266 • PART III: YogA foR EduCATIng foR SElf-REgulATIon And EngAgEmEnT
greens and browns. Your feet crunch on the pine needles and you hear birds chirping. As you walk,
you see little meadows that open up to sunshine and wildflowers. The flowers are in all colors,
mostly your favorite color. You hear water and look to find it. You see a big river to your right just
over a hill. Funny, you still hear water. You look and there is another river to your left. You keep
hiking onward looking for The Worry Tree. You see it, up ahead, where the two rivers join, The
Worry Tree.
Its bark is old and strong, a deep dark, brown. The bark seems as if it was the holder and protector
of strength. Its branches are bigger than anything you have ever seen. Moss is growing all over the
tree and the tree’s roots descend deep into the earth. You notice that the The Worry Tree is alive. Its
branches move like arms.
You have heard the stories about The Worry Tree. You have heard how you can give her your
worries and she holds them for you as long as you need her to. You decide you would like to give the
Worry Tree some of your worries to hold. You think carefully and pick a few really heavy worries.
You take your worries in your hands and reach your hands up to the tree. The tree’s branches extend
toward your outreached hands. You stand on your toes and stretch your worries toward the tree’s
branches. The tree’s leaves open and wrap around your worries and pulled them in tight. The Worry
Tree draws the worries into her grand branches with tiny branches and thick, strong leaves wrapping
around your worries tightly sealing them in, safe and sound. You feel a little less weight on your
shoulders and in your heart.
There is a sign there that says you can leave your worry with the tree as long as you want to. You
decide to leave them there for now, until you are ready to get them back. It feels good to know your
worries are safe. You do not need to hold them all of the time. You walk back through the flowers, the
ferns, the forest, the meadows, and the fields. You come all the way back to the present moment. You
begin to bring yourself to awareness of your breath. You notice the feeling of your feet on the floor and
your body in your chair. Take a big, deep breath in and a big exhalation out. One more time, breathe
in, and breathe out. Slowly open your eyes as you count to five.
Source: Adapted from Cook-Cottone, The Worry Tree, http://www.thyogabag.blogspot.com.
mEdITATIon
Meditation is an integral part of yoga. In Chapter 6 the formal practice of meditation
has been covered in detail including: the process of meditation, finding insight through
meditation, getting seated, visualizations, basic meditation practices, the meditating
pebble practice, breath awareness, breathing buddies, body scan, the calming mind jar,
the sensory sloth practice, mindful eating, walking meditations, and the loving kind-
ness meditation. Chapter 6 also includes meditation work for older students includ-
ing: the seeking in the wrong places reflection; the space between meditation; and the
soften, soothe allow meditation. Finally, Chapter 6 provides tips for home practice
and how to write your own home practice script. In this section, I have added a few
techniques described in yoga books for children and youth that were not covered in
Chapter 6.