Mindful Youth

I had the opportunity to teach a yoga class to a high school drama club last week. Although I generally fear teenagers (even when I was one), I surprisingly didn't feel nervous. I was once a drama club teen, and thespians tend to be a bit more accepting and open than your normal, everyday youth. Although they still go through angst and daily hormonal avalanches, they do so with a bit more humor and enthusiasm than regular kids.

My experience proved this to me.

Meadowdale High School normally hosts a retreat for drama club members the first week of school. Its usually an off-site, over- night affair, but due to budget cuts (grumble) they had been limited to a Friday all-day event at the theater near the school. This was, I believe, the first time they had a yoga instructor come to the retreat, and I was happy to be there.

Because I got to the theater early, I had to wait out in the parking lot to wait for the doors to be opened. The group of teens was eagerly waiting in a cluster of about 20, conversing animatedly. Boys mostly made up this troupe, several of them slurping caffeinated energy drinks. They sparred and poked fun at each other in a friendly way. Exchanges were silly and loud, full of life. Sporadically, a few would break into song and/or rhyme. It seemed there were endless topics to discuss on this exciting Friday. They quickly accepted me into their circle, and I watched silently, in awe at their energy this early in the morning.

Once we were led into the classroom where I was to teach class, I gathered everyone in a circle. Immediately they became silent, attentive, respectful. Peering at the faces speckled with uncertainty about the next hour, I gathered that this was the first experience most of these kids were going to have with yoga. The pressure was on me to make it accessible and inviting, yet I wanted to keep them engaged and invigorated.

I started with a meditation, asking the students to find peace. They were asked to inhale to the mantra of "fresh start" and exhale to "let go." I continued with the breathing mantra until I felt the deep calm of coherence sweep over me. Like a wave, it covers me and them, unifying us in the same swell of presence- the same pulse of life. Hard to explain this without feeling cheesy, but this is one of my favorite parts of teaching yoga- feeling this sudden connection with my students. For the next hour, the light in me will honor the light in them.

My surprise at their attentiveness continued throughout class. Not only were these kids able to enter the asanas correctly, they had the stamina to stay in them, and the coordination to come out gracefully. Leads me to believe that the stiff old adults we are now was not our original state. In the beginning we were limber and capable. We just learned to not be over time.

But even more than my surprise at their agility, was their acceptance of some of the philosophy I threw to them. "Be kind to yourself," or "Allow your heart to shine through," (things adults have to swallow their guffaws at) were things they took to heart right then and there. I saw it in their movement and I saw it on their faces.

When the session was over, I was floored by the calm warmth in the room. Slowly the students emerged from the reverie we created together, smiling and aglow. One of the students that had been sucking down an energy drink when I first got their exclaimed, "I feel so calm right now!"

The experience of teaching this roomful of teenagers was eye- opening, but more than that, it was heart- opening. My concept of "teenager" has evolved. As odd as they may act, they are closer to the source than us crumbly old adults. These youth are still connected to the rhythm of life, and experience things in a magnified way. They live passionately, continually building new schemas to help translate their findings in this peculiar world we live in. They are unafraid.

We would do well to embrace these attributes as adults. The zeal of youth coupled with the wisdom of experience could very well be the magic recipe to a fulfilling life.

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