Surrendering Teens

Last Friday at the Simonsen 9th Grade Center, it was quiet. Imagine 60 14 year olds, sprawled on their backs in Savasana, as I whisper...*Become aware of your breath....just breathe...* *Feel your feet. Feel your legs. Feel your belly. Feel your heart.....* I could hear a pin drop. Magic? No... Yoga? Yes. After 6 weeks of classes, these teens had learned to surrender. I could actually whisper in the gymnasium. And they heard and received. And they blossomed. We had just learned Handstands, and their trust in the process of yoga had reached the tipping point....they understood it was safe to let go...Nobody had gotten hurt learning handstands....Noone had been shamed.....most had been able to kick up...so why not relax??...It was safe for them to surrender, and listen to the small quiet voice of their own inner truth. And they did. I have never felt such compassion and joy as when they slowly arose from rest, to greet me with smiles and bowed heads and yes...More Silence. I teach teens at Simonsen from all socioeconomic levels, all colors, all creeds, all ethnicities...and yes I teach the physically challenged. These teens have proven again that what matters the most is our human-ness. Perhaps, because of Yoga, they will leave their 9th grade years with more empathy, with more validation, with more belief in the beauty of our world.....Maybe even changing our *Adult* world-view of scarcity...to one of abundance....there IS enough for everyone.There IS enough to allow surrender to Grace. I pray that we support the teens in Missouri....please donate so that this project can continue...these teens WANT mats! They WANT props! They WANT a boom box! THEY WANT YOGA. Om Mane Padme Hum.......bless this world with peace. It begins with our Youth. Namaste, Megan Sappington