What I’m up to this weekend

I like to mix fun with work (after all that is precisely what Entertainment Education is all about), so when I planned a trip to New York for meetings with my host organization PCI Media Impact I also scheduled in a little yoga time. This is no ordinary downward dog though. I’m attending children’s yoga teacher training at Karma Kids Yoga near Union Square.

It’s a 30 hour course that goes completely from beginning to end on how to instruct yoga to children of any age. During the training we have to remember what it was like to be little kids who jump and play and frolic. Somewhere underneath all that maturity (ok maybe not that much maturity in my case) is a little child just waiting to come out and play. Being five years old again, however, is tiring! How did I do it back then? I’m sore in places that I didn’t even know existed. If I could pop my arms and legs off right now and replace them with new non-tired arms and legs that would be great.

What’s been totally thrilling and neat about the teacher training is how it’s reinforced many of the things I’ve learned over this past academic year at the Clinton School. Allowing children to speak empowers them. Have options for children to pick and choose what they want do that day. Don’t just tell a child what to do, show a child how to do something. Above all make the class fun and engage them. If that doesn’t sound like Social Change I don’t know what does! Anything that empowers a child from such an early age is a great thing.

For the rest of the weekend if you need to find me I’ll be on my yoga mat… or should I say flying a magic carpet with my imaginary helmet and seat belt on.

Classmates practicing headstand.