A perfect example of why teaching yoga to children is so rewarding...
Last Saturday in my class, the children picked 'positive affirmation cards'. The activity was to read the affirmation card, think of how it related to their own life, and then draw a picture of that real experience. One student picked 'I am free to be me.' She was at first unsure how to interpret that, and how to find a real life experience. I gave her some encouragement and suggested she think of a time when she chose to do something that others told her not to, for example, wear certain clothes, or listen to certain music, or even be friends with a certain person. She soon got to work, and once everyone had completed their pictures she shared hers. She said that at school there was a girl who was picked on, had no friends, and no one liked her. She felt bad for her, and asked her to play one day. A friend said to her (my student), 'Don't ask her to play! She's weird!' She did not listen to this friend, and followed through with her offer for the little girl play with her. The two have become friends, and my student said, 'Yeah, and now she has like 5 friends!' She was free to be herself, and that freedom allowed others to find their freedom, and also opened doors to many friendships. She knew what the right thing to do was for herself and for this other young girl who had been picked on, and she shines because of it!
