Boys V. Girls

There is such a profound differnce between the girls and boys classes at JDC, that I am amazed every single time I cross the metal detector, you can feel the shift in energy from Tuesday to Wednesday. Effort and Surrender continued through as the theme for the boys class today, and what a completely different response. It is always a shock to people when I tell them that my boys classes at JDC are some of the best classes of students that I teach---hands down. I posed the same question to the boys about effort and surrender, and the responses where not only completely different, but so open and honest. One boy said from the back row, "Yoga helps my life because it lets me be with me, I have stopped feeling alone, I mean you can't fight with yourself, you're always together...it's pointless---so you're right about surrendering." Another boy who has been in yoga with me for 7 1/2 months since the beginning and I have seen profound changes in him from the first day---he gets out in 5 days and he said, "Jen, surrendering is not giving up, it's dealing with what you have and making the best out of it--I used to push through the poses and now I just do them, I don't over think them, I just do them and it's easy now--so I agree with surrender, even though it sounds like I'm being a pussy, I agree with it because it's about being stronger and more confident with yourself, not giving into the old ways that you've learned." As many of you who read this blog know, I have a kinship with these kids that is pretty profound when we are together--they trust me and more over I trust them. I can't imaging a better learning platform for me, and yoga being brought to their rich young minds will give them benefits for a lifetime, even if today they don't see it, they will always have the spark of Yoga in them. One boy said, "Yoga is everywhere, I mean if you think about it you do yoga every minute of everyday if you are mindful--like you said, think about what your inner self would do, don't walk through life like a zombie, pay attention." And with those profound words, we took a nice seat, and sat in silence and together we knew that this was going to be a great day--as we closed the class another new voice said, " I thought Yoga was for ...well you know... crazy people, but we all did it and I loved it--thank you so much, when do you come back?" I reminded everyone to take moment during a still point in their day and surrender into the stillness and celebrate their life, because of all the things the universe created, it created each of us, and for that we are pretty special.