Do you remember what it was like to be in college, 20 years old, and a boy? Me neither! But I’m getting a big dose of it this semester teaching yoga at Norwich University. The oldest military university in the country, Norwich now also has civilians among its students and is about 30 % women to 70 % men. And my yoga classes reflect that. I’ve never had so many men in any of my yoga classes before. Most all of the students are very respectful and sincere. We always have a struggle at the beginning of the semester where they try to call me ma’am and I insist they call me Lauren.
But there is always that pair of boys in the back. And it is always a pair. One egging on the other, showing off for each other. Showboating about how inflexible they are, or how unable they are to breathe through their nose. They break into laughter at the mention of nearly any body part. As soon as I tell the class they don’t need to ask permission to go to the bathroom or to go blow their nose, off runs one of these two boys, announcing loudly that he’s going to take a leak, and reducing the entire class to giggles.
Cool as I might think I am, there is simply no way to be cool to a 20 year old college boy. They have a code all their own, and coolness is extremely generational. It is a bitter pill to swallow to recognize that one is simply beyond being acceptable to the younger crowd. It is a sad moment of truth.
But forge on we must! And I must keep my entire class from devolving into the lowest common denominator. So I make them work harder than I probably should. Make them sweat, and hold chatarangadandasana for ten breaths. Then vasistasana for ten breaths, each side. By the time we hit half moon pose, the laughter is gone, and they are totally focused, quiet, and almost centered.
Driving home I remember I don’t need to try so hard. The yoga practice will work its own magic. I just have to stand up there and let the words flow through me. And as I throw hard poses to the kids, I get to practice too. Keep-it-all-together-asana. And keep breathing.
