Wellesley Townsman

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Anne-Marie Smolski, Townsman Staff

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Wellesley teacher/author shows teens how yoga can change their outlook and lives

Most people have heard that yoga is good for the body and mind, but Wellesley resident Mary Kaye Chryssicas says it also does wonders for spreading kindness and laughter.

In addition to teaching yoga classes for children and teens, she's spreading that message in her new book, "Breathe: Yoga for Teens."

Chryssicas, who is the mother of three, said competition in the classroom and on the playing fields can really take its toll on kids, and that negative reality TV is training teens to exclude others, to be hateful, to be rude and to be inconsiderate. What's more, children are bombarded with technology, quick fixes and IMing (instant messaging). She quipped that one of these days there will be IM Anonymous, to help them get off IM.

She feels that yoga is the way to respond to this negativity. "If you're watching these shows about gossiping and about hurting others' feelings, it's only natural that you start to behave that way," she said. She tells the teens in her classes, "If there are friends that do not bring out the best in you and are putting you down, I don't care how popular they are, I don't care how beautiful they are, you need to find a way to move on."

Chryssicas believes teens need to find other kids who appreciate them for who they are and stop being fixated on popularity. She said by senior year, the popular girls are the ones who are kind to everyone, and they are the ones who end up being the girls that are always respected.

"I personally feel that in five to 10 years, yoga will be mandatory in the schools. I think it's going to be a response to our cultural society," she said. Already, she's conducting classes at Wellesley elementary and middle schools, with Kid's Time at Bates and Upham schools, and at private schools in the area.

She's also being asked to do yoga for Wellesley Little League and other sports programs.

Also the author of "I Love Yoga," a book for younger children, Chryssicas said she wrote "Breathe" with everyone in mind, but especially teens. People just need a way to let go of the negativity that surrounds them, she said, "and yoga is the way to get there."

"Breathe: Yoga for Teens" is accompanied by a DVD. The kids who are pictured in the book have been doing yoga for many, many years, and Chryssicas said that it shows in their personalities and their bodies. "These girls could care less what their peers are thinking," she said. "It's not even an issue. They are just focused on their interests and their passions, and that's what will attract the boys and everything else which they are desperate to have," she said. "These girls feel good about themselves."

But "Breathe" is for students at all levels. In the book and accompanying DVD, Chryssicas talks the reader through the best poses and practices to build the strength, confidence and peace of mind they need to navigate through high school and beyond.

And humor also has an important role in the book. Interspersed among the instructions, diagrams and photos for a wide variety of poses are little nuggets of wit and wisdom from "Mary Kaye's diary" that give the reader a window into seeing what it was like for Chryssicas when she was growing up. Noting that lots of things get discussed during yoga class, Chryssicas said that it's more interesting to tell a story her students can relate to. That's where "Mary Kaye's diary" comes from. When the reader sees the humor and somebody is saying it's OK to make mistakes and laugh about it, it puts things in perspective. She also offers tips and techniques from everything to losing weight, to coping with a headache, to overcoming shyness.

The size of a medium-size notebook, "Breathe" features a riot of colorful pages and beautiful photos. It even includes a yoga journal. Included is all sorts of sage advice in the form of quotes, from everyone from Buddha to Norman Vincent Peale to Indira Gandhi.

Chryssicas said that after a yoga session, people experience an incredible emotional release. There's a mind/body connection, where if the body is healthy, the mind is going to feel healthy; and if the mind is healthy, the body is going to feel healthy. Yoga allows the body and mind to live in harmony, she said.

Her message for teens, both in her classes and in her book, is about being positive and living life with enthusiasm. She said that will attract great relationships. She also wants teens to know that there are ways to easily reduce stress. Chryssicas said that when you learn how to coordinate the breath with the movement, it has a way of calming the mind and the movements are releasing tensions in the body.

Furthermore, she said, yoga helps to change the thought process, so that one is being mindful, more compassionate and positive. Meditation plays an important part in practicing yoga as well. She said that through meditation, even if it's only 10 to 15 minutes a day, and focusing on breathing, one's purpose and what they need to do next becomes obvious. That, sometimes, can be a hard concept to understand, she explained, because it can seem like a waste of time.

"We never make time for stillness," she said. "We always make time to fill our day and check it off."

What she wants is for her students to live in the present. "People who live in the past are often depressed," she said. "People who live in the future are often anxious. But people who live in the present are always happy."

Speaking for herself, she said, "After yoga, no one can rock me."

"Breathe: Yoga for Teens" is available wherever books are sold. To learn more about Mary Kaye Chryssicas and "Breathe," visit kiddk.com. Her Web site is buddhafulkids.com.

Her upcoming appearances are: Saturday, Feb. 3, from 1-2 p.m. at Prana Power Yoga in Newton, where she will be teaching a preteen class; and Wellesley Booksmith, Central Street, on Sunday, Feb. 4, from 1-2 p.m.