I love teaching yoga to kids, especially kids under the age of 10. When you demonstrate a pose they get a certain look on their faces, curiosity. Then they just give it a try. Not a lot of questions. Not much hesitation. No fear. They just try.
Often they flow right into the shape I’ve shown them. They smile. But when the pose proves a little more difficult, they try again, and again.
When it’s really clear they don’t have the balance, or strength or flexibility (which is rarely the case since they are all still very gumby-like,) they laugh. Yes, laugh. It was an exploration.
That’s all. No anger. No excuses. No list of the failures of their bodies.
As adults, exploration is not so easy for us. We like feeling competent. Our bosses and team and families expect us to succeed. But what is success? Or failure? How is it the kids did not judge themselves. They explored. They learned something.
We are so hard on ourselves. What if we dare to suspend judgment and just explore something new? What if we did that instead of setting unrealistic resolutions that after the first week have us feeling even worse? Maybe cook a new dish, or try a new sport or learn to meditate. It takes courage to be that curious kid again.
My yoga practice has cultivated my curiosity. Some days I can’t do a certain pose and then I try another day and find some new space in my body. More importantly I keep trying, and I laugh, and I keep exploring.
Here’s to a wonderful week of exploration and curiosity.
Be well…it’s a state of mind.
Alice Dommert
deliver me wellness
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