Kids Learn by Example.

It’s not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself.

~Joyce Maynard

from “You, alright?!…I learned it by watching you…“

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn what envy is.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement, they learn to be confident.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to find love in the world.
If children live with recognition, they learn to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn to be generous.
If children live with honesty and fairness, they learn what truth and justice are.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those around them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn that the world is a nice place in which to live.
If children live with serenity, they learn to have peace of mind.
With what are your children living?

© Dorothy L. Nolte, All rights reserved

It’s been a long week.

My personal yoga practice has included learning to accept and love my step-children while moving into a new house and going through hormone replacement therapy. It was a very long week—and some days I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. But, when all was said and done, I knew it was me that needed to be calm and peaceful and loving and giving and accepting so that my new step-children could do the same.

It hasn’t been perfect everyday but we are getting closer. I’m keeping this short so I can take a break and pass out. There are boxes to be packed, walls to be painted, yoga to teach and unconditional love to embody. A girl needs rest for such feats!

What are you embodying and modeling for others this week?

(P.S. Even if you don’t have children of your own—there are still kids watching you…something to think about.)

Asana for the week: Partner Yoga

Mixing Bowl    

Sit facing each other and extend your legs out wide into a V shape. Press the soles of your feet into the soles of your child’s feet (or have your child place her feet higher on your legs, if she needs to). Reach forward and hold each other’s wrists, hands, or fingers. Slowly begin to lean forward and back until you each feel a stretch. After a few breaths, rotate your bodies in a circle like you are mixing something in a bowl. Move one way and then the other, making sure to communicate if you want more or less of a stretch.

Wellness Tip of the Week

Practice what you preach.

De-stress your life by meaning what you say and saying what you mean…and then walking your talk.  As we round out the month of community we look at how the next generation is learning from us…complete your sense of wellness by being a living example for children – your leadership could be what saves world.