Graduation

On Sunday, February 23 I met with my Life Power group one last time.  We had a very playful class with dancing and vinyasa!

One of my favorite parts of the day was how Jason opened the class.  We were on our backs on our mats with our eyes closed.  He recited "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarden" which started my fountain of tears.   See below:

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
(a guide for Global Leadership) 

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school. 

These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.

• Play fair.

• Don't hit people.

• Put things back where you found them.

• Clean up your own mess.

• Don't take things that aren't yours.

• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

• Wash your hands before you eat.

• Flush.

• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

• Take a nap every afternoon.

• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.

• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/  ] 

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. 

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess. 

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together. "

It was strange, usually I only cry during savasana but that day the tears started to flow while I was lying on my back, I felt them slide across my cheek into my ear or on to the back of my neck.  It was unreal.  The tears continued through the Sun Salutations.  I thought if I focused on my breath that it would dissipate - that I was too much in my head - but it didn't stop.  It was tricky breathing through my nose and tears fell off my face onto my mat.  Jason joked with the group that if we couldn't breathe through our noses only that we would be required to sing.  Of course lyrics such as "Fire and Rain" came up and that did not help anything.  Again, there were playful moments: singing/motioning along with head, shoulders knees and toes was one of them, we also were required to get off our mats and dance to disco music... When we were in our Sun Cs I couldn't help but feel like the dance continued.  I flowed in sync with Michelle and Kara.

At the end of practice we went straight to our vegan potluck, skipping pranayama meditation.  I brought a quinoa salad with mango, avocado, black beans, cilantro and lime juice (one of Laura's recipes).

After lunch we talked about our papers "if we had 24 hours left to live" and more tears were had.  Two boxes of Kleenex made it across the circle.  Then we talked more about Yin yoga and Jan led us through a session.  Then we sat in a circle and talked about what we had experienced over the course of the program.

I was skeptical that this program would change my life. To my great surprise, I pleased to say that I am not the same person I was 22 weeks ago!

It feels like I have been reborn to this world: I have learned to see (observe), hear (listen) and taste with a whole new level of appreciation. Touch is more meaningful. I care more about the people in my life and prioritize making connections with others. 

The daily disciplines required of this course have helped shape me. Learning to take time to eat yogi meals, meditate, practice yoga on and off my mat! 

It has been a homecoming - I am more authentically myself than I have been in years. My heart has been opened and I will never be the same. 

I have confidence and I have a voice. 

I know now that I am (and have always been) a teacher!