nick meets his 1st yoga teacher ever!

We tell the kids that "yoga is a gift-  no one can take it away from you."  This catch-phrase of ours never rang more true than today, when Nick and I wandered into the Yoga Kingdom Sanctuary in Pasadena, where an important person in Nick's life was waiting. Naader Shagagi, the founder of Yoga Kingdom, had created a yoga video many years ago that Nick had discovered and practiced to.  He considers it his first steps on his yoga journey.  I was so touched to see Nick embrace his first teacher and thank him for the wonderful gift he gave him.  Naader was so pleased that he could see that his work was meaningful to someone. He said that one is never sure of the impact that they make. Yoga is a gift - to both the teacher and the student. We might not know how we impact the kids in juvenile hall once they leave, but we sure know we impact them weekly when they tell us how meaningful and useful the yoga is in their lives. 
This special moment at Yoga Kingdom will remind me always that a seed is planted when a teacher and student connect.  The teacher may not always know when the seed grows into a meaningful yoga practice, but we do it anyway, with love and attention. Planting that seed is what we aim to do for the kids and it's a blessing to pass along yoga healing.
 

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