“Teaching is done in many ways, above all by example.  Teaching should be healing, because it is the sharing of ideas and the recognition that to share ideas it to strengthen them.” – Course In Miracles.

Do our children listen to what we say or watch what we do?  Do we show them how to have confidence?  Are we in fit physical, emotional, mental or spiritual shape?  Do we practice any form of connection to nature, through prayer, meditation, nutrition or exercise?  Do we work, survive and sleep and then expect our children to thrive?  Do we include our children in our practices?

All these questions answered will reveal where we are at.  The question is what are we willing to do?  Teaching is for learning.  The best way to get in shape is to learn the yoga.  The best way to stay in shape is to teach the yoga.

If we take time to teach our children, to be dedicated to some philosophy or way of life is to reinforce those practices within ourselves.

Tips for shifting patterns, bonding with children and creating a context to pass along wisdom.

Pull out the yoga mat.  They have free classes on line.  Turn off the t.v. and do yoga as a family.  Novices can just do it for fun and be silly with it.  The children will love it.

Take a family walk.  It is much easier to create a bond with children if we start these practices early.  Grab the dog and the kids and walk; even if only for 10 minutes.  Make a commitment to do this everyday.  Make a decision to let the children guide the walk, go where they want, stop to play with what they want.  Be mindful are you “hurry up.  Come here.  Put that down.  Don’t do that” the entire walk?  That sounds stressful for you and them!  So be mindful and think calm thoughts.  Let the walk relax you into the rhythm of your children.  You may be surprised they are already gifted at things you are trying to re-remember; like being in the now and enjoying the moment.

Attend vs Directing/Controlling.  Let the children choose an activity.  Comment on what they are doing.  “I see you are stacking blue on red.  I see you put the book away.  I see you sat cross legged.”  This may be a very difficult practice if you are used to asking questions or giving directions.  “Put the block here, why don’t we do this, let’s put these together”.  What would happen if just 15 minutes every day you made a decision to only attend to your child and comment on what they were doing instead of directing or asking them questions?

At night light a candle and let them hold it!  Yes, even those small children can hold a candle and they will not be scarred for life.  When our children are especially over stimulated we turn off the lights, light a candle and go around saying three nice things about each other.  We have also hummed, chanted and practiced prayers.  It’s fun to experiment and the kids have things they love.  The lack of stimulation creates a sleepy child and the beauty of the candle light brings the child to a relaxed state.

Sit under a tree and breathe.  We have a large tree in our yard.  Sometimes we just sit there and we practice breathing.  We giggle.  We breath deep.  We make noises.  We stick our tongues out and pretend to be lions.  We even tell them “mommy is letting out stress and breathing in calm. Do you want mommy to be calm?”  Then we show them how to breath.  They like it and become visibly calm and relaxed.  They go and teach their friends how to do it also!

There are so many ways to shift energy.  We can shift patterns in our life.  We can do things differently.  All we have to do is become willing.  Are we teachable?  Are we ready for change?  Do we believe we have the power to change?

We can tap into the teacher within us.   We can show our children how to tap into their teacher within.  Our children are amazing little batteries willing to soak up whatever energy we feed them.  What we feed them they give back to us!