Yoga, Meditation and the Reggio Emilia Philosophy

Reflections from HeartSeed’s presentation at The Wonder of Learning exhibit at BU/Wheelock

Stepping into The Wonder of Learning-  

Reggio Emilia is a small village in Italy and home to the Reggio Emilia educational approach.  After the destruction of World War II the people of this village had a strong desire for change and hope for a world free of oppression, injustice and inequality. A group of women created a school which held the view that all children are full of potential and possibility. This bold step required society to think differently about childhood and fostered a valuing of children and their capabilities. The role of the teacher was no longer to teach from a prescribed curriculum but to observe, listen, and provide children with opportunities to explore their interests.  The approach is child-led, and the experience is a collaboration.

You might already be seeing some lovely connections between the ancient practices of yoga and meditation and the post WWll philosophy of education. A few of the themes and qualities that we explored during my presentation at The Wonder of Learning were: Beginner’s Mind, Wonder, and Deep Listening.

• Beginner’s Mind in the Indo-Tibetan traditions refers to our ‘original mind’, the teacher within, deeply knowing. Beginner’s mind is not attached to experiences or beliefs and does not judge. Experiencing things with freshness as if we are experiencing them for the first time, with a sense of wonder, comes naturally for children. The practices of yoga and meditation point the way, encouraging beginner’s mind, connecting easefully with Reggio’s image of the child.

• Wonder, the curiosity to know something, is a quality of beginner’s mind. It is also a central value of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Reggio holds that children are full of potential, competent, and capable of constructing knowledge. Children have not spent a lifetime entangled in the distractions, noise, and the everyday challenges of being human. The practices of yoga and meditation are designed to keep us awake, offering children the skills and practices to carry beginner’s mind and a sense of wonder with them through childhood and into adulthood.

• Deep Listening is a key ingredient in Reggio’s ‘role of the teacher’, and is naturally nurtured within the child. “Deep Listening involves listening from a deep, receptive, and caring place in oneself, to deeper and often subtler levels of meaning and intention in the other person.” (Deep Listening by David Rome) It is essential to the development of awareness.

Here is an excerpt from The Pedagogy of Listening by Carla Rinaldi:

“Listening is sensitive to the patterns that connect, to that which connects us to others; abandoning ourselves to the conviction that our understanding and our own being are but small parts of a broader, integrated knowledge that holds the universe together.

Listening, then, as a metaphor for having the openness and sensitivity to listen and be listened to - listening not just with our ears, but with all our senses.

Listening to the hundred, the thousand languages, symbols, and codes we use to express ourselves and communicate, and with which life expresses itself and communicates to those who know how to listen.”

After exploring these themes, educators participated in a series of practices and exercises that connected them with their sense of wonder, and required them to listen deeply, to the sense of calm, stillness, and silence, that allows beginner’s mind to shine forth.

With a taste of awareness they stepped into The Wonder of Learning to experience it with freshness, as if for the first time.

Thank you to The Wonder of Learning, Boston for sponsoring this workshop and recognizing the important connections between these practices and the Reggio philosophy.

HeartSeed - Meaning and Symbolism

The bee knows the essence of the flower is honey.

While you can’t see it, it is known that the sprout resides in the seed.

Years ago I attended a teaching by the venerable Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, a female Tibetan lineage holder, who shared these simple and profound images to point the way, to cut through doubt, to realize that innate brilliance lies within each of us. At that time HeartSeed had already come into being as the name I’d given to the work I was developing for children around the ancient practices of yoga and meditation. I’d held it closely for so long, like a mother nurturing the life in her womb. The time will come, as Jestün Khandro Rinpoche said, when you “surrender to the honey in the flower”. HeartSeed refers to the seed of wisdom and compassion that resides within each of us. Yoga and meditation offer the teachings and practices that nurture the way to the brilliance within, allowing it to flourish and shine forth.

Creating a symbol for HeartSeed, making visible an image of something that can’t be seen, was an exciting challenge. Bringing a sense of playful, childlike joy, and honoring the integrity of the practices was my goal. The result is a logo that is simple and profound in symbolism. Let me introduce you to the HeartSeed logo.

• The circular mandala shape represents the child’s arms in meditation, hands meeting at the bottom of the circle. The mandala is an ancient symbol which in Sanskrit means circle. It is recognized as a symbol of wholeness and is often used in meditation practice.

• The stem of the flower represents the path. There is a journey to follow when learning anything. The practices, lessons, and skills are developed and introduced for children when they are ready. Each skill builds on the previous so that the child can progress at their own pace and receive just what they need along the way.

• The three leaves represent the three principles that make up the HeartSeed program, Body, Mind, Heart:  

  • The Body incorporates yoga practices which help to develop the child’s relationship with, and awareness of the body in a healthy way.

  • The Mind practice focuses on various meditation exercises including mindfulness and concentration meditation designed to help the child gain awareness and understanding of their own mind.

  • The Heart refers to an individual’s conduct and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all beings. As children develop an understanding of these practices and begin to incorporate them into their own lives, they come to see the ripple effect. While these practices benefit the child in profound ways, they support the development of individuals who have a positive, lasting effect on the beings and world around them.

• The bloom and the rays represent the fruition of your practice.  The three principles Body, Mind, Heart are united to form the petals of the bloom. They are bright in color like the sun, shining forth, beyond the edge of the mandala. The rays, like the sun’s rays, reach far and wide for the benefit of all.

• Earth and Water can be seen at the bottom as the diagonal mountain line on the left, and line of the sea on the right. Our wisdom-compassion light pushes forth through the depths of the mountain, and the turbulent waves of the sea, with resilience and knowing.

• Yin-Yang formed by the line of the stem through the center of the circle represents the sense of balance required to achieve harmony.

• The HeartSeed is ‘seen’ in the unseen essence of this logo symbol. The heart center is located in the middle of the arms of the child in meditation posture. Like the gold held in silt, the honey in the flower, the sprout in the seed, it resides within the child, already shining forth.

While it often feels that we live in a world that can be hectic, loud, demanding, and not always honoring the innate goodness within our children, these practices provide them with the skills to cut through the noise, develop perspective and awareness.  When able to embrace the present moment with truth, compassion, and confidence their HeartSeed shines brightly.

A very special thank you to Julia Talcott, who listened so patiently and carefully to me as she brought shape, color and life to the image, and to Janet Bemis, who thoughtfully gathered my words and images into this beautiful website.  For further reference you can see more of their work here:

www.juliatalcott.com

www.tothepointgraphicdesign.com