This blog post is written by Lisa Letzkus (she/her), Appleseed’s Imaginative Yoga Storyteller, German-Speaking / Fantasievolle Yoga - Geschichtenerzählerin! Find Lisa in the Appleseed Virtual Studio teaching Kids Yoga in German!
What Lisa wants for the next generation:
Hello Appleseed Community!
Thinking about my greatest hopes for the next generation is very relevant to me right now as I am stepping into motherhood myself. Hoping doesn’t seem enough to me so I would like to pivot the question to what I as a grown-up or caregiver can do in order for my hopes for the next generation to come true.
My greatest hope is that we will listen to the children from our heart, as their voices are equally important so that they can become masters of sharing their magic without any judgment or control. I recognize that children come to us with all the knowledge they need. They are seeds that have all the information within and they know what they will unfold into. I hope they will be nurtured and provided with a healthy, compassionate, and empathetic environment with the intent of actualizing their true and resilient self, so that they will know how to move through life themselves rather than having the pressure of systems or expectations mold them into something they are not.
I hope that the children will be respected as people with great potential. I hope that all labels will be removed from them and instead of telling children what is wrong with them, I hope that they will be able to experience the world in their own way, especially if this will be different from our own way. I hope that they will be treated with honesty and transparency and that they will be taught how to process emotions, how to meditate, and how to enable them to do this personal work for themselves instead of us trying to do it for them. I hope we grown-ups will always remember and continuously heal our inner child so that we don’t project our topics or traumas on to them and let them do what they truly came to do.
I hope children are being constantly encouraged to speak their truth and to share their ideas and to think outside the box. I hope we will guide them towards peace and love, recognizing and communicating when a mistake was made, being able to articulate boundaries, and being able to say no when it feels right.
With Love,
Lisa
Imaginative Yoga Storyteller, German-Speaking / Fantasievolle Yoga - Geschichtenerzählerin
About Lisa:
Lisa is passionate about teaching through free play, exploration, self-regulation, mindfulness, and relaxation. Her kids classes are always connected to nature, creative, active, fun, and convey meaningful messages through stories, songs, and props. Lisa holds 95 hours of kids yoga training, is a mediation trainer and a German curriculum certified Elementary and Highschool teacher specializing in science and languages. She has over 8 years of experience teaching in the classroom at schools and universities, as well as leading camps for children and teenagers, in Germany, Australia, South Africa, and Canada. Lisa is currently expecting her first son, set to arrive in May 2021!