Namaste.
Meditation Exercises:
Today we were joined by local writer and yoga teacher Grace Tazewell for some practice in meditating. First we discussed the story, "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat," and I introduced the Himalaya and Sunnyasi fast facts. Then Grace took us through several different short meditations. The first was a listening meditation, where we made ourselves very quiet and then paid attention to all sounds, far and near. Mostly, we heard the sounds of the co-op, but we also heard cars outside, seagulls, an airplane, and a little bit of our own sounds -- heartbeat, tummy rumbling, etc. The second meditation was about sensations we were feeling -- we paid attention to our clothes, to the floor under us, to our hair, the air in the room, anything we could feel with our bodies. Then it was time to examine our thoughts, as we tried to focus on what we were feeling and thinking inside.
It was very interesting to listen as the children shared their experiences with this. The older children in the academic class spent a lot of time considering what they were supposed to be thinking, while the younger kids in the enrichment class were less self-aware. All of them came up with some really interesting thoughts though! The final meditation involved holding a grape in your mouth and then eating it very very very slowly, paying attention to each sensation, change in taste and feeling in your mouth. That was very cool! Grace spent some time answering the kids' questions about meditation too. In the end, we got a very small taste of what it was like for Purun Bhagat to spend so many years in quiet contemplation, doing nothing but thinking.
Song and Dance: We also sang our songs and managed to squeeze in a brief India Dance Party.
New Stuff: This week I'm going to tell the kids that any child who wants to choreograph a brief Bhangra dance either individually or with a group of friends can have time on the last day of class to perform it for the parents. We are also going to be taking on a collective "pen pal" in India, and this week we'll be writing an introductory letter to him.
Assignment: Study the fast facts and be ready for a quiz! Read "Mowgli's Brothers."
I'm interested in the way you say the older kids spent a lot of time concentrating on what they should be thinking while the younger kids were less self-aware. I'm not sure I see how these two things are related or exclusive of one another.
ReplyDeleteAre the older kids more neurotic? Are they totally indoctrinated so that they can't have a thought that isn't pre-approved? (I know the answer to that, by the way, I just want more information and am intrigued by the differences in the reactions of the kids.) Were the little kids only lacking in self-awareness or other kinds of awareness as well? Maybe they weren't lacking but were just more open to things from outside themselves? (This has been my experience with the little people: they are so open!)
Not meaning to be inflamatory, just curious. I want more!
It’s so interesting isn’t it, how the different kids responded! What I meant was… in the older class there was a lot of “I was thinking about what I was supposed to be thinking about, and I couldn’t think of anything” and in the younger class there was more “I was thinking about my cousin and feeling sad” or “I was thinking about rainbows and feeling happy” – they were way less aware of what was “supposed to be” going on, and more open to whatever was actually going on, know what I mean? The younger were not questioning the process or trying to do it “right” they were –way-way-way—better at it than the older ones. Or, what I perceived to be better. In the older class was more fidgeting, more talking, more trying to understand what was expected. In the younger it was more like… immersion. Someone fell off the couch from immersion actually. Hehehe.
ReplyDeleteIts really an interesting post!!!
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