10 Steps to Encouraging Kids to Participate in Yoga, School and Life

Photo:
unicef.org.nz

"Education Is Not the Filling of a Pail, But the Lighting of a Fire"  ~W.B.Yeats

Whether you are talking about yoga, recreation, education, parenting or coaching, our most important task is to "light a fire" by engaging our young audience as they learn. If children are engaged, they will participate more, and the more they participate, the more engaged they become. This keeps them motivated to keep learning through every experience, both in and out of the classroom.


Below are 10 factors that I have found to encourage active participation in all types of learning in the classroom and in life. How many are you currently using? How many more can you incorporate?


1- Environment: Think in terms of  whether or not the environment is clean, sensory friendly and welcoming. Outside of physical factors, what makes an environment most relaxing & welcoming is how relaxed and approachable the teacher/coach/parent is. A relaxed child will be more willing- and able- to participate and learn.

2- Senses: Awaken and engage each and every sense. Use music, games, art, colorful posters to encourage integration of the body as well as the brain. We learn through all of our senses and the more you incorporate them into homework, coaching or classrooms the more a child will want to learn.

3- Structure: Have a plan, but structure it loosely to allow room for spontaneous and free exploration of related questions, topics and activities. This adds and brings imagination to the learning experience. When it comes to a home routine, keep tasks & rules consistent and no more in number than the age of the child in years up to a maximum of  7 at a time. (Seven is the maximun number of items or ideas the brain can remember at once.)

4- Visual Presentation: About two thirds of our brain is used for visual processing while only 2% of it is used for conscious and cognitive functions. Traditional classrooms are set up to teach to that 2%. Be sure to use cartoons, photos, drawings, props, felt boards and other visual aides to engage that part of the brain kids use most.

5- Modify & Adapt: There are many ways that children learn. Have as many (physical and educational) supports available for them to use. In yoga this might include straps, bolsters, balls, and in the classroom this might include video, charts or images. If using technical, long or unfamiliar words, explain concepts with simpler ones until understood. Then introduce the technical terms.

6- Keep it Real: This applies more so to yoga teachers than others, but remember to be consistent and use regular everyday voice and language. If you speak using awkward metaphors or alien language, (such as "align with your chakras" or  "shine your head forward" or "feel the happiness in your organs" ) kids will tune you out, not take you seriously and not grasp the concepts you are trying to teach. Speak using as few words as possible, in simple, everyday language & introduce new vocabulary only after the basic concepts are grasped.

7- Participate: Kids are more willing to play or try an activity that the adult facilitator is participating in rather than imposing on them. It fosters a sense of trust. So find your inner child and play with the kids.

8- Feedback: Listen to what the kids say-and don't say. Observe their reactions and interactions. Allow the children to share what their favorite part of a class or activity was- (after sharing their not-so favorite) and suggest other things they might like to do/learn. Find a way to incorporate it into the curriculum.

9- Be a Good Student:  Be open to learning. Let students (individually or in a group) plan lead a class activity. It will give them a greater appreciation for learning, and you just might learn something too!

10- Fun: Remember above all that kids are kids. Not miniature adults. They are rushed through life unnecessarily and need time, patience and fun. Find ways to package what students need to know, into something fun that they will want to know and help light a healthy (educational) fire in each of them!





Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com


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The Trouble with Affirmations

Some of us remember from the 90's the Saturday Night Live skit "Daily Affirmation" with the fictional character of Licensed Nurturer, Stuart Smalley . The bit was a satire on self-help programs. Stuart, in an effort to help people, would offer misguided advice in the form of affirmations, that were actually Stuart's self-projected personal issues. The affirmations would take on a hint of subtle negativity and leave the guests shaking their heads.

At the beginning and ending of each segment, he would look in the mirror and declare: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it people like me." (See a clip of Stuart with Michael Jordan.)You always got a sense that Stuart really wanted to help. His heart was in the right place but he was too self absorbed and damaged himself to create affirmation effectively and would subsequently go into a "shame spiral".

This is also the trouble with affirmation in real life: if not constructed properly, or if we over-project all of our personal "stuff" into it, it misses the mark entirely.

Recently I read a post where the writer, a yoga teacher, suggested that children practice affirmations while doing personal care activities (bathing, brushing teeth, combing hair, etc.) The affirmation (while brushing teeth) was: "I am kind".

While the affirmation in itself is not a bad one, the act of brushing teeth has nothing to do with the act of demonstrating kindness. It does however relate to a healthy body. A better affirmation for teeth brushing would be: "I take care of my body and my body takes care of me" or "my body is healthy inside and out" or  "my teeth are getting cleaner, healthier and stronger".

When an action (or an image or underlying emotion) does not support the words one is affirming, it creates a disconnect and neutralizes the affirmation. Kids are especially in tune with this. To them it sounds like a lie (and in a sense it is) and can have the very opposite effect than what we intend, or no effect at all.

Let's take this same child who affirms "I am kind" and imagine that they have an awful cranky day because they don't feel good. They are mean to classmates and uncooperative with teachers. (Cranky days happen with adults too.) The actions that child has taken, along with the overall experience of the day is in direct opposition to the affirmation of being kind. This can very easily turn to self-disappointment, guilt, (or Stuart Smalley's dreaded "shame spiral") and all of those things we are trying to discourage in kids.

A better way to phrase this affirmation would be: "I do my best to treat myself & others with kindness/respect."  In addition, the affirmation gains more strength and validity if the child thinks/says this while actually helping someone rather than when brushing his or her teeth.

In order for an affirmation to be effective it must have four main qualities:

1-It must hold value & personal meaning for the one affirming

2-It must leave room for mistakes, improvement or something better to come to be

3-It must be stated positively and in the present tense (remove the words "not", "no", "will" "should" etc.)

4-Relevant action must be taken for the affirmation to become a reality  


In addition, the affirmation and actions taken to bring it into reality need to be related or connected to a personal & intense (positive) emotional feeling.  

Some Examples:  

"I don't hurt/have pain any more" vs. "My body feels healthy and stronger every day"  

"I am good at math"  vs. "I do my best in all my work"  

"People like me" vs. "I like people and am meetng new friends."  

"I am calm/happy"  vs. "I look for activities/people that help me stay calm/happy"  

Affirmations work to override old beliefs that no longer serves us and sometimes this is not as easy as just saying an affirmation. Empowering actions need to be taken as well. Affirmations do not magically work overnight but rather with practice and over time. Many times when people, especially kids, don't see instant results after saying a few affirming, positive statements, they then conclude that affirmations don't work at all, when in reality they can be a powerful tool for goal setting, stress management, self-empowerment, improved performance on the stage or field, creative problem solving and more if used correctly.  

This is why I believe that Imagery is more useful (at first) than affirmation. Whereas an affirmation is a verbal statement, an imagery is an entire scenario that you play like a movie  in your mind's eye. It includes sights, sounds, feelings, solutions and all the details that an affirmation statement cannot.  

On Wednesday's post, I will talk about an easy and fun method that can be used for children to create visual affirmations or set personal goals for themselves.  (See follow up post- Visual Affirmation Tools for Kids  here.)



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Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com    


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Spontaneous Engagement Through Play

'Lonely Girl' image by Lucia Stewart
Courtesy of  fineartamerica.com

A few years ago I provided adaptive summer camp programming for a local inner city organization. There were about 25 students with various challenges, many from broken families and poverty, but one young lady stands out. I'll call her "Alicia" (not her real name.) for the purpose of this article. She's been on my mind for the last few days.

Alicia was about 10 years old, diagnosed with autism and 'behavioral' challenges. On first meeting her, one would lean towards saying she was "oppositional" at the very least. The camp director told me that she never smiled, shouted all the time 'was a handful' and would not 'follow rules'.

I saw her to be definitely spirited, absolutely beautiful, almost regal, tall and lean, brilliant, creative, observant, willful & very angry.

She made it very clear to me, in an authoritative voice, the way she held her head and her intimidating body language that she didn't want to do anything with us, much less yoga. She pointed her finger at me, looked over the top of her glasses & shouted angrily "just who do you think you are? I'm NOT doing  ANY yoga!...YOU can't MAKE me..." and would fold her arms and turn her body away from me. 

She was a little less rough with her peers, although she was an expert at ignoring and avoiding interacting with any of them unless they accidentally happened to touch her mat. Then she would point her finger and yell "Just WHO do you think you are touching MY mat?" I definitely got the impression that she would have been much happier being left alone.

My goal was to win her trust just enough for her to let down her guard and relax a bit. It was clear that anxiety & fear were her triggers. The anger was a defensive survival mechanism. Her aide took a hard line with her, (that is when she was not oblivious or texting her boyfriend instead of supporting Alicia-but that topic is for another post!) and I suspect the other adults in her life did as well. I saw that I needed to take a much different approach, one she was not expecting.

My approach was non-confrontational. I told her quietly & without any drama that I understood and she didn't have to do any yoga at all-but did she think she could sit quietly for a few minutes while I taught the other kids? She looked at me suspiciously for a moment & reluctantly agreed. I told her that if she changed her mind & wanted to join us at any time, she could. She folded her arms and turned away from me. The good thing was that she did listen to and communicated with me, even though she shouted it. All was not lost yet.

For four weeks, we went through the same routine-I would always offer her to join-which she would decline. As I would teach the class, I would occasionally catch her looking out of the corner of her eye, and sometimes even smiling slightly. I ignored her occasional outbursts and would simply remind her of our arrangement of her sitting quietly while I taught. She would settle her self down, keeping her eyes on me momentarily to see what I would do next. I had instructed her aide to not force her to join, but to keep her as calm and quiet as possible while I taught the others.

On the fifth week I played "Statues" with the group-an adapted version of  "Red Light Green Light".
Alicia sat on the sidelines as the children lined up at one end of the playground. I explained the rules, then I turned away from them and began to count:

"1-2-3 Statues FREEZE!"

I turned back around to face them and was surprised to see that Alicia's aide had vanished and Alicia had actually joined the group. She was now 'frozen' like a statue with the others, and had a huge smile on her face, waiting for me to look away again. I turned around and counted...

"1-2-3 Statues FREEZE!"

This time when I turned back around to face the group, Alicia was about 3 steps out in front of everyone, still smiling.

"1-2-3 Stat....!"   I heard laughter & felt a hand on my shoulder.

It was Alicia.

My excitement was genuine when I saw her laughing so hard she could not contain herself. The other kids were laughing with her. It was now Alicia's turn to be 'it' and I stood nearby in case she needed a prompt. She didn't. She took command. She was transformed-gracious and cooperative when the next child got to be 'it'. She was talking with the kids when she went back to play again. I saw a different girl than when I walked in that first week.

I think the difference for her was not only the thrill & the challenge of winning the game and the responsibility of facilitating that game after she won, but also the fact that she was not forced to interact & participate. She was given 2 clear options & was trusted to make her own choice. I watched her closely for several weeks before that day-always making mental notes of what she paid attention to. I wanted to make it fun so she would want to join us on her own. In this way, she would be self-empowered-rather than imposed upon. I created that opportunity for her, and she rose to the occasion and (literally) ran with it.

I only hope that others have gotten past her angry shouting exterior and have looked deep enough to see her positive qualities. I hope they have helped her nurture them and overcome the ones that hold her back. My wish for her is that she will continue to be taken closer to her very highest potential of physical and mental health, as well as emotional, social, academic and personal growth.

That afternoon, as I was leaving, she called me by name, sprinted over to me and hugged me.

I think that was one of the best hugs I ever got.




To receive a copy of the "Statues" game, please contact me at the e-mail below!


Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com


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