My motive for entering the teaching profession? I absolutely hated school. In my adolescent mind, school was eerily similar to a comedic prison with caricature-like adult figures dictating my every move.
After four years of teaching in Canada, I naively thought that an administrative position would allow me to change the system of education and, ultimately, reach more children in a positive, powerful way. Eventually, though, the system and the bureaucracy therein weighed heavily on my perceived ability to empower youth within a system that I once found stifling.
In-Powered by OSA has allowed me to circumvent the system to offer yoga in a middle school in Houston. I have been able to offer this practice in a prison unit as well. What I'm discovering shouldn't shock anyone: Schools and prisons ARE eerily similar. In one class, the assistant principal and a police officer interrupted the class to "pullout" students just prior to taking savasana pose. Try relaxing after that. I'm certainly not advocating the complete removal of harsh disciplinary systems; yet, I believe there's much space for a compassionate approach - both for students and prison inmates who express a willingness to change.
I've witnessed students take on the practice of breathing, moving, and expressing feeling in a way that has both broken and brightened my heart. Witnessing students simply breathing and saying "right now I feel ___________" breaks my heart because I'm more aware than ever that children in today's society have very few opportunities to express emotion and create meaningful human connections. In my experience, students are forced to bury emotion rather than express it in a meaningful way.
In spite of the tragic events happening in our world today, my heart shines with hope for the future of our child. The children I'm working with are my greatest teacher. They're constantly defining and redefining my interpretation of "One Significant Act". For instance, while conducting our opening "check-in" protocol, one student shared, "Right now I feel sad." After our asana practice, she approached me and shouted, "Hey, Mr. Houston! Right now...I feel really happy!"
That is my One Significant Act. I'm hopeful because kids just get it.
