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Nine Questions About Yoga Answered

As Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist for children and young adults, I get asked a lot of questions around yoga. And I believe that there are no stupid questions at all, each question brings us closer to the truth. Today I wanted to share some of the yoga stereotypes I have been asked the most, and my interpretation of them.

  1. Is Yoga a religion?

Yoga is not a religion. It does have spiritual philosophy attached to it, but you can choose to ignore it if you wish to. I know many Catholics, Christians and Hindu practising Yoga. It’s about your personal development not about what you believe in. And I always say that to my students, never believe in what I say, experience it and it will become your reality. If you just cognitively memorise it, it becomes another story created by your mind.

  1. Do I need to be flexible to do Yoga?

You don’t need to be flexible, thin or fit, you just need to attend with open mind and experience it yourself. If you have current medical conditions, you need to consult your doctor if physical yoga would be suitable for you before joining the class. Also, it is important to tell the teacher about any medical conditions. Any experienced and qualified teacher will be able to adapt any postures to your needs.

Dr McCall (2007) in his book ‘Yoga as medicine’ states that” if you feel that you couldn’t possibly do yoga, then yoga might be especially helpful for you. It’s those who find yoga the most challenging, think that they are terrible at it, and can’t seem to quiet their minds, who have the most to gain.”


  1. Is Yoga about the physical postures?

Asanas (physical postures) are part of yoga practice, but they don’t have to be. Yoga is so much more. Asanas are there to support us in the journey inwards, journey to get to know the true Self.  Asanas were designed to bring our mind to stillness. In yoga sutras (chapter 1, sutra 2) we read “ yoga is stilling the modifications of the mind” (1) and that’s the aim of yoga, to align our mind, body and energy and bring them to a point where we feel happy and at ease. Asanas are used in different types of yoga for example: hatha yoga, ashtanga yoga, yin yoga, Iyengar yoga etc. However, there are also different types of yoga we can use not only on the mat but also in daily life. I mention only few of them. If you wish to know more about meditation, I recommend reading “Meditation from tantras” by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (2).

  • Raja Yoga – the science of mind as I call it. It focuses on meditation, mindfulness practices which allow us to get insight into our mind. From psychology (3) we know we are aware of 10% of our mind. 90% is hidden in the subconscious and unconscious mind. Meditation allows us to become more aware of the 90% of the hidden mind. I practice meditation every day and it transformed my life completely, however if you have existing mental health problems, please consult with your healthcare professional before attending classes.
  • Mantra Yoga – the yoga of sound. Is focused on repetition of combination of sounds. And when I chant, sing the sounds, it’s not really about meaning of the sound, it’s about vibration it creates in the body. Try it yourself, close your eyes and sing your favourite song, and after that keep your eyes closed and feel what is happening inside. The vibration is created. I believe in times of X factor, we are afraid of being judged and we don’t sing enough. I encourage everyone to sing as often as you can, in the shower, in the car, in the kitchen, just let yourself go and sing with all your heart, bring all the emotions into it and let yourself go. It’s like having a shower for your internal organs, isn’t that beautiful?
  • Karma Yoga – in this type of yoga we focus on doing the work. However, the difference is we do the work with complete awareness and non-attachment to the outcome. That doesn’t mean not to care about what you do. It means give your 100% but don’t expect the reward. It moves us away from our conditioned mind, and we move away from likes and dislikes, and helps to change the perception of the external world.

There are also others like Bhakti yoga – yoga of devotion, jnana yoga – yoga of knowledge/wisdom or yoga nidra – the yoga of sleep and others which you can search and read about. And that’s why I always say there is a yoga for everyone.

  1. Do I need to become vegan to do yoga?

 You don’t have to change anything in your lifestyle to do yoga. Just join the class and try it, experience what yoga means to you. And yes, with time, if you practice yoga daily possibly your perception of life will change. You will become more aware of your body, mind, energy and external environment and you will see life in a different light. And that’s the beauty of yoga.

  1. Do I need a Guru when I decide to practice yoga?

Word Guru comes from Sanskrit and means teacher, expert, or light and darkness. Whichever yoga you start to practice, it is useful to have someone to guide you. Someone who is a little bit further on the way than you because they will know what you are going through. Having a teacher is a bit like using shortcut. Although I still believe in the most important teacher – our inner teacher, in each and every one of us, and that’s the teacher you need listen to the most, our inner voice, your intuition.

  1. What If I don’t like the Yoga teacher?

That’s ok. Just find a new one. I always say to my students, if I am not your cup of tea, go and find someone who resonates with you, but don’t give up yoga. Only with time we move away from likes and dislikes in life, and we understand that person triggering something inside of us, actually help us discover the depth of our unconscious mind. On my yoga journey I found the most helpful teachers were those who challenged my belief system and showed me a different perception on reality. But again, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, your brain is there to protect you, if you are not ready for something, it will reject it.

  1. Does word Yoga mean anything?

In B.K.S Iyengar “Light on Yoga “(3) we find that the word Yoga comes from Sanskrit and means to ‘bind’, ‘join’ or ‘direct’, it also means ‘union’. Yoga is connecting us with present moment. We are aligning our mind, body and energy and become fully aware of what’s happening now. Most of our life we think about the past or the future and life is disappearing in front of our eyes. Focusing on present moment allows us to live our life fully. The way I explain it, to the children is this: Yoga is the light inside of us. Like a bright shining star. We are all born with it. With time we cover it with different scarfs (thoughts, feelings, memories, experiences, definitions, stereotypes) and it disappears and stops to shine. Yoga helps us to re-discover it and let it shine through, and this light is what connects us all, no matter what gender we are, what colour of skin, what nationality, we are all the same.

  1. Am I not too old to do yoga?

You are never too old to start yoga, it is never too late. I have people in my class ages 19 – 80, and we are still finding common grounds in the class. Research in neuroscience shows that creating new pathways in the brain (learning abilities) do not depend on age. There are no more excuses not to learn something new even if you are 100! (5)

  1. Isn’t yoga too boring for children? My child cannot stay still for 2 seconds.

I have taught many children over the years, and I have never had anyone complaining that yoga is boring. Yoga can be defined as finding stillness in action. It does not have to be sitting still with eyes closed. A good teacher will be able to adapt practice to children’s needs and abilities and make it fun and engaging. If you wish to introduce your children to yoga, I write yoga stories for children ages 3-8. It is based on the programme I delivered for the last few years – called Yogi Superhero series. You can try and see if your child enjoys doing poses and breathing. Yogi Superhero relaxation is coming in August, based on the traditional Yoga Nidra practice, but adapted for children.


Yogi Superhero:

Yogi Superhero adventures in Nature – Forest:

Yoga and Calming Meditation for Kids – Yogi Superhero Series

Bibliography:

McCall T., (2007), Yoga as Medicine

Anna Smithers is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist for children and adults. yogi book series super hero forest Poetry and writing were always present in her life. Even as six year old girl, she was creating the stories and drawing her own illustrations. Later in life, poetry took more serious direction, and she was using poetry to express her feelings and emotions. When she was 18, her poems were published in local and national newspapers and magazines. Some of these won competitions. However, life has taken her on a completely different journey. After Anna gained her degrees in Science and Business Management, she stopped writing. It was only when she started Yoga that the inspiration to write returned to her. You can connect with her books via – http://orangelotusyoga.co.uk/yogi-superhero-book-kids-yoga/

 

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How to Raise High Achieving Kids

To raise Happy, Confident and High Achieving kids, we as parents need to be involved in their life by, providing them with support, guidance and praise, independence to succeed, while giving them the room to fail and experiment. And one thing that we as parents always have for our kids is the gift of our time, be it at home or outside in school or activities.

My husband Sudeep and I are raising two high achieving boys Atiksh (8 years old) and Akshaj (15 years old).

Our 15 years old son Akshaj is a Published Author, is thriving in Academics, Music and Community Service Projects. Our 8 years old knew his Times table, when he was in Preschool. Atiksh who self-taught himself Addition and Subtraction Multiplication and Division is a great Pianist and has been playing Piano since he was 4 years old.

Despite both our boy’s early success, my husband Sudeep and I are realistic about where their talents may lead them and we realize the fact that the boys will eventually have to live in the “Real World”, where the trophies and accolades aren’t going to be a measure of self-worth.

So our priority always has been to raise Happy and Empowered boys, who are able to use their mind in understanding their strengths and thoughts to create: joy and success in their lives, which I know could have different meaning to each of the boy.

Following are the essential key elements for raising children to become motivated, successful and goal-oriented adults.

Follow their lead

For my son Akshaj, we followed his interest of writing, which was evident since he was 4. His passion for writing quickly shifted to become self-driven, and he published his first children’s chapter book “Super Mouse” at the age of 8. As a mother when I recognized Akshaj’s potential and flair of writing, I supported his increasing interest by finding writing workshops, writing contests and other platforms, where he can share his articles, essays or poems. Because, we wanted our boys to be well rounded, we also made sure to encourage their other interests which are Music and Math. Both boys started learning and playing piano at the age of 4.

Nurturing vs Pushing

As we all know, nurturing is when we follow our child’s lead and pushing, on the other hand is when we want our child to follow us or want him to do what we want him to do.

 In our family’s case: We followed both our sons lead and supported their interests of Writing, Math’s and Music. Finding right platforms to nurture their interest and creativity like Math / coding workshops for Atiksh and Creative Writing workshops for Akshaj

Words of Encouragement 

Encouraging your child literally means “putting in courage or belief” in your child. This support from parents enables them to “see” themselves as they are: competent and can achieve what they set their mind on. My youngest son Atiksh, now age 8, had his Piano Recital two years back. He was excited and really nervous at the same time. My husband Sudeep took him on a side with a smile on his face and pat on his back, Sudeep said, “Baby, you can do it! Mom and I believe in you”. He did it! He played 2 full songs for his recital just like that. Just those two sentences of encouragement made all the difference.

 

We help set achievable short term goals (Transfer of Power)

 In order to empower our children, we allow them to have the power to make their own decisions. We do work together with both our sons to set short term goals. We sit down with them bi weekly to discuss how long it will take them to finish their Homework assignment / project, what days and time will they work on it. It does not work always work always as planned especially with my 8 year old. But, we try to let go and give them space to make mistakes and let them learn from it. Although we are transferring the power to them by letting them set their goals and work towards it, we still are there to provide guidance, support and love to develop their own confidence and self-esteem

Practicing Gratitude:

People often tell our son’s that your Mom is your biggest cheerleader.  And,

Akshaj has always mentioned in several of his articles and TV interviews that unconditional love and support from his parents always keeps him motivated 🙂 This is an example, where we are actually practicing Gratitude by appreciating each other’s efforts and presence in our lives.

When we parent to encourage, support and love unconditionally, we raise children who live with deep feelings of self-assurance and pride. Through positive parenting, we are not just making an effort to remind them of their potential and abilities but, raising motivated, creative, self-aware, emotionally intelligent children. Our reassurance of love and support “no matter what”, surely keeps them motivated and gives them the strength and capability to pursue the opportunities that come their way.

Sacramento based mother to two boys. First Indian woman to be appointed as Parks, Youth and Community Enrichment Commissioner in the District. Serves on several Natomas Unified School District committees. She also made guest appearances on ABC 10 digital series “Moms Explain All” and “Three Moms and a Dad”. Has been Nominated for N Factor Community awards.

 


 

I Want to Raise Happy Kids : Not Just Miserable Overachievers

I am the Mom of the Average Child

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Prep and Organize for a Successful Homeschooling Experience

This time of year, in addition to my other tasks, I’m also doing something very important that will ensure my success for the rest of the school year. I’m preparing my plans and organizing my homeschool. If you’re going to be working and homeschooling (or having your child attend virtual school) this year, I strongly recommend preparing now. The more decisions you make now and the more planning, organizing, and prepping you do, the fewer decisions you will need to make when you’re really busy in the middle of the school year. Because I’ve always homeschooled while also either being in graduate school or working from home, I’ve also always taken the time to prepare ahead of time. Here’s what you can do to help ensure a smooth school year.

Know Your State’s Homeschooling Laws, Keep Records Anyway

I know, I know, there are a lot of people who will tell you that you don’t need to keep records and a portfolio if your state doesn’t require it. I’m here to tell you whether your state requires it or not, keep records. This is much more important for older children, but it’s also important for children who are advanced and will need support for acceleration in school if circumstances change and you have to put them into a traditional schooling situation and for children who are behind. You are your child’s advocate.

It’s harder to show that your child is doing work, but needs an IEP or additional support because they’re struggling if you do not have a record of what they’ve done. Children also LOVE to look back at how far they’ve come in a year. Know your state’s laws, keep records. You never know when you might have to show that learning is, in fact, happening in your home. A really great resource for anyone homeschooling is Responsible Homeschooling.

They list the laws for homeschooling and provide all kinds of resources to help parents and guardians homeschooling in a responsible, respectful of a child’s-needs manner. And they offer advice for how to seek help if a child is struggling.

Prep and Organize for a Successful Homeschooling Experience

Determine Where Most of Your Homeschooling Will Happen

It’s important to have a regular spot where the homeschooling happens. This doesn’t mean you can’t move locations when the mood strikes, but just like with working from home, choosing a regular spot for homeschooling or online learning helps your child get into the right frame of mind to learn. On that note, it’s also important to create a routine. How will you start your homeschooling day? We start with breakfast, then our “morning time,” where we ease into our day with a fun activity or by reading a chapter book or by coloring. I have my coffee, and it’s just a nice way to do things.

10 Tips to Minimize Your Daily Challenges in Virtual Learning

Get As Many Materials and Supplies As You Will Need

Nothing messes up a really good learning mojo like realizing you don’t have some supply for your science kit’s project or your markers are dried up. Take advantage of sales – get extras of markers, colored pencils, pencils, crayons now. Keep extras stashed away. Go through your science, art, and history curriculum. Any projects you’re planning to do, make note of what supplies will be needed. It seems tedious, but a little planning and prep-work now mean that you don’t have to make an emergency run to the store for a ruler or for sugar or for something else.

Outline Your Year By Week

You don’t have to do this, but I find that this makes my life way easier. Rather than just opening and doing “the next thing,” I create a big master spreadsheet. Each tab in the spreadsheet matches up to each subject for that child. Our state requires at least 180 days of school, or 36 weeks. I actually plan for 210 days of school, or 42 weeks. Do what meets your state guidelines & works for your family. I then look at my curriculum and decide how we will cover that in 42 weeks, then I break it down from there into how much has to be covered to meet that goal by the end of the year.

I don’t necessarily stick with this outline – what it does is let me know if we’re moving a lot slower through something, either I was overly ambitious or perhaps we need a less rigorous curriculum. If we’re zooming through it – was I providing enough challenge? Is my child really mastering the material? Do we need to add in more rigor? Should we genuinely accelerate the plan for that subject for the year?

The other benefit of outlining ahead of time: You don’t have to make decisions about what to do next. You already know what to do next.


Make A List of Library Books You Know You Will Need And Create a Reminder for When to Request Them

We rely a lot on our local library. As such, before we begin our year, I make a list of topics we’ll cover and I’ll research what books are available. Some of these books are to have on hand in case we’re particularly inspired by a topic, some form our literature curriculum, and some supplement our history and science curricula. I try to use books as often as possible. So, I create a resource list – by weekly topic – of books we will need. Then, I copy and paste the list into my calendar on dates that I will need to request those books by (since we’re still doing curbside pickup). I try to request books 1 1/2-2 weeks before they will be needed so that they’re ready for us. Bonus: I take that email receipt of what we’ve checked out and I put it on the calendar 3 days before the books are due.

 

Plan Social Engagement

I know, we’re all physically distancing right now, and it’s likely that will get worse in the fall and winter. BUT it’s really important to plan the ways where your child will be interacting with other children. Many virtual schools will have a social component built in, but for those doing more traditional homeschooling, you’ll need to do something. We do Girl Scouts. I’m looking into different classes on Outschool.

I’m hoping our science center offers some classes. I’m always on the lookout for interactive opportunities. I’m also considering organizing a virtual co-op. Many local co-ops are online right now, so you may want to look into that as well.

Schedule Breaks – Daily and Periodically

My break time is after lunch. The kids are asked to play quietly, do learning activities on the iPad or watch a video or show. It depends upon the day. By sticking to that as part of the routine, I stave off what, for me, is a time when I typically find myself running out of patience. It lets me recharge for anything we’re doing in the afternoon, it lets the kids recharge their own batteries, and sometimes, the littlest ones still will take a nap during this time.

It’s also important to put on your calendar when you will take time off. I like starting in early August because it means I can take a lot of time off in the fall for a fall break, for Thanksgiving, for a lot of December, for spring when it first is nice out and we want to get outside, and for when we just plain need a break (or when mom is swamped with deadlines).

One Final Note:

It’s not a competition. We are all trying to do our best this year. Our homeschooling isn’t going to look like yours or someone else’s. Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t compare. It’s going to be a challenge, because everyone will be posting “all the things” they are doing on social media. Just focus on your children and meeting their needs – and your own mental health.