Staying Power

"When we stay with an uncomfortable emotion or physical sensation, we gather our scattered energies and gain a sense of empowerment. From this place, it's hard to project, to expect anyone else to fix us, or to do for us what we won't do for ourselves. With staying comes power, relaxation, deep breathing, and the joy of not knowing where the tension will lead.

And that's the only place aliveness can be felt. The familiar way might feel safer, more comfortable, but if we look deeper, we'll see how dead it is - void of life force, energy or passion. And as we evolve, it becomes harder and harder to live in this place. Like a drug that no longer works, the hangover just becomes more and more painful."

From: Yogi Times L.A., "Stay" by Joyce Tate Dvoren

When working with youth, moments of tension are an everyday thing. I read the article this morning and I needed it. What was it that it helped me feel, think, remember? ...

The problem behaviors and disrespect that my youth exhibited yesterday and my reaction to it is an opportunity for growth and a chance for communication. That's it. They know and I know that we're still all good and that we'll be (and they will, be-have) better.

There is a difference between an after school program and a classroom. Rules and standards of behavior need to be abided by and reinforced, but unlike a classroom, we are forced to take into consideration EVERYTHING else - and be flexible.

I began practicing yoga a year ago. Touching my toes had a direct correlation with what I had to do at work. What I was able to feel physically helped me empathize with me and also with the kids.

What's the everything you wonder? Just everything. What happens to them: at home, at school, in their community. That's just the details.

Unzoom. Or hop on a plane and look down. All the money that can be used for them in the US is used for profit. Fear profit. War profit. Exploitation profit. I'm making sweeping generalizations. On purpose. Just to illustrate the everything.

This is what I do and it's what you are now reading. I zoom in, zoom out, pan this way and pan that way, till I run out of batteries, in an attempt to take a good picture. I hope I'm doing alright.