The Buds of Spring

The boys yoga class on Thursday is my favorite time of the week--these boys are present, ready to learn and strong as all get out--

Spring was definatly in the air today, they were brighter it seems--more eager and ready to practice as always. I find that these boys are like sponges--they ask questions about every pose, what is the real (sanskrit) name, what does that mean, how long has yoga been around, it's pretty amazing--they keep me on my toes for sure. I love their exuberance toward learning, and wonder somehow that if in their childhood if someone took the time to teach them would they be here, in jail. The determination towards yoga by these boys definatly inspires me--we talked of acceptance today and how we can accept where our bodies are today and how they are moving, how everyday we are different, how 100% means different things to each new day. I shared how I struggle in full backbending pose and how balance is a gift on the days that it is present in my body, but that I don't just give up that I try harder on the poses that are hard because I know that when my body is ready they will come. One of the boys said in a low tone, "I wish my dad would understand that ---I wish he could see I was trying, I wish he would try."

Some of these boys are in jail simply because no parent showed up for a hearing and there was no one to release them to--some of these boys would rather stay in jail where it's safe than live with all the craziness that their lives have become.

I'm struggling today with the fact that these kids have so much to say, you can see it in their yoga. If they flop in and out of poses or if they focus determined on the pose, you see how they will focus on life---I see a change in some of these boys, there were times that they would flop in and out in the beginning, and those boys are the most determined now. They truly hold to the midline, they breath first and then come into a pose, they are focused on getting better---it is really beautiful. I had one of the boys show how he does down dog, its amazing, really amazing, he asked me if he could tell everyone what he is thinking when he does it--he said, "hands are the foundation, strong arms, shoulders like wings on my back, hold in my stomach, hips towards the sky, legs like a milkshake straw pulling up toward my hips, feet on the ground." I almost cried right there. He was one of the most periphery living kids in the beginning, I found out from the guard that he made Level 3---which is a kind of leadership position, and they said that since yoga he has changed---I don't think he changed, I think just like the buds of spring, he needed a little sunlight in his life to allow him to push off the debris of winter and grow.