peace

It's hard to get the little ones to sit still during Savasana. It doesn't seem to matter how much we moved our bodies around during class, it's still tough to get them to find stillness on their mats. They wiggle a lot. They open their eyes a lot. They talk a lot. 

I ask them to get "floppy" like a stuffed animal, and then I walk around and pick up their arms and legs to see how relaxed they can get their limbs. As I wiggle their arms and legs back and forth, they always crack a smile while trying their best to be floppy. In an attempt to get them in quiet meditation, I tell them calm stories or guide them through focusing on their breath.

Last week I asked them to think about what brings them peace. I asked them to see it in their minds. Maybe it's someone they love or somewhere they go. Maybe it's a taste or a smell or a sound. I let them think on this image for a bit, and when we got out of our resting poses and said "Namaste" we colored. I asked them to please color what they focused on that brings them peace. 

Here is what the sweet little ones drew for me:

Here is a girl with her mom at the beach.

This girl imagined a rainbow.

This little boy said "It's a toast machine!" I said "A toaster brings you peace?" He replied "Yes. It's so warm."

The planets from Star Wars.

Here is a drawing of a little girl laying in her bed at home.

The white, squiggly line is "a bee buzzing to get nectuh."

This is what my daughter drew. The yellow is the sun's warmth touching the ground and that lovely lady there is me.

This little girl said she thought about a fairy in a field of flowers and that made her feel peaceful.

I like to get them coloring after Savasana. It helps me understand what their brains were thinking of while laying down. And really, it just makes me smile to see their imaginations on paper.