Sit Down and Meditate, Dammit!

Is it wrong that I almost had to kick three kids out of my meditation class for being disruptive? Let me explain.

I’ve been holding a series of “Anger Management” sessions for some students in my school. These are kids who were chosen by their teachers as having behavior problems and, who could benefit from learning some alternatives to their usual aggressive style of conflict resolution.

I decided to introduce the kids to yoga and meditation as a way of letting them experience what it feels like to be calm and peaceful. Yesterday was my first class and it contained eight 4th – 6th graders – 2 girls and 6 boys (a problem already!)

These kids are some of the most high-strung children I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said 80-90% of the kids seem to have ADHD.

We started the class outdoors and it took 30 minutes for them to settle down. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It’s as if the teacher is invisible. No matter how many times I told them to take a seat on their mats (towels), they ignored me and continued doing what they do: licking each other, kicking each other, calling each other names, etc. Then somebody had to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. Finally, I got their attention.

We ultimately went inside to the library. I had forgotten that it was free after several weeks of being occupied by the girls dance team that had been practicing for a competition.

Once inside I was able to introduce them to the concept of “being still.” It was a beautiful sight to behold! They enjoyed the class and asked me if I would have it on the weekend. Since I have no life here, I said I would

Shavasana

King of Disruption

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