Dig Deep

Every now and then, you’ll have experiences and thoughts that “come together” as inspiration, much like the confluence of rivers. Yesterday, Lyddie and I were able to participate once again in our school’s summer inservice to share district initiatives with the faculty and set the vision of next school year and years to come. The group discussed Common Core Standards, "gradual release of responsibility," enrichment clusters, and collaborative, professional learning communities . . . and I was struck by the theme to “dig deeper, cover less.” It’s not just an effort to accomplish a whole lot of stuff. We really want kiddos thinking and problem solving and leading and pulling together all disciplines--truly the shift is from content to process. Who knows WHAT students need to know in 15 years? They WILL need communication skills, abilities to problem solve and work together collaboratively, no matter the topic or situation.

I attended a workshop for teaching Seniors Yoga last Friday. I signed up for the class because much of the techniques are accomplished in a chair and I thought these modifications would translate into children sitting in desks . . . it was good stuff! The focus was on deep breathing. We tend to shallow breathe as we age. We lose the potential of breath that we had as babies over time. No longer do we fill our lungs, from the lower portion, middle, and uppermost (belly, ribs, chest area). We tend to shallow breath, our shoulders go up and down . . .

There are many healthy benefits to reworking our breath. Increased strength in abdominal muscles, greater range of motion in ribcage joints and spine, resting heart rate decreased, breathing becomes easier. Shallow breathing contributes to lethargy, weakness, less activity, less motivation (Senior YogaFIt Teacher Training Manual, 2008).

These ideas connect with big picture concepts like “less is MORE” and “QUALITY vs. quantity.” I see these themes at my Weight Watchers meetings . . . with friendships . . . even my church and family responsibilities . . .

So, for today, let’s zero in on what’s important! How can we be most effective with the time we have today? YogaFit states “effective breathing produces stability and reduces stress.” Be strong, knowing that doing less today will provide you with more ENERGY and HAPPINESS--and who couldn’t use just a little more of both?