One of the greatest joys of my work is to serve people in under-served communities. Through Denver's Community Resources Center, I visit several Denver public schools with diverse populations teaching yoga during family health nights.

 I had to spend an hour and 15 minutes in gridlock, rush-hour traffic from Boulder to Denver last night, but once I got there and was able to teach, I was overjoyed!

The program has several people like me presenting health topics to small  groups that rotate every 20 minutes. I present mine bilingual Spanish and English about yoga for the family. 

I get everybody in a circle in the gym and we just start breathing. I tell them that I was going nuts in rush hour traffic, but instead I BREATHED. My internet service drives me NUTS, but instead of freaking out I BREATHE. Even the smallest kids hold still by focusing on their breathing and their bodies and the room turns calm. AMAZING! I have them feel their hands making contact with their chests and bellies to find out where the breathing starts. I guide them to bring their awareness to their feet making contact to the floor, to the clothing on their skin, to the air in the room on their skin, to the air on their nostrils. Then I begin gentle movement, as many of the parents in class don't seem to get much exercise or even any at all. In just a few minutes people really feel the difference and the stress release. I guide them to realize that stressful problems are just thoughts. What is the price of gas going to be tomorrow? Will there be harder math problems tomorrow??!?!? We can deal with the problem in the moment, but right now, we are having fun relaxing and breathing!

There are all ages here, so the middle school kids seemed especially interested as how to cope with stress, and they are able to grasp the concept of allowing space in between your thoughts and letting your mind rest there. 

People are typically amazed, and it's many times the first time they are really in their bodies and aware of their bodies. Again, I think the single biggest problem in our culture today is that we are not in our bodies. We are not grounded in the body, and the body is not deemed a safe place to be. I emphasize that the body and the breath is a safe place. We bend the knees, get down in the sacrum. Relax and find peace.

Then I always make it playful too and switch to talking for the small kids. We got down on the ground and did cat/cows, asking kids what animal makes this noise??? MEOW? MOO? They answer cat and cow and that makes it interactive and keeps their attention. We go into the dog pose, wag our doggy tails and do the fire hydrant (lifting the back legs in the air!) They always get a kick out of that. Then a variety of things I mix it up with off the cuff. Boat pose to Row, Row, Row your Boat, and I tell them it's good for core strength and a bit about the importance of core strength for the overall body. To move from the center rather than grasping for the external. Tree pose is always a hit. We make twisty branches waving in the wind, hop on one foot, TIMBER! 

Then there is always a brief relaxation. Listening to the sound of the bell. Finally I tell them they can do this at home together. Find a special time each week to be together as a family. Practice some yoga! Breathe together! Tell stories! Tell stories about yourself or from your culture! Communicate and BE together! It's the best thing on Earth!

As I was leaving for the evening, I was hit with a crush of people. They were amazed at how good they felt. They had heard about yoga but never tried it. There were Muslims, Hispanics, African-Americans, Anglos, EVERYBODY loved yoga. And I love teaching it to them! I absolutely love the diversity. This is AMERICA!

In halting English they wanted to learn how to lose weight, how to breathe more correctly, how to have less stress and how to be happier. They want to know where to find yoga classes for their kids, (yoga teachers, PLEASE teach a kids class. Everybody is looking for them and there are not enough people teaching them! There is no recession for yoga teachers teaching to kids let me tell you!) 

Yes, Yoga is for EVERYBODY! All walks of live are being exposed to yoga. I believe it's because the world is waking up. Consciousness is spreading. Everybody thanks me so much for coming. I bow deeply to them and thank them. For truly this is my greatest joy and my greatest payment, to be of service to humanity and to do the things I love. I am so grateful. 

Practice yoga with children! Tell them stories! Reach out to your community and teach a class in a low-income neighborhood. They are waiting for your with open arms.

Sydney