Swami Niranjan with Bholenath at Rikhia Satyananda Ashram
Taking the children to the ashram can be lots of fun and at the same time can prove a little daunting. It is very important for us as a family to take the children there as part of our journey on the spiritual path. As a sannyasin I am required to be self-reliant so as a sannyasin mother I have to be extra careful to be highly organized and prepared when we go to visit the ashram. I don't want to find myself in a situation where I'm relying on others to get me something I've forgotten. Some things are hard to get hold of, for example, baby panadol at midnight or a bandaid whilst walking along a track. I like to overpack rather than underpack and I try to be as thoughtful as I can. Here is exactly what I take, and like in yoga, working from the gross to the subtle.
Bedding; sheets, blankets, pillows, pillow cases, plastic sheet, towels, hand towels, face washers, picnic blanket to set up outdoor activities or extended meal times on
Toiletries; toothbrush, toothpaste, soap in a container, talcum powder - good for after swimming, suncream, bindis.
First aid; panadol, band-aids, stingoes, any neccessary medication at the time, polaramine - antihistamine, general homeopathics
Activities; often when we go to the ashram it is to assist on a Family Yoga week so it is unnecessary to take a lot of extras. I take the standard 4 early childhood essentials; blocks or lego, pencils and drawing/nature books, dolls and books. Sometimes I will take the portable dvd player but limit the type of dvd's. I don't take the typical children's choices because of the high pitch of the voices - no matter how low the volumn they can still be unkind to the nervous system. I take documentaries like Ganges, March of the Penguins, films like Amelie - items that don't stimulate too much. I use the dvd player when the children are awake enough but are too tired to get along well.
My absolute favourite photo of Swami Niranjan with Rishi Nityabodha ~ Indira's godfather.
Misc; a small lamp, a bedlight, a torch, washing powder, larger water bottle for night time.
Kitchen ware; 2 small spoons, I also take two small chinese rice bowls for the children's meals as I find the bowls at our local ashram are too big and the children become overwhelmed when served a large portion and will often not eat anything. The children are now old enought to stand in line to receive their food - before this I would get two large bowls filled with food, one for me and the second I would portion into the smaller bowls. If we are going for over five days I will take extra protein snacks like tinned tuna, cheese, full cream milk, cashews and almonds and sometimes muesli bars. I take these items in a labelled container that I store in the 'guests' fridge. Our children eat most things and the ashram caters particularly well to children but there is the odd occassion where they turn their nose up at anything.
I find, like most, that if my children are well fed and hydrated they are generally more happy.
Clothing; to suit the season, lots of underwear, swimmers, covered shoes that are easy to slip on and off as we go into class, gum boots, regular boots, a number of hats in case one is accidently left somewhere.
I carry around a basket wherever I go in the ashram these days, it could easily be in the form of a backpack too, this is what is in it; spare dummies, hats, a smaller tube of suncream, mala/rosary, antibacterial wipes, a small pack of pencils, two small drawing pads, tissues, small containers of snacks, fresh fruit, 2 bowls, 2 small spoons, a torch discretely hidden, water bottles, a small box for band-aids and stingoes, my knitting and a book.
When we go to the ashram, Daz and I will take it in turn to go to classes. Sometimes the classes, like kirtan, suit the children and other times, like meditation, they do not. I like to have something to do so I'll often read, knit, do a little silent japa, photograph or simply sit and just try to be.
Yoga Ashrams require you to bring similiar things, so this list would suit most ashrams around the world.
When our children were very young we would take them to the ashram as often as possible but when they hit the toddler age we kept them at home as it was too hard for us and them to be in an ashram environment. Indira is at the age now where she is able to make friends, is happy to go off to classes by herself and is really pleased when she befriends the 'big' girls who are ever so happy to have someone admiring them.
If you wanted to adapt this list and make it as your own, consider your personal needs and likes, the number and ages of your children. I have written it to assist those parents and carers who wish to take their families to a yoga ashram that accomodates children.
Do you take your children to an ashram? Would you like to? What do you take?
