YOGA

Yourself Orienting Grounding Adapting

The lessons we all learned this year are best explained through the acronym: YOGA.

Throughout the year you would often hear me say to the students, “bring your awareness back to yourself.” In other words, practice yoga as if no one is watching and just focus on yourself... treat yourself in a kind manner, with respect, and honor where you are in the moment.

We practiced a mindfulness technique in which we explored our senses to help orient ourselves. We named one thing that we saw in the room, one thing we heard, one thing we were able to touch in the room (while staying on our mat of course), one thing we were able to smell, and we called to mind one thing that we are grateful for.

To help us feel more grounded, we practiced another mindfulness technique in which we thought about the feeling of our feet against the floor and felt our sit bones against the mat while sitting in meditation position. Adapting to this new world that we’re living in, the kids were incredibly inspiring. Every morning they had to wash their hands before they went up to their classrooms. That was definitely something that was different and they adapted so well to this change. Most kids had new yoga mats that they learned how to fold (see the folded up mat in photo). During the winter months we did yoga poses with jackets on because the windows needed to stay open. What flexibility! We still did our breathing techniques with masks on... not an easy feat, but the kids did it anyway without complaining. The students did such a great job adapting to the new normal and they personally taught me so much!

We are Parkside strong, resilient, adaptable, courageous, and incredible.

Ginger Merritt Yoga Teacher