Children’s Yoga: Classroom Management

By Sally Stone

The Disruptive Meditator Offers A Teachable Moment

One of the students in my children’s yoga group (3rd-5th graders) liked to make witty jokes. He was the class clown. I spent several hours designing my lesson and guided meditation only to be interrupted at every peaceful moment. As soon as the children quieted down or drifted into a state of meditation… POW! The clever punchline flew from his lips. He couldn’t help himself; his witty mind had to crash through the quiet to create laughter. I’m all for laughter and fun in yoga class, but not when the jokes poke fun at yoga itself and defeat the purpose of our practice.

I was tempted to ask this child to leave the yoga group. I had a waiting list of students who wanted to join the group. Why not invite someone who wanted to be there and believed in yoga? But when I asked the child if he enjoyed yoga and wanted to be there, he sincerely replied, “Yes.” As a popular child, I knew he had friends in the group he enjoyed, but did he really want to practice yoga? I asked him if he realized that his jokes disturbed the quiet atmosphere I was trying to create with everyone. Looking embarrassed and ashamed, obviously he did. So I decided to try and help him overcome his habit of drawing attention to himself through witty, but poorly timed jokes. At least poorly timed if we were to successfully practice yoga!

I told him this Arab Proverb, which I first learned about on the back of a Celestial Seasonings tea box many years ago. The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

We reviewed one of the jokes he made in yoga class. I was leading the children in a guided meditation and asked them to imagine a star floating down and entering their hearts. He said, “That would kill you!”

“Is that true?” I asked.

“Yes!” he smiled. I returned the smile and agreed.

“Is it necessary?” I asked. “Do we need your comment to help us?”

“No,” he answered.

“Is it kind?” I asked. “Does it make everyone feel good about what we’re doing?”

“No,” he honestly answered.

We agreed that it was funny, but not appropriate to what we were doing. That class was the last time he interrupted with a joke. He even stopped interrupting with so many jokes during class, too. He’s still funny, has lots of friends, and entertains them at lunch and recess. Being smart and clever, he may even one day do a little stand-up. But in yoga class, he respects the energy we’re creating and stays in the flow with the rest of us.