Yoga, once a spiritual exercise, has been widely embraced for its calming and mindful effects.
Horton Lodge has a simple but very effective way of communicating what happens in the day, a home school book. Filled in daily by the teaching and support staff, and also used by school nurses and therapists, it is pounced on daily in our house. Pearl is non verbal, so when I have read it we can talk about the day, with the help of the excellent PODD.
I have had a few favourite entries, but by far the most hilarious read:
“Today we started our yoga sessions.We spent the first remembering to stay in our own space on the mat”
Maybe it’s having worked in schools, perhaps it’s because Pearl is my third, but I could hear a world of patience, pain,and mild hysteria emanating from this simple sentence.
The next day was parents evening.
“So” I said.
“How was yoga, did they stay on the mats?”
The class teacher grinned broadly.
“Well we are using a DVD and the whole class (about 8 children of varying physical ability) made for the mat nearest the DVD and lay on top of each other in a big pile”
Now I go to a restorative yoga session every Friday. It calms me, grounds me,and helps me prepare for the whirlwind that is Pearl being home at the weekend. Because of this diary entry,dear reader, at the beginning of my weekly session,as I start to relax I hear in my head “remember to stay in your own place on the mat” and shake silently at the mental image it conjures up.
Namaste.
This is part of a blog a day for Horton.You can find out more about the school here .and help Pearl show her appreciation with a donation here.
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