Grace

It all begins with communication. Today I led a communication workshop for all of the Africa Yoga Project Teachers. We focused on what culture around communication the teachers want to cultivate. 

They came up with an awesome communication manifesto:

Openness 

Trust

Non-judgemental communication-acceptance

Generous listening

Clear and simple communication

Requests instead of commands or demands

Love

Compassion

Realizing that different people have different ways of communicating

Patience

Communicating in a fair way, not treating folks differently based on their role or level of power in the Africa Yoga Project

I'll be following up with a few teachers to offer them a conflict resolution training and set them up as mediators to help resolve conflicts as they arise. 

Then we headed to one of our favorite places, Gracious School. Jeff has taught music there for the past two years during our visits and ambassadorship with AYP and I teach yoga when I'm at Gracious.  The children love Jeff and his musical games. He's an awesome music maker and teacher. 

"You put your stomach in, you put your stomach out", Jeff's rendition of the hokey pokey.

And we reunited with Teacher Happiness who is the head of Gracious School.

 And this one, this little girl named Marcy is my heart. I was so happy to see her. I fell in love with her last year and when she saw me this year she walked up and said, "hi" with the sweetest smile on her face. Love, love, love Marcy.

"Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors."-Wm. Paul Young