Take A Yoga Moment

For the first time since last May I have experienced stress and anxiety. If you know me well, you understand that sometimes I travel with a little black rain cloud of stress overhead. I am not proud of this. Surprisingly, the past six months have been unnaturally stress free. This is most definitely related to my being married to the most laid back man on the planet and my happy work environment. But on January 19, 2010 my little black rain cloud temporarily (?-trying to be optimistic here) returned due to a few changes in my very comfortable routine.

Before Christmas I enrolled in graduate courses in the Education Department at the University of Memphis. I am going to keep working full time and taking night courses when I can. I hope to have my masters in 2ish years. As of last week, 3 precious hours of my Monday and Tuesday evenings are spent in class. YUCK. I am not ready to be a student again. What's even worse is every Tuesday I will have to miss the first fifteen minutes of the last season of LOST.

Two weeks ago I was offered the chance to take the job of a teacher who was leaving for the rest of the year on maternity leave. It is a co-teaching position in the Junior Kindergarten. I am paired with a wonderful teacher and have a lot to learn about 4-5 year olds. This is very exciting and a great opportunity, but bittersweet. I LOVED my job as a Senior K assistant. I LOVED the teacher I worked with every day. I LOVED my precious class. I LOVED my daily routine. I shed many tears in the process of deciding to leave. I know it sounds silly. I am working right down the hall from my old classroom and see the boys and my SK friends nearly every day. I am really enjoying my JK class and new co-workers and learning lots. One important thing in particular... the concept of a "yoga moment"...
We all need to incorporate these into our daily lives. The JK boys have it down. When they are being rowdy or their teacher just needs a moment of silence to catch her breath, she calls for "a yoga moment, please." Instantly, the room is silent (with those few little exceptions, of course) and the boys are all in the most zen state their four year old bodies can muster. Works like a charm.