Receive is one of those words I have to think about before I write it. You know, “i before e, except after c.” (Really, I have to do this every time.) But after doing Yoga (pretty much for the first time) the other day, it took on a whole new meaning. Our TIC summer book group which is reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert spent the morning experiencing India as we had a private yoga session with Jeanne Russell of Portsmouth Center for Yoga and the Arts and then enjoyed a lunch at Kittery Estates.
One thing Jeanne kept coming back to was the idea of receiving. After we came out of a move she gave us a moment to pause saying, “…and we receive…,” at which time I would close my eyes and feel my body tingle amidst my surroundings. I had a sense of accomplishment. My whole body was happy to have been cared for, stretched and noticed. Jeanne went on to say that she likes to give people the opportunity to receive their movements so that they are not moving and rushing right into the next move. This truly resonated with me.
In my whirlwind of a life I need to learn to pause and receive. I have been experimenting with this for the last few days: after a workout, at church, after playing with my kids, after getting off Twitter, after finishing a meal, and I have to say, there is something to it!
So, of course, I now must relate this to education since all that we do relates to our wonderful profession of learning and teaching.
At my school, our motto is Respect, Responsibility and Reflection. The last word is something that many teachers could work on in their classrooms. I know I can! Each year I set out with great intentions to have my students reflect on all the great learning they do throughout the day: in journals, with each other, in writing prompts, blogging, letter writing, talking out, share time, etc. But the fact is that this rarely happens on a day to day basis. So, I think we can at least do it on Friday afternoons to reflect on our week. But then some activity happens, they run late in another class or we simply run out of time. Ugh!
But this idea of receiving is different. Receiving is a form of reflection and it takes, seriously, 10 seconds. Imagine giving your students a moment to pause and think to themselves about what they accomplished during an activity, what they did while out at recess or collecting themselves after lunch. Putting the word receive into their reflection vocabulary could be very powerful and practical. It has been for me. I don’t need a journal to do it or another person or any object for that matter. All I need is a moment to take one or two deep breaths. And as I make this type of reflection something tangible my own life, then I can make it real for my students.
Maybe I’m cookoo, maybe I’m idealistic, maybe I’m having a hippie-flower-love moment, but allowing the opportunity for my students to receive their actions throughout the day as they work and play and learn is something I’m going to make a point to do this coming year.
What do you think of this idea of “receiving?”
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Elizabeth Peterson has devoted her life to education and to reaching out to other teachers who want to remain inspired. Mrs. Peterson teaches fourth grade in Amesbury, Massachusetts and is the host of www.theinspiredclassroom.com. She holds an M.Ed. in Education, “Arts and Learning” and is currently enrolled in a C.A.G.S. program through Plymouth State University with a focus in “Arts Leadership and Learning.” Elizabeth is author of Inspired by Listening, a teacher resource book that includes a method of music integration she has developed and implemented into her own teaching. She teaches workshops and courses on the integration of the arts into the curriculum, leads an arts integration PLC (PLaiC) and is adjunct faculty for PSU. Mrs. Peterson believes there is a love of active, integrated learning in all children and from their enthusiasm, teachers can shape great opportunities to learn. 
I have r e c e i v e d it, and it feels right…
I have such a hard time with the receiving piece myself and just being still enough to let it happen – I totally relate to that part of Eat, Pray, Love when Elizabeth is having trouble meditating – But I do have aspirations of having my kids reflect on the week, and write/draw about it in a family journal that gets sent home each Friday. That is one of my teaching ambitions this year – more teacher and student self-reflection!
I love this simple idea of receiving as reflection. I have been trying to do this more myself though haven’t thought of this word as what i have been doing. I will share this idea and pay it forward.
What an excellent concept! I don’t think kids have enough time to reflect. And they have their whole lives in front of them. This is part of the reason I love working with teenagers – their futures are so bright and they have so much to look forward to, but they have also experienced so much already in their short lives that they have a lot to reflect upon. I plan to make this part of my week this year.
R e c e i v i n g,
your writing was a gift for the beginning of this day, Elizabeth!
Empowering, inspiring, and soothing,
Cheryl
I love how you related yoga to education. I usually practice yoga before my run (when I have enough time to do both) and I find it does help me get into the right mindset so that I am accepting of my surroundings and ready to accomplish my goals. I have never thought about how it relates to working with students though. However, now that you mention it, whenever we let them talk to their elbow partner about something we just talked about as a class, I believe this is our version of teaching them to “receive” the information before we go further. Thanks for the great connection.
That was wonderful to be reminded of that wonderful lesson from yoga. Receiving is such a wonderful concept that can be used any time in life, if we just take a moment to ponder and enjoy. Elizabeth, thank you so much for that reminder!
Ladies – Thank you for your comments! It always amazes me how much teaching is interconnected to the variety of experiences we have. Hearing from you really is motivating to me and I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspectives! Have a wonderful day… as they say, “Namaste.”