The Girls Respond

  • By onthemat
  • 19 Apr, 2016
There were some Burmese school girls who practiced yoga with the nuns each day. When we toured the school, we chatted with some of the 9th grade girls who had been to the older girls’ yoga classes. It was very hard for the Burmese girls to talk about how they felt. You will see that […]
There were some Burmese school girls who practiced yoga with the nuns each day. When we toured the school, we chatted with some of the 9th grade girls who had been to the older girls’ yoga classes.
It was very hard for the Burmese girls to talk about how they felt. You will see that when we asked, there was not an automatic recognition of what we were asking. We needed to use our translators to be able to ask the right questions. You can see from the smiles how much they loved the yoga. It was so gratifying to experience this joy.
Part of our journey was documenting the yoga experience. What impact does yoga have on a Burmese nun’s physical, emotional and mental body. We had difficulty getting answers from the girls. They did not want to speak out in front of each other, and even one on one took time. We finally took some time to have them all write what yoga meant to them, what changes they noticed, and how they felt. We are still having the notes transcribed, but the detail and emotion came pouring out in the written form.
Here is just one of many responses which was actually written in English:
“Dear Teachers,
Thank you for coming to Myanmar and teaching us Yoga. Yoga is fun! Yoga is Awesome!!! I LIKE IT!!!
It makes me feel relaxed. I feel happy and strong.
I hope and want to invite all of you to come back and teach us more.
By the way, all of you are gorgeous.
Please come and teach us Yoga again. Please. Please. Please. Please. I LOVE YOGA (heart heart heart)
Namaste”
When I began to hear the transcribed responses, I realized how much our presence meant to them, not just the yoga, but the mutual love. The students for us, their teachers. And our bursting hearts of love for these “lights of being.”

On The Mat Yoga Blog

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