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Tonight’s program is Yoga in Family Life. All of you here know that parenting is a labor of love. We use all of our resources—our love, our compassion, our understanding—to help nurture our children as they grow and develop. All the children here this evening are in two classes here at Yoga in Daily Life on Mondays. The first group is the three- to six-year-olds, and the second group is the seven- to twelve-year-olds. In the classes, the children practice postures, and they also practice Kachapūrṇam, which they’re going to show you tonight. They hear stories, and they talk about different values, like being a good person, being a good friend, world peace, and how to be peaceful at home in their own families. We have lots of fun in the classes. Tonight, their teacher, Miss Jackie, is going to be leading them in several demonstrations. But first of all, I’d like to ask all the kids if they’d like to say hi to Swāmījī. So, say hi, Swamiji. Okay, we’re going to start right away with our demonstrations. Children's Demonstrations: Lutfi: My name is Lutfi Lasida. I’m seven years old, and I’m going to do the boat. And it’s good for your stomach. Kira: My name is Kira, and I’m five years old, and I’m going to do the grasshopper. And it’s good for your back. Sam: I’m three years old, and I’m going to do the grasshopper. I’m going to go for my back. Esme: One and a half, and I’m going to do the rooster. And the map. Tipper: Rooster is good for your balance. Rooster is good for your balance. Isabel: My name is Isabel, I’m eight years old, and I’m going to do the dancer’s pose. Swan. The swan is good for your balance and concentration. Hero: My name is Hero Magnus. I’m eight years old, and I’m going to be doing the half shoulder stand. The half shoulder stand is good for your circulation because your heart doesn’t have to work against gravity. Elena: My name is Elena, and I’m eight years old, and I’m going to do the shoulder pose. The shoulder pose opens up your chest. Justin: My name is Justin, and I am doing the eagle, and I’m nine. Eagle is good for balance. Leah: This is Leah. I’m six years old, and I’m going to do the monkey. It stretches your legs. Suki: My name is Suki. My name is Suki, and I am eight years old, and I am going to do the tree. The tree is good for balance and concentration. Hannah: My name is Hannah, and I’m seven years old, and I’m going to do the mountain. And the mountain stretches the back of your legs. Emil: Emil’s five, and I’m going to do the cobra. It’s good for when you’re mad, and it opens your chest. And it’s good for when you’re mad. Sebastian: My name is Sebastian. I’m seven years old, and I’m going to do the bow pose. It’s good for concentration. Tristan: It’s Tristan, and I’m four and a half, and we’re going to do the tiger. And it’s good for your back. We got everybody, right? Just want to make sure. Okay, we’re going to do Kāṭuparaṇam, so come and sit in Vajrāsana on the tape, please. So, three times, Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. It means peace, peace... peace of the body, peace of the mind, and peace of the spirit, or peace on earth, peace in the atmosphere, and peace in the astral world. So, śānti means peace. So, mostly people now, when they make a photo, they used to say cheese, but we don’t say cheese, we say peace. Good? So, when they make a photo, then you can say peace. Good? Very good. And I was so delighted, surprised, how nice the kids demonstrated yoga in daily life postures. And now I know one thing: what is good for my back. Thank you for making me aware of it. And also, what is good for the concentration. We need very much concentration, all grown people. So thank you, kids, you made us aware of this. Every parent wishes to have a happy child, and the children should have everything. Good education and good social position. And that begins from childhood. It is said that your life, your future life, depends on society. Where your children will spend the time, like that they will be. If the children spend time with people who abuse drugs, unfortunately, they will also become addicted to the drugs. If your kids spend time with alcoholics, then sooner or later they will also have this habit. So your wish as a parent here, a single parent here, or both are here—I don’t know, all of you—It’s your goodwill, your good wish that your child will have a bright, happy future. And therefore, take care that your children are in good societies and are doing something good for their health and the environment. So, thank you for your coming, and thank you for bringing your beautiful children. And they are the light, the future, and the culture of tomorrow. So I pray to Almighty for the good health, good education, and a bright future for your children, and for good health, harmony, and happiness to all of you. God bless you. Nice to see you, and now I have a surprise for the children here. They can come and take as much as they want, okay? So please, kids, come. Thank you. Oh, thank you. Take one, two, three, as you like. Okay, no problem. You can take three, yes, three. Four, one, two, five. Yes, good. Come, take more. Five, okay. Take one more. Thank you. Oh, thank you very much. What is this? Did you take chocolate? Come, thank you. You see, still my bowel is full. Yeah, this is full. Thank you. Oh, wow, my God. That is. Healthy things. I did not expect this. Thank you. Oh, now I have my one more. Take it, okay? Okay. Take this. Superfood. Thank you, Panda. Also, superfood. Is it bamboo or what? Take one more. Yes. So, thank you very much. In India, we used to say, what children learn or what we learn from childhood will remain with us our whole life. And then it is said, it is easy to become free from an enemy, but it’s not easy to become free from bad habits which we learn in childhood. So we shall try to teach and show the children good things, and that they have good habits. So I wish for your children all the best, and happiness to you. Thank you. And the floor is yours, protocol, what you like. Thank you. A little bit about how yoga influences their family life. Parent Experiences: Lola Laceda: Thank you for having me here. My wife, Maya, is over there, and our two children, Lutfi and Emil, are here. We practice yoga. It’s something that we do together at home or away. We like to do it. We like to do Kaṭhūpraṇām, or salute to the Sun, whenever we go camping, and it helps Maya and me share with our children the importance of nurturing our bodies and minds. It also helps us to stay calm amid our busy schedule. For example, Emil likes to go into the rabbit pose when he’s reminded to settle down, and Luthi likes to sit down and practice his breathing when he needs to calm down. But the most important thing is, it’s something that they can take with them for the rest of their lives. So thank you. Rebecca Matchett: I am by no means a public speaker; in fact, I have someone else to help keep me on track here. But I am happy to share with you what my family life is with yoga. Before I start, let me give you some history. I’ve been doing yoga with Yoga and Daily Life for over 11 years. And between my registering for class and my first class, I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. I practiced yoga throughout my whole pregnancy. And, of course, I continued after, and now I have two boys. Chase is 10, and Spencer will be 9 next month. When the boys were babies, there was no such thing as regular practice. I learned very quickly that babies have their own schedules, and there’s pretty much no negotiating with them. So what I did is, when they were awake and they were happy, I did my postures for as long as they would allow, and I saved meditation for when they were napping. As they got older and they were mobile, when I did postures, anytime I got on the floor, I was immediately a human jungle gym. And I’m sure with you, with the little ones, you know. I made sure that I did postures that were safe for me and safe for them, so neither one of us would get hurt. And I made yoga not about me, but about us. So if they climbed on me, if they did postures with me, if they made up their own, or eventually they would go off and play—whatever it would be for that day, that was it. Now that they’re much older, I can go into another room and practice postures. But the few times I’ve done that, I find that my mind is still in the living room with the boys. So that’s still where I practice, and they don’t climb on me anymore. They’re pretty much doing their own thing. Sometimes they’ll practice with me or ask me why I do a certain posture. And they’re also old enough that I can do prāṇāyāma, which is the breathing exercises, which they don’t do, but they know they’re breathing exercises. So when I’m like this, that means I can’t talk. And if they do start talking to me, they know if I go like this, they need to give me a minute to finish, unless it’s an emergency. And they’re very good about it. And although they don’t, for the most part, practice with me, they see it. And they see that it’s something that’s an everyday occurrence. After prāṇāyāma, if it’s still quiet, I’ll stay. I’ll just stay still with my eyes shut and go into meditation, even if it’s for five minutes, just to take advantage of the opportunity. But for the most part, I keep meditation for when they are sleeping. So at night when they go to bed, and my husband, when everyone’s in bed, that’s when I meditate. Also, early in the morning is a good time before the house wakes up. But I do prefer at night, even though my mind is, you know, all chatter. When you finish a posture and you take that moment to sit, close your eyes, and notice what you feel in your body, that’s kind of how I approach meditation every evening. When I sit on the cushion to take a moment to feel where my mind is. And most times, it just takes a little bit for my mind to settle. But if there is something that I can’t let go, for example, perhaps there’s a situation with one of the boys, and I’m concerned about it, I’ll think about it. I’ll do some self-inquiry and think about whether it’s something I need to keep an eye on, something I need to take further action on whether it’s with the boys, sometimes it’s even with me, it’s my issue, not theirs. Whatever conclusion I come to, then I can let it go. When I can, I can go on with my practice. So in that way, that meditation late at night works. For me, basically, what it is is... Leaving that door open for them to take what they want, and following their lead, and keeping my eyes open for opportunities to teach and to learn. A couple years ago, I tried teaching full yogic breathing. One of my boys was particularly distraught, and I, so I... I was taking him through it, and after a couple of breaths, he said, "It’s not working." I said, "Just keep doing it, give it time." And, of course, that night, sitting on my cushion, I decided that it would be good to teach him, perhaps at a time when he was calm, so when he did need it, it would be there. So several days later, he was reading quietly in the living room, and I said, "Hey, why don’t we practice some full yogic breathing?" And he looked at me and said, "Well, I don’t need it now." So there was no indication he was going to put his book down, so I let it go. But when they are upset, they know the first thing out of my mouth is, "Breathe. Take a breath. Slow, deep breaths, and then we’ll talk." So... It does help, and so it’s moments like that. And, you know, looking into the future when they get older and their lives get more complex, finding opportunity to introduce to them the benefits of mauna, which is the practice of silence, it’s... No communication, incoming or outgoing. And for kids, when they’re young, it’s pretty much torture, and there’s really no benefit. But as they get older, it’s good to go to your bedroom or go sit by yourself in a chair in another room, just to be with your thoughts. It can be a positive thing. If we lived here, by the way, I live 70 miles away, if we lived here, they would be in yoga practice or in yoga class. When they found out we had kids’ classes here they wanted to come, but it’s not feasible. But I will say that kids can get more out of yoga in a student-teacher relationship in a yoga center than they can in a parent-child relationship on the living room floor. It’s the structure. I’ve noticed it with their taekwondo teacher. They have taken the initiative to practice trataka with me, which is candle gazing. It’s a good practice for concentration. They’ve tried meditation with me. It lasts about five minutes, and it’s only whenever they want. If they say, "I want to try meditation," then okay, let’s go. And I think, you know, as they get older, if they decide that yoga practice is something that they want to do as a regular practice, it will be by their choice and not by mine. And by the way, my husband, who I’ve been happily married to for 18 years, does not practice, but he does support me. And that’s what counts. I’ve never known family life without yoga. I think for that I’m blessed. And that’s what I have to offer. Thank you. Mohan: Well, I don’t have much to say. I do practice yoga sometimes. It helps with my concentration at school. And before I go to bed, I do a few mantras to help me stay calm. And my sister practices mantras too to help her stay calm. My parents do yoga a lot. And before I go to school, sometimes in, like, fifth grade, I would do kāṭa praṇām, and then I would do balancing to help me concentrate in school, and that’s pretty much it.