Alison Zak's Blog, page 2

Turtle Story: Jataka Retelling

It is said that everyone has a turtle story…

Long ago, after a violent storm, sailors clung to chunks of splintered wood, the remaining bits of their wrecked ship. Cold, thirsty, and weakening with every crest and trough of the waves, they floated in the infinite sea.

As night fell, one sailor gave up, released his grip on the debris, and began to sink into water the color of the starless sky.

“That’s odd,” he thought as he cherished the fullness of the final breath of air in his lungs.

He was no longer descending but rising toward the surface on the back of a large sea turtle who escorted him to the sandy shore.

The silent creature swam away and returned with each of the sailors, one by one.

On the turtle’s final trip to the beach, the sailors killed it and hungrily consumed its flesh. This is a happy ending. The turtle willingly offered itself as a meal to the starving survivors.

Even the Buddha has a turtle story.

*The Jatakas are a collection of stories about the former lives and reincarnations of the Buddha. This is my creative interpretation of one of them.*

Answer: Osprey

Question: If you could be any animal, who would you be?

Depending on my mood, I answer either ‘kingfisher’ or ‘osprey.’ I want the relative security of predator status without the burden of hunting furry food. (I don’t like eating peaches with the skin on, but I sure miss Vishu’s baked salmon!) I want to wear feathers, and, like Craig Child wrote, “I want to lose my fingers and plans and I want to fly.” Plus, I could hang around at the beaver pond.

~

I am in Florida, laying on my back at the pool reading Church of the Wild by Victoria Loorz. I hear the sweet chirps of an osprey. I look up into the sky through the lenses of my purple sunglasses and see two ospreys and four vultures soaring effortlessly on a thermal. The current of warm air assists the birds in their climb just as the gentle heat of a Florida December helps me process the passing of another year.

One osprey chirps repeatedly and the other stays silent as they circle each other. They are backlit by glowing white clouds. After a few minutes, I can’t decide if they are flying or swimming. They move in the sky like fish in water. They soar higher and higher until they dissolve into the infinite sky-ocean.

I hear a final, faint chirp and my eyes return to my book about the sacred in nature.

Yes, I want to be an osprey.

The Almost Anthropologist’s Favorite Books of 2021

‘Tis the season for my annual book list!

PSA: Whenever possible, PLEASE support local, independent bookstores, instead of Amazon, as you shop for books this holiday season. I will link all the titles below to Bookshop.org which is a great way to shop online while still supporting indies.

As always, these are books I read this year (they were not necessarily published in 2021) in no particular order…

Adult

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh

All the Colors Came Out by Kate Fagan

Sparrow Envy by J. Drew Lanham

The Untold Story of Sita by Dena Merriam

Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene edited by Jessica Cory

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Children’s

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

When the World is Dreaming by Rita Gray

The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Kay O’Neill

I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillet-Sumner

Beavers: Radical Rodents and Ecosystem Engineers by Frances Backhouse

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins

Badir and the Beaver by Shannon Stewart

Bindu’s Bindis by Supriya Kelkar

Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani

Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me by Susan L. Roth

This Is a Sea Cow by Cassandra Federman

Fauja Singh Keeps Going by Simrat Jeet Singh

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho

Yoga & Mindfulness Resources for Environmental Educators

As an environmental educator and yoga teacher, I LOVE incorporating mindfulness practices into nature programs. I believe that encouraging mindfulness outside helps students of all ages to become present in both time and place. Sometimes it’s as simple as having a quiet moment out on the hiking trail to listen for birds. Other times I plan an entire kid-friendly yoga sequence with poses that represent native wildlife (bobcat and cow, hognose snake instead of cobra, etc.).  And we always end our sun salutations by yelling “GOOD MORNING!” to the sun.

I put together this list of resources so environmental educators can help their students experience the benefits of mindful moments in nature:

Books for Kids

Animal Asanas: Yoga for Children by Leila Kadri Oostendorp, illustrated by Elsa Bahia. What a wonderful book! The illustrations magically depict the animals in the poses after which they are named. Written instructions are clear and age-appropriate. I also love how each pose name is in English and Sanskrit, including the transliteration.

Yoga Frog by Nora Carpenter, illustrated by Mark Chambers. This is a favorite of mine. I have led many, successful amphibian-themed story times using this book and the little, bendy frog figurine that comes with it. It is meant to be read aloud as the poses are practiced. Very charming for all ages.

Just Breathe: Meditation, Mindfulness, Movement, and More by Mallika Chopra, illustrated by Brenna Vaughan. Aimed at ages 8-12, this book includes mindful walking, a cloud meditation, and a meditation for the planet. It’s a unique book for a somewhat-neglected age group as far as mindfulness resources go.

You are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo is meant to be read aloud as the yoga is practiced and is appropriate for pre-K students.

Imagine That! A Child’s Guide to Yoga by Kenneth K. Cohen, illustrated by Joan Hyme. This book includes sun salutation sequence and in-depth instructions for a variety of poses, but you can also just read the short rhyme on each page.

Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-By-Pose Wake Up Story by Mariam Gates, illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder. This book would be a great start to a day outside, for ages 4-8. There are two text options depending on the level of detail the reader prefers. Poses are nature-related with an ‘explorer’ theme.

Yoga Friends: A Pose-By Pose Partner Adventure for Kids by Mariam Gates & Rolf Gates, illustrated by Sarah Jane Hinder. This one is similar to Good Morning Yoga but for partners. There is less nature-related content, but it would be fun to adapt for environmental programs.

Books for Adults

Coyote’s Guide to Connecting With Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, & Evan McGown. This book is amazing and I can’t believe it took me years working in the field of environmental education to discover it. It includes an entire teaching philosophy with supporting activities that integrate perfectly with yoga and mindfulness practices.

Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community. I discovered this delightful book in a tiny shop in Dharamshala, India. It has a whole section on connecting with nature including nature mandalas and a web-of-life activity. It comes with a CD of songs, which I thought it was silly until I listened- there are a few gems on there, like ‘I Love Nature’ by Joe Reilly, if you can find a CD player…

Meditation for Children: Pathways to Happiness, Harmony, Creativity & Fun for the Family by Deborah Rozman, Ph.D. While meant more for families than classrooms indoor or out, this book has useful sections on how to meditate with children and chapters with yoga and meditation exercises for different age groups, including a ‘grass meditation’ to experience oneness with life.

Mindfulness Practices: Cultivating Heart Centered Communities Where Students Focus and Flourish by Christine Mason, Michele M. Rivers Murphy, and Yvette Jackson. I haven’t finished this one yet, but the lead author was my yoga teacher in addition to being the Founder and CEO of the Center for Educational Improvement. More to come!

Forest Bathing by Dr. Cyndi Gilbert, ND includes a great exercise called ‘tree breathing’ that could be adapted for practice with children.

Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements, and Breath by Danielle Bersma & Marjoke Visscher, illustrated by Alex Kooistra. This book includes multiple nature-related activities such as ‘blowing leaves,’ ‘animal sounds,’ and a sun salutation diagram with a cute rhyme. For ages 3-12.

Additional Resources and Activities

Imagine You Are A Frog is a free, guided meditation for children from Fragrant Heart, an all free meditation website offering over 100 guided audios as well as simple step by step instructions to learn to meditate.

Classroom Meditation- For All Ages! on the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel includes a great example of a short and simple breath-focused meditation that can be practiced with children.

The Kid’s Yoga Deck: 50 Poses and Games by Annie Buckley was a favorite with my summer campers who LOVED the chance to ‘pick a card’ and instruct peers on the next pose.

Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, Focus, and Calm by Whitney Stewart and Mina Brown

Mindful Games: Activity Cards by Susan Kaiser Greenland with Annaka Harris

Finally, below is a pdf of the resource I created for my final project of yoga teacher training: Incorporating Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids into Outdoor Programs

yoga-for-ee-by-alison-zakDownload