As many of you are aware, I am a yoga instructor at the yoga studio that I co-own in Spicer.  And for the last past nine months, I have been teaching a yoga class that is just for kids.  In this class, not only do we “do yoga”, but we also discuss some very relevant and important life issues that our little ones face on a day-to-day basis.

In our discussion, a common theme that the young ones bring up nearly every week is the negativity that they encounter, in some form, on an everyday basis.  More specifically, the kids want to talk about the disagreements they have had with their peers, bullying on the playground and in the hallways, perceived injustice in the classroom, troubles at home, and their own unsettling thoughts and feelings about themselves and others.

After allowing these sweet children time to verbalize and process their concerns amongst themselves, they are always encouraged to look for the value of the hardship, whether that is the lesson that was learned, the positive intention behind their actions despite the outcome, how they may have done well in an otherwise difficult situation, or something else entirely that can highlight the silver lining amongst the clouds.

In these weekly conversations, the children and I regularly discuss the power of both positive and negative energy and the impact that our thoughts, feelings, and actions have on ourselves and others, whether we realize it or not.    And so to bring to life the impact that our energies have on the world around us, we conducted a bit of a science experiment for an entire month.

In our experiment, we took an apple.  And we cut that apple into halves.  One half was labeled The Good Apple, the other half, The Bad Apple.

We then wrapped them the apple halves in plastic to preserve them somewhat, and we talk to talked to them for a month. To The Good Apple, we said only things that were kind, loving, supportive and encouraging.  To The Bad Apple, we talked trash, making insensitive and disparaging comments, and directin any and all negative energy that we could muster up toward that poor Bad Apple.

We did this every day, for four weeks.

And what do you think happened?    The Bad Apple, or the recipient of our negativity, rotted significantly faster than The Good Apple (If you are a skeptic, I would be delighted and honored to show you photos).

And what an enlightening lesson this was for the kids and I!  How powerful it was to see, right before our very eyes, the impact that the energy we bring forth, the thoughts that we think, and the words that we say, really do hold tremendous power in the way that they affect ourselves and others.

Let this be a lesson to us all:  Do good, or at the very least, do no harm.  Love, and be loved.  Take care, and be well.