Meditating with Teens

January 11, 2019 in Hazzan Asa Fradkin

A couple of teens rushed up to me at the last second and asked if I still had space in the class. Pleasantly surprised, I scribbled their names down on the same day registration form in my hand.

They wanted to sign up for the Yoga and Meditation as part of the inter session classes the Religious School is offering in January.

It’s the second year we are offering the class, this time I’m teaching with a talented yoga teacher in the area.

Meditation can be challenging with teens. It requires vulnerability and self awareness; concepts that are right at the epicenter of teenage development.

We meditated on Jewish identity and responsibility, the things that make us Jews, and what we can undertake during this month to embrace our Jewish practice in a tangible way.

We also took time to journal some of these thoughts and some shared aspects of their Jewish identity with the group.

We talked about the Parsha and how Moses finds the courage to overcome both his Egyptian upbringing and his speech impediment and practiced Yoga poses that provided a vehicle for our own calm and strength, practiced in deep stretching and breathing.

In the coming weeks we will delve into each Parsha, concluding with the Ten Commandments, and how we hear God’s voice.

I just wanted to give you a glimpse of 12 teenagers in a circle, breathing together, meditating on their Jewish selves and practicing their Judaism.

For the parents who sent them, Thank You, for the rest of us, they should serve as an inspiration to us to keep practicing, breathing, stretching into our Jewish selves.