows the psyche to experience things safely. Jung said that if a woman dreamed she went to the moon, she really did go to the moon. The psyche doesn’t know the difference if it was real or imagined. Mythic play and visualization gives a safe container to act out negative feelings, fears or aggressions and desires that human’s experience. We need to occasionally stab Cesar to satisfy the dark side, the shadow, in our psyches. We need to visualize things that give us pleasure to evoke that feeling within and satisfy us.
Bringing imagination to a child’s world is one of the most important things we can do. We can easily explore and develop the vastness of a child’s inner world through storytelling and also guided meditation using imagery.
You can easily create your own guided visualizations to use with children – and adults.
I always teach yoga with a theme of story, which is either acted out with the yoga postures or brought up as a theme throughout the class. Before relaxation, allow children to call out the images that came to them during the story. Those “pictures in my head.” They can draw a symbol for that image, and tell about what it means to them or how it relates to that story.
Use a variant of yoga nidra for children to get them to relax. Begin with awareness of the sounds in the room, then awareness of their breath. Then call out certain body parts, such as the feet, the knees. This rotation of consciousness allows the busy mind to rest on the body and eventually relax into a deeper state.
For the youngest children in preschool, make this very short. Feet, legs, hips, chest. Older children you can take more time in calling out body parts. Toes, ankle, foot, etc.
Then guide the children to drop their awareness down to their heart center.
Here you can either drop in a symbol from the story or allow the children to use the symbol they created from the story.
Or, you can just drop in any image you create. A ship sailing on the seas, a rose blooming, a bird in flight, a river rushing through a canyon.
Allow children to create their own images that are appealing to them. What do they like? What makes them happy?Allow them to imagine people they love.

With their imaginations, you can also have them revisit the story you told as if they were the main character of the story. Have the child visualize the story again as the character. Ask them questions during the visualization as “What do you see? Where are you?” You can pull out main elements of the story and ask them to connect it to their lives. What journey are you on? What do you want in your life? What obstacle do you have in your life? What animal friend do you have in your life? What can you do to get help? Allow the child to let things arise, not force anything. It helps to teach them to rest their minds in the space between the thoughts to allow things to arise between the thoughts.

You can create guided visualizations by starting one off on a journey. Starting with a place, such as a forest, outer space, a boat sailing to an island. Have them imagine it in detail. What sounds, smells, and sights do they see?
You can add characters, such as an animal guide, a fairy, a person who greets them. What happens next?
Have them reach a special place. What is it? A bubbling pot, a magic door, a secret well? What comes out of it? What message is there for them? What image, object, animal just for them?
Have a return, saying goodbye, returning with a magical object that was found, having a feeling of safety, comfort, joy, or relaxation.

Allow the child to “talk” to the characters in their visualization. What do they say? Encourage children to do this exercise after relaxation as well by writing down the conversation. This is called active imagination and can problem solve for children. (adults can do this too!)

Design the visualization to meet a goal. If there is some anxiety, let children jump off a cliff in their mind’s eye to learn to let go. Let them feel the falling freely and safely. Let them enter a cave of darkness safely, and find magical gifts. What are the gifts? What magical abilities to they have to solve the problem they are having? If they need to relax, allow them to just sink into the earth. Perhaps they will journey into another world. Allow them to drop into this and play with whatever arises for them.
Have them invite a symbol to come from within to help them remember how to let go, to be courageous, to be relaxed. Encourage them to remember that symbol and let it rest in their heart, that it is available at any time they need it.
Let them draw that personal symbol and have them put it in a place where they can see it every day.

You can guide them with an intention. Such as expansion, connectedness, love for others, or gratitude. Ask them to think about images of expansion, love or gratitude that are in their own lives.
For example, with expansion, you could create a visualization that awareness expands from their heart, out to their toes, out to the floor, to the person next to them, to the door, out the door. You could use the same visualization for connectedness.

During meditation, ask children to create an affirmation in the positive. Such as, I am smart, I am kind. I am confident. Have them repeat it three times to themselves during meditation. Have them visualize an image to represent this affirmation.

In my book Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through story, I have fairy tale shavasana for older children. Each successive relaxation allows a child to journey on an original fairy tale.
• Who is in the story? What happens in the character’s life that they are called on a journey? What has been upset in the character’s life that must be brought back into balance, healed, defeated?
• What is it that must be restored to bring life back into balance, healed, or vindicated?
• What secrets are there? What animals or magical helpers come their way?
• What obstacles must be overcome? What magical objects are discovered to overcome the obstacles?
• How is the problem overcome? What is the action that overcomes the problem?
• How does it end?

After the visualizations, encourage children to draw, write, speak about the images they saw.

Encourage children to contemplate the images throughout their day.

Have them pay attention to their dreams and keep a dream journal. Have them draw their dreams.

Encourage them to be aware of the images in their waking life. Such as animals, flowers, keys and doors, certain people, etc. to relate them symbolically to their own lives. This cultivates attention to the present and reflection on what’s going on inside and how it relates to their life on the outside.

Encourage children to monitor their thoughts. To listen to that inner voice, the chatter. Remind children that they are not their thoughts. They are something much more than their thoughts.

Above all, encourage children to practice meditation and relaxation at home! Even to invite their parents and friends to join them!

As a teacher, in creating your own guided visualizations, your own imagination is the only limit! Teach out of your own experience. What are your issues and how can imagery and guided imagination help you? What would make you feel safe, help you cool down anger, relax? What great adventures, joys do you have? Create your own visualizations and then use it on children. We are all human and have the same hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. You can connect deeper to your children when you share from your own experience and offer up the healing and joy you have received to them. Images are universal and it is the individual who will receive their messages for their own life’s needs. That is the connection of the outer to the inner, and the inner to the eternal.
Namaste,
Sydney Solis

2007-03-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Namaste! I just returned from a wonderful trip to Philadephia for a Storytime Yoga teacher training I gave. I am always impressed with the wonderful talent and dedication of the teachers out there and was grateful to all who attended. In our discussion, participants told me how they tried out the stories and yoga in the book and how kids cried out, "MORE!"
Children are hungry for stories. They are hungry for the inner life that the symbols in stories point to. Our culture's mythology is the consumer marketplace and everything created points for children to experience things externally. It takes them outside their bodies, such as tv, videos or uninspired pop music. Stories and the images children create from hearing them keeps them in their bodies. These stories activate their imaginations from within and activate seeds of their being to have a rich inner life. Studies have shown that if children don't get an imaginative life before age six, they are damaged as adults and have difficulty learning. Stories are a symbolic language, as is math, reading, computers. So mastering the relationship between symbols is important. Stories also can heal. Storytime Yoga is a form of play therapy, where kids can feel safe to explore their feelings in a non-threatening way. The listener unconciously makes connections with the stories, characters and images to their own lives, creating new possibilities and new hope. With stories, we can teach yoga philosophy...non-harming, truthfullness, greedlessness and so on, in a more powerful way than just lecturing.
Indeed, the genesis of myth and stories is from the Self itself, calling us with symbolic clues back to its SELF. We are all on the heroic journey of our lives. As teachers on our own journey, we can guide children there too with yoga and stories.
Storytime Yoga is expanding nationally for more teacher trainings this year. If you are interested in hosting a workshop and learning the power of yoga and stories, feel free to contact me at www.StorytimeYoga.com.
love and peace,
sydney solis

2007-03-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have had bipolar, ADHD and just generally overexcited kids in many of my classes. No matter. I direct them into awareness of the body by calling out their bottom on the floor, their hands in their lap, and then by beginning with awareness of the breath in and out, in and out, the air in their nostrils, and then the awareness of and the space and people around them. Then I have them create some imagery. I ask them what do they want most in the world? What is their heart's desire? What is that picture they have in their head of that desire?

Some say to have all the food in the world, another to fly, another to live in California. I tell them that we have the ability to make all our dreams come true, if we follow the discipline of yoga. The discipline requires that we get our minds into harmony with our body, which in turn needs to get into harmony with our environment. That’s when the boons come. We are responsible for controlling our bodies and to be aware of our bodies in the space we occupy. Watch out!

I teach them that we do that with awareness of the breath and observing the mind. I help the children realize that their minds are like monkeys --- as Plato said ---jumping from tree to tree, from thought to thought. With a big breath we inhale our arms up over our heads and put a leash on our monkey, then bring our hands down in anjali mudra into our hearts and are calm and still as we exhale. Otherwise, I say, our monkeys escape with our energy, and it's too scattered to make our dreams come true. Turn off that TV! Monkey mind at work! Take another breath, reach those arms into the air, leash your monkey and exhale it down to your heart.

Another idea I teach is that our minds are like an apple tree, with too many branches-- too many thoughts. We get tiny fruit. We want to have only a few branches, fewer thoughts channeling that energy, into big apples and big dreams. Plump, juicy. Take a bite!
So we slow down. Close our eyes. Visualize a big, thick-trunked tree and when we inhale, branches reach to the big spacious sky --the space between our thoughts -- rest your mind in the space in between your thoughts -- and when we exhale, roots drop deep, deep down into the earth. And trees are so powerful, so full of energy, because they are perfectly still.
I ask them to find that stillness in the solid tree, the stillness in the big spacious sky, the stillness in our bodies - that stillness in between our thoughts - where eternity lies and the power to make all our dreams come true.

2007-03-20T21:22:00.001-07:00

I teach 3-5th graders at an afterschool program at Creekside elementary in Boulder, Colorado. There is always a snack so getting right into yoga isn't an option. I use the time to check in with kids about how they are doing, and if they are eating well and practicing yoga at home. One girl replied that she shuts the door and spends peaceful quiet time at home and does the sun salutation. Another girl talked about her dream and others shared as well. ( I always encourage children to pay attention to their dreams.) Another girl talked about how she used breathing to deal with a difficult situation she was worried about. I used a Jewish story about "ifs" to illustrate how the mind puts on worries, and that it is our yoga to see the mind clearly and see the situation just as it is in reality. I often use multicultural and interfaith stories to show that these themes are universal regardless of belief.
I then went into the theme of the mind's thinking covers up our true self. I asked how many kids have negative self-talk such as, "I'm stupid, I can't do it, etc.," and many raised their hands. I went on to tell the story of The Roar of Awakening, a story from India, in which a tiger cub is raised among goats and thinks he is a goat, until one day an old tiger grabs him by the scruff of the neck and shows his reflection in the water. That he is a tiger, not a goat. So roar like a tiger! I used the theme that limiting thoughts are like a goat, but opening up to powerful, positive thoughts is being the lion. I asked them to think about where are they in between their thoughts? Who are they? Can you get a little space in between your thoughts and have your mind rest there? We had a few poses to be the lion and goat, simhasana and vashistasana, but I brought up the theme throughout class to watch the thinking, choose being a lion, choose greatness, love and peace. Afterwards, my assistant, Andria, took the children into shavasana with a magic carpet ride. Everyone was perfectly still, then afterwards shared what they "saw" on their journey. Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge. Truly the imagination, the imago dei, is our guide to the interior world and our true self. By sharing stories and encouraging imagery with children, we set them on a path of inner strength and self-reliance.

2006-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

This post is about teaching yoga non-religiously in public school. It's from an email i sent to someone.
when i teach in public schools, i always stress the psycho social aspects of yoga. that's the "union" is with yourself, your self confidence, etc., and not something spiritual. i leave it up to them. i emphasize the universal principals of the yamas and niyamas and the need to calm the mind and get control of the body so that you can be in harmony wtih the environment and make your dreams come true and be peaceful, happy people. i draw on a lot of psychology to teach the yoga aspects of meditation, rather than spiritual. psyche means soul in greek, so go figure!
if people have a problem with meditation, i call it silence. if you teach breathing and meditation, just keep it simple and focus on the pscyhological impact and proven studies about it, and that should be enough. if people don't like the world yoga, call it movement! i tell kids that the mind is a monkey (like plato said) and we have to get our monkey in control and on a leash so that we can make our dreams come true. i also emphasize that yoga is a discipline and also focus on awareness of our bodies and how it affects other people. i do this because i've always got hyperactive kids in my class.
i have heard in teacher conferences i teach at, that parents get upset with just the namaste anjali mudra position, however, my friend whose kids go to van arsdale is a strict catholic and she practices yoga, so you never know. i think you just teach being conscious to make it non-religious as possible and go from there.
additionally, i've been working more and more with my after school programs in taking an interfaith approach to teaching the philosophy. i've aways felt the big uproar over religion could be avoided if we just talked about it as a subject, that we're going to look at all the stories in the world and see how they are alike in the field of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-greediness, happiness, etc.
that way i can tell a hindu story, a christian story, a buddhist story, and use joseph campbell in the center to explain their similarities. i talked about this in a workshop i just did this weekend, and the teacher wrote a note saying she was glad that there was such an approach that won't get people all upset. this whole approach has become an integral part of my work these days, and using it to teach peace and character. also i'm incorporating more and more yoga nidra with storytelling.
sydney solis
www.storytimeyoga.com

2006-09-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

There were 18 children in the class at Columbine Elementary yesterday. This school is 89 percent Hispanic, oddly enough, since it is in the middle of Boulder, within a neighborhood where houses easily start at $450,000. I suspect the Anglo parents ship their children off to another school and I feel that this open enrollment policy with Boulder Public Schools destroys diversity, encourages racism and undermines all children's learning. I never knew segregation was alive and well in the United States.
But the children were eager to learn yoga, and again I teach to these children in service. Using the theme again of the Hero's Journey, i teach them that yoga is a journey to the self, to find that union within. The children love the puppets i use, especially Mr. Bones, the small skeleton who encourages drinking water and eating healthy foods. And of course the pirate, Jean-Jaques JeuneGens, sets the tone for the story and is a philosophy lover. A child asked, "What is Philosophy?" and I replied, "the love of knowledge and wisdom." Such smart little children. I love watching them do the poses and get into their bodies, they are so flexible in upward bow pose, and it was a joy to help those up who never have done it before. We practiced meditation, of breathing deeply and then a visualization of bring a tree. The exhalation sinks our roots deep into the earth, grounding us, helping us to control our bodies and be still. Then the in breath makes our trunk and branches expand. They visualized thousands of tiny leaves shimmering in the wind, and I urged them to make those thousand of leaves become very still. I use a bell to remind them to stay in the moment, to feel their bodies and breath moving in and out, in and out and to see the leaves perfectly still. THey did well in shavasana, although it took the reminder that the most still will be rewarded with ringing the bell to bring the group out of relaxation, and that helped a lot!
I will continue teaching the theme of non-violence and peace using heart opening poses.
Lalita the Marequite lady bug puppet was very useful in reminding children of the rules of conduct in the class. These children were especially talkative and interuptive. Perhaps because it was such a large group.
Love and peace,
Sydney Solis
www.StorytimeYoga.com

2006-09-28T10:44:00.001-07:00

I have a bipolar child in one of my classes, and I have been focusing on awarness with him and the other children. To use the breath to be completely here and now and in control, so that we can make our dreams come true.
I asked children at the beginning of the class series, what they wanted most in the world. Some said to have all the food in the world, another to fly, another to live in California. I tell them that we have the ability to make all our dreams come true, if we follow the disicpline of yoga. The discipline requires that we get our minds into harmony with our body, which in turn gets into harmony with the environment. And we do that with the breath. I help the children realize that their minds are like monkeys, and with a big breath we inhale our arms up over our heads and put a leash on our monkey, then bring our hands down in anjali mudra into our hearts and are perfectly still as we exhale. Otherwise, our monkeys escape with our energy, and it's too scattered to make our dreams come true. We want to be like a tree, big and powerful, with all its energy contained in itself.
I started with relaxation first, using a child friendly version of yoga nidra, and told them the native american story of Jumping Mouse. We acted the story out afterwards, and I emphasized that we are all like jumping mouse, from a tiny mouse, but willing to take great risk to find the sacred mountains, our true selves. It takes courage, faith, strength and more to shed the "mouse" mind and be transformed through sacrifice into the eagle. I had them become aware that they are a different person from when they started class, and now that they are finished with clas, they have transformed through yoga.
love and peace,
sydney solis
www.StorytimeYoga.com

2006-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

On Monday I taught my first after school class at Creekside Elementary where my children attend. I have spent many years teaching children's yoga classes, but it was that day that I had an ephiphany of why I teach.
Teaching through the Wellness Initiative, a non-profit organization devoted to providing nutrition and yoga education to children, I passed out a sheet with questions pertaining to the children's lives. One question was what were some of the challenges in these 3-5th graders lives. Many said stress, homework, etc. And when I asked about how the home life was, one young man said, "rough."
I continued to tell the class a story about my childhood. How "rough" it was with an abusive mother and sick father. That our family was poor and that there wasn't a lot of hope. However, it was yoga that got me through. As a young girl, my father gave me books on yoga that always gave me hope that within me, I had the power to change my circumstances. I taught them that this whole universe is our creation, and it's our choice to make it better and into anything we want. I explained that yoga is a discipline, and that if followed, we can achieve our hearts desire.
That afternoon, my whole heart poured out to these children, who many are Hispanic or from low-income households. My worries about myself were shelved, as my greatest concern was to bring the tools of yoga and story to these children. For I realized that I am those children, and there was no greater satisfaction than to see these children performing yoga poses, feeling the strength, hope and power inside of them. Walking home from the school that afternoon after class, I felt that my life was full and satisfied, just in reaching and being with those children.
For that first class, I made up a story about the Hero's Journey, such as Mythologist Joseph Campbell teaches (www.jcf.org). That it was their journey into themeselves, to find that union, or yoga, within themeslves. There may be difficulties on the path, but there are always helpers along the way. And that doors will open to them that were never open before, just because they were following their hearts with courage. We did warrior poses and the triangle to mimic traveling. They came to a tree, did tree pose, and animals came and brought them a gift. Children made up what gift they received, and we added a yoga pose to it. It was a beautiful day of being with children. They are the future.
Namaste,
Sydney Solis
www.StorytimeYoga.com