Authors Varuna Shunglu and Ken Spillman tapped into ancient wisdom and made it relevant for teenagers in a new book 'More Than I Am: Yoga Wisdom for 21st Century Teens. Here’s more about the book…
Not long ago, terms like ‘stress’, ‘anxiety’, ‘grief’ were associated with grown-ups. But look around and you will find that the teenagers and children are no stranger to anxiety and feel pressured.
The teens
are stressed about trying to fit in, scoring top grades and have a strained
relation with food. What about exercise and running around with friends?
Really, who has time for that?
It’s a tough
situation with a simple solution. “Yoga, mindfulness, breath,” says Varuna
Shunglu. Shunglu with Ken Spillman has co-authored More Than I Am – Yoga Wisdom for 21st Century Teens.
An international
yoga teacher, Shunglu says “More Than I Am
was born from a deep need to speak directly to kids, giving them tools to
build resilience and a sense of self.”
The tone of
the book is not preachy and deliberately so. “As a writer of books for young
people, the biggest mistake you can make is to ‘talk down’. Kids hate that! –
and they are justified in hating it because they are not developing
intelligence… They already have that!” adds Spillman.
The book
published by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks includes quotes, illustrations,
photographs, recipes, Q&A section and activities. Telling us how More Than I Am was conceptualised,
Shunglu, who is also a wellness entrepreneur, says, “Ken and I worked for over
a year on putting the book together with illustrations et al. I was working as
a health counselor with a school in Kolkata during Covid and speaking to
parents and kids online everyday helped us add a lot of real life challenges
individuals and families went through at the time in the book. I was working
with special educators and we were on call with parents and children of
different grades from kindergarten to 12th for different issues -- from low
energy, to grief etc. Counseling with the team really opened my eyes to the
subtleties that affect children and the great impact our words and actions can
have on them.”
Shunglu and
Spillman discussed topics that were close to their hearts such as mental health
specifically focusing on children, mindfulness and breath. “Often their
experiences at home and school leave children feeling unloved and anxious. In
the book we have included many parent-children activities that can build trust and
establish a sense of safety between the child and their environment, beginning
by helping them understand themselves first,” she adds.
Author-speaker
Spillman observes, “Looking back, it’s clear to me that I suffered from anxiety
and depression as a teenager, even though people saw me as confident and
successful. Sport was important to me and from that I learnt many useful traits
– relaxation, mental rehearsal, focus, goal setting, discipline, the concept of
personal bests. Later, as a swimming coach, I observed teens closely and had a
lot of in-depth conversations with them.”
More Than I Am has been designed in such a manner
that it can be integrated into a school/ class curriculum from 8-12 years of
age. Although it may seem that the book is addressed to urban teenagers, the
author says that the tips shared in it are commonly practised in non-metros
families.
One of the
activities in the book is a 21 day pledge to get the children to focus on their
daily task coupled with ‘abhyasa’ and ‘meal’. When asked what sort of
activities have been planned to get more teens to be a part of the health
movement and stay consistent, the author says, “We have actually had some
really amazing test runs and we are planning a full-fledged Sankalpa challenge
soon.”
(This interview first appeared in Dimdima magazine)
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