Thinking out loud

Tomorrow I join a couple of friends bright and early to teach some yoga classes at SF Juvi. We did this back in June, and I guess it was successful because we're doing it again.
The classes are unusual. The kids file into a gym all wearing the same color shorts and t-shirts (last time there was green, yellow, purple, gray...but probably not the main gang colors of red and blue), and shoes. They don't know what the hell they're getting into, but last time they were pretty receptive and it went at least as well as could be expected.

I'm not too worried about the sequencing of the classes I'll teach, though I did give it a good amount of thought. What I'm trying to be very prepared for is giving a brief introduction to yoga before the class. The sections are only 45 minutes long and I want to give as much of that time as possible to my main asana goals of giving the kids a bit of a workout, some challenges and some conscious quiet time in their bodies. I figure that if these kids are stuck in Juvi all day they're not really getting a lot of exercise, and thus the movement and challenges (the challenges are also to prove to skeptical young men and women that yoga isn't a bunch of stretching and relaxation), but also a safe place to find calm and relax. It's somewhat of a challenge because it's in a gym with loud florescent lights buzzing overhead, and the supervisors of the kids (most of whom look like they could use a lot of exercise themselves) sit back in chairs and watch. Last time one of the guys sat and talked on his cell phone during the final relaxation: that was some weak sauce. But whatever, it doesn't really matter. We just do what we can.

But how to say/write something concise about yoga? My sophomore year compostition and rhetoric teacher in high school called me an obtuse writer, and I'd agree--that's also the way I tend to think: wide angles, nothing narrow and sharp. So when I think of a subject--what's yoga?--I really start to spin in my head.
"Yoga is a lot of things to a lot of people. On a broader scale it's a practice about getting to know yourself, but as we're teaching it today it's primarily a physical practice. So you can get to know yourself by seeing if you can touch your toes. We're going to start with a sequence of movements called sun salutations that are designed to warm up the main muscle groups in the body... Please come to standing at the top of your mat with your hands in prayer in front of your chest."

What I'd love to explain to them (though let's be honest: none of them may really want to hear it) is that yoga is not just an ancient practice, but myriad practices that happen to include making these funny shapes with our bodies. While making funny shapes with our bodies, a more important thing is happening, which is paying attention to one's breath, and making conscious movements with the body. The practice works with releasing, controlling and observing energy in the body, with the ultimate goal of balancing and quieting. This is where my wheels really start to spin and things get complicated. And I'd greatly prefer to keep things simple. So, another take: the asana practice is about strengthening and opening the physical body, with a general aim of liberating the movement of the spine.

Wheels will continue to spin. More to come.