Today, the year 5-6 akonga (students) I taught for the day were really unsettled after having several changes this year - lockdown, coming back to school only to have their teacher leave to have a baby three weeks later, then a new teacher start who was themselves new teacher so needed to go on training courses a lot and thus get relievers in a lot... and sickness coming in, so then I came in - another new face and woah! So what started out a beautiful clear crispy winter morning, became a day of constantly having my calmness and groundedness being tested.
I chose to embrace this tough but good "teachable moment" to explore the physical and emotional concept of groundedness, cultivating physical stability to support their (and my!) state of emotional instability... I remembered our lessons and discussions on Te Whare Tapa Whā and how when one aspect of wellbeing is suffering, we can lift it up by supporting other parts of our wellbeing - like moving our body or taking a break to play around and be a bit quirky and weird - things that stimulate laughter and engage us in socialization. The wellbeing model that we use in Aotearoa schools is based on Te Whare Tapa Wha - the four pillars of the home. All the individual parts help the whare (us) to stand strong, so all have an important part to play, but if one pillar is say rotting, we can provide extra support to the others, while we repair that rotting pillar, for example. I also like to use the metaphor of the forest layers to think about wellbeing in the context of how each layer supports the other. The strong pillars of the forest don't get there unless the forest floor and middle layers are healthy!
(c) Heather Grant, 2020
In a quirky way, we physically explored imagining ourselves as big, grandfather Nikau tree, with a massive web of roots supporting us beneath inside the earth. We imagined our toes spreading out in every direction all connecting into one grand trunk running all the way up from our toes, feet, through our ankles, legs, tailbone and spine. It fluidly became a new way that we coconstructed a signal/ to communicate that they either needed to settle, be more focussed, or as a reset (call for attention). I would assume a "Nikausana" at the front of the class and they would copy - so like another version of clapping and putting your hands on your head, but requiring a bit more balance and mental concentration! Once everyone was in Nikausanaa, I knew I could give my instructions or cue them to continue with their work at a quieter volume.
(c) Heather Grant, 2020
The thing I love about these difficult times, is we discover new ways to work, new ways to weave in yoga and connection to our ngāhere into our daily lives and into the classroom. Learning should never be divorced from the wider web of existence and it is important to water our roots and to cultivate awareness of our position in the wider web of wellbeing and in Te Ao Mārama.
Ki te kore ngā pūtake e mākūkūngia, e kore te rākau e tupu.
If the roots of a tree are never watered, the tree will never grow.