Turned out I LOVED to read! By Alison Cramer

December is the month of Saints and Sages…who in YOUR life opened your eyes in a new way, said something you had heard a million times but in a way that finally made SENSE, or challenged, supported, believed in you (even when you doubted or messed up) or inspired you? I bow to ALL of the Saints and Sages and Teachers I have learned from throughout my life, but today I wanted to pay tribute to Judy Hall, my teacher in first and second grade.

When I was in kindergarten, it was the 70’s, and education theories were very experimental. In the beginning of the school year, our teacher announced that we were going to learn to read this year. She went on to say that there was a “Reading Table” stationed in the corner of the classroom, with a few teacher’s aides parked there throughout the day. We were expected to head over at some point during our day and learn a few new letters, sound out a few new words, stumble through a few new sentences. I have never been very good with unscheduled time. My Vata mind needs clear outlines and daily structure, otherwise I procrastinate, talk myself out of, or just plain forget to do things. And besides, why would I head to the (boring) reading table when there was a sandbox, a toy chest, nap time, or finger painting? And the books they used were so silly and uninteresting-fill in the word c_t, with a picture of a whiskered feline next to it, or p_n, with a drawing of a tiny sharp object next to it-you get the idea. Many months later we finished kindergarten and headed to first grade in our new school. On the first day, our teacher, Mrs. Hall, asked us to hand in our workbooks so she could see how far along we were. Most kids were halfway through the second book, some were onto the third. I remember being incredibly embarrassed as I handed in book one, in which I had completed maybe six or seven pages. Mrs. Hall gave it back to me the next day, and I shuffled back to my desk, swearing to myself that I would catch up. But it was still difficult for me to muster any enthusiasm for the cat and the pin. Mrs. Hall never called me out on it, she just gently encouraged me, telling me that if I got past the first book or two, there were great stories awaiting me. But she had some other tricks up her sleeve.

She had her husband come in one day and drop off a lot of wood. It stayed in a big pile in the back of the classroom until the weekend. We left school on friday afternoon, plaguing her with questions, but she wouldn’t budge on an answer. When we arrived monday morning, we discovered that Mrs. Hall and her husband had spent the weekend building us a “Reading Tower”. It was a loft, you had to climb a ladder to get into it, and it had a shag rug (it was the 70’s), a bunch of pillows and on the side were shelves full of books. It became my FAVORITE place to go-curled up in the corner on pillows, cozy and warm. (so good for Vata!) I stumbled through the first few books, and then discovered those stories she had promised around book 5. And then there was no stopping me…all I wanted to do was climb the ladder and snuggle up with my favorite Saints and Sages-Mrs. Pigglewiggle, Dorrie the little witch, and Sam and Ann and their cat and friend Walter in those original books. Somewhere around book 15, they started having adventures that led them on Greek Mythology type quests-it was awesome! Turned out I LOVED to read!

Mrs. Hall also brought in gerbils and guinea pigs and had us each take turns taking them home for the weekend to care for them, clean their cages, be responsible for them. She let us make pudding in class, which we were then encouraged to create finger paintings with on wax paper. She laughed a lot and there was a lot of time in the back of the classroom, not at our desks, having discussions about our subjects, instead of lectures. She brought in documentaries for us to watch and music for us to listen to. She smelled good. She wore cool clothes. She permed her hair into an afro. She made learning accessible, interesting, and FUN.

She set up a Teaching Model for me that has always stayed with me. I have always been drawn to teachers who ask us to learn differently, who use creativity and laughter and a group dynamic. When I discovered Laughing Lotus, I knew THIS was the community I belonged in, and Dana and Jasmine were the Teachers I needed to learn from…and when I teach Ayurveda, I try to bring the same excitement to my students that I feel for it. I try to lead discussions, not discourses. I make it interactive. That’s why my Vata workshop this Saturday, December 8th, is from 2:30-7:30. We need time to talk, to cook, to eat, to hang out! Because I love y’all. Because I love Ayurveda. Because I want you to be just as excited about it as I am. I am grateful to all the Saints and Sages who have passed this Sacred Knowledge on to me, and I want to pass it on in a way that feels loving and fun and easy to access.

I hope to see you there!
Namaste,
Ali

To find out more about Ali’s upcoming workshop, Click Here!