Girls and Boys Yoga

Today I led yoga to two very special and at first, seemingly different, groups. One was my morning group at CHEO (our regional children's hospital), where I lead yoga to people who are inpatients in an eating disorders program. That group tends to mainly be girls.

I also led yoga to a group of kids in a special school where kids go who've been expelled or suspended. That group tends to mainly be boys.

At first it may seem like they are really different groups with really different needs. The girls tend to be doing well in school and are often trying to please people. The boys tend to not be doing so well in school and don't seem to care what others care at all. But I see a lot more in common than different.

Both groups exhibit behavioural problems, which is why they end up where I meet them. Both ultimately need attention and love. They both are dealing with fear and anxiety and how to fit in. Both are uncomfortable in their bodies. They may seem like they're on opposite ends of a spectrum, but that's exactly where they meet.

It made for a challenging day, as these groups aren't always easy to lead, especially when people don't want to be in class unlike at a regular yoga studio, but it was very rewarding to see them take a few minutes to relax and let go even though those minutes seemed so short to me...

Alternative Yoga Spaces

Megan wrote in her blog yesterday that she's been practising yoga while she's away in Toronto and how it was to do yoga in a gym when she's used to doing yoga in a studio.

I was thinking today of how my Wednesday classes aren't in traditional yoga spaces and how we make it work but sometimes it's funny. Like at the City Hall in Gatineau today at lunch, I walked into the room where I normally teach and there was a big ladder in the middle of the room. No guys around, just the ladder. So we moved it over to the side and got on with setting up our class. Then someone in a security guard uniform was present for our OM because they got stuck in the class just as we had begun and I figured we'd just OM while she was there. I could see the look in her face as she was fumbling for the keys that it was a bit awkward to have 20 people sitting down cross-legged on the floor with their eyes closed and that OMing was going to give her something to talk about for a few days.

After the class finished, some guys showed up in jeans and boots to move the ladder back to where it had been before. I remarked to them how I didn't know that guys would be in there with a big ladder wearing boots and they admitted didn't know there'd be yogis sitting on the floor in bare feet.