Yoga With Dad

The other day my oldest daughter (six years old) came to me and asked, “Dad, can I come to take one of your yoga classes?” At first, I thought it was just a passing thought, and she would be on the next question in a second, but it wasn’t. She remained persistent and wanted an answer. “Yes,” I told her, “you sure can.”

My wife and I own , which we started right before Leela was born. She has grown up always seeing daddy or mommy leave to teach a class. She’s helped mop the floors and has gone to community events. She’s heard us talk yoga philosophy and seen me doing yoga poses. We’ve even practiced together with kids yoga dvds and books. I’ve sometimes wondered as a parent if having yoga “around ” so much might turn her away from it.

I was a little surprised to have her ask to come to class and at the same time excited. I told her I would bring her her own mat back from the studio. All week she asked me, “how many days until I get to do yoga with you?” The night before the class she showed me how she had everything set up for the next morning. There next to her bed were her clothes, a water bottle, and the mat.

On Friday morning we had breakfast and loaded everything into the car. She asked me lots of questions about what to do. Where should she put her mat? Where would I put mine? How many people would be there? If no one came to class would we just go home? I said I hope that doesn’t happen.

When we got to the studio she was more timid than usual. We set up her mat, and she came and stood next to me at the check in desk as people arrived. I could feel how proud I was having her there and telling people she was coming to practice with me. At the same time, I could feel my dad instincts thinking about her safety and comfort.

Before we began, I told everyone it was a special class for me because my daughter was here to practice with her old dad for the first time. Everyone turned and smiled at her, and she got a big smile on her face. She was ready to go.

As we moved through class, I kept looking over, exchanging a few thumbs up and offering her a few adjustments. She was amazing! She kept right with the class following along pose after pose all the way to Shavasana.

After class, I asked her if she had any feedback for me? “What’s feedback she asked?” After I had explained it, she thought for a moment and said, “Maybe a little more time in that laying down pose at the end. People really seemed to enjoy that one.” “You got it,”   I told her.

With Fathers Day right around the corner, and I couldn’t have asked for a more incredible gift from my little girl, who is getting so big.