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Yoga Play @ the Brookshire Home, Milw

Yoga should be fun.

I absolutely could stop here…but I won’t. You, however, can stop reading now if you like. I’ve made my point.

I was reminded that yoga should be fun during a recent visit to the Midwest to spend time with my family. I drafted a new yoga sequence and decided that I could do a run through in my parents’ backyard.

My nephew (6 years old) practices yoga once a week at his school. How awesome is that? I asked if he wanted to join me as I practice the sequence, and he was soooo down. He got a mat, changed his shirt (one white tee to another; as far as he was concerned, they were different), and removed his shoes.

We went outside and began to set up. I suggested that our mats face each other, making it easier for him to follow my instructions, but he insisted that we be side-by-side facing the same direction. He explained that it was much better this way and it was like we were on the same team. I complied. So there we were, standing in Mountain pose, side-by-side, on our mats. The mats were a bit awkward on top of the grass and he suggested that we practice without the mats. “It’s nice to feel the grass on your toes,” he said. He was right. So there we were, standing in Mountain pose, side-by-side, in the grass.

OK, I thought, let’s begin. In the middle of our third Sun Salutation (to warm up) he runs over to my laptop where my sequence was written, and inserts the following, exactly:

Jumping jacks, Runing, Runing in plass, Runing fast

It was obvious that this particular sequence was not for him. Needless to say, we did a few jumping jacks and ran in place. Warm-up complete.

We got down on all fours preparing for cat/cow postures. When I cued it, he naturally mooed as he flowed into cow and meowed as he flowed into cat. I followed his lead. This continued for the next 30 minutes – him suggesting several modifications that were quite enjoyable. He successfully turned my serious flow sequence for adults into a fun kid-friendly sequence. He’s a clever boy. And before I knew it, we were laughing and tumbling in and out of headstands.

It was fun. I saved the sequence as a reminder.

The below sketch is one I did just for fun. Art can’t be serious all of the time either. Pastels on colored paper.

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