Yoga Dharma of Parenting: A Q&A Series with Rajendra Ji

All parents wish to create a positive environment at home to help their kids achieve success. But how is that success defined? Getting good grades? Steering kids into the ‘right’ jobs and material success? While financial security is important, there are greater goals too. The world needs more leaders and doers who will drive the advancement and application of wisdom that uplifts people and the planet.It is not uncommon to see the child of a cultured family giving up their “parental” values and giving in to peer pressure or surrendering their self-identity to shallow or distorted media stereotypes. Many children have high IQs, rarer are those with high EQ. Growing up in privilege, the rarest are the ones with high AQ or adversity quotient – hence the focus on resiliency.

One type of parent completely cocoons their child from ‘negative’ outside influences. Can a fearful parent result in a fearless child?

Another type of parent is unwilling to protect, preserve, promote and practice what has given them strength. In the name of ‘freedom’ for their children, nothing is preserved, promoted or practised. Can a rudderless parent result in a child that has clarity and direction?

Despite their mutual ‘best’ efforts, children and their parents are often misaligned, which leads to misunderstandings that are unpleasant or destructive. 

To bridge this gap, and have the conversation, we have started a ‘Yoga Dharma of Parenting’ Q&A session with our Yogacharya and Guru, Shri. RajendraJi.

We encourage parents and children to ask questions – by sending your question in writing to vasudevakriyayoga@gmail.com or (more preferably) recording your question on video and sending it to the above email address. We will be professionally recording the videos at the kids’ yoga class on Sundays from 5-6 pm in Glen Waverley.

You may find the first series of videos here, covering questions such as:

Episode 1: Yoga is to align and connect, dharma is to sustain. What does it mean for a parent and child to be aligned with and connected? How can they each understand each other better and have an enduringly positive relationship through the ups and downs of life?

Episode 1: Yoga of Parenting: A Q&A series with Rajendraji

Episode 2: How does this change situationally when the child is below 10, a “ten-ager”, “teenager”, young adult, and as they commence the path to grihastashram themselves?

Episode 2: Yoga of Parenting: A Q&A series with Rajendraji

Episode 3: How does a parent live up to and credibly embody the qualities that he/she wants for his/her child? What qualities should the parent and child focus on?

Episode 3: Yoga of Parenting: A Q&A series with Rajendraji

Episode 4: What is the fine line between stifling attachment (in the way Dhritarashtra was attached to Duryodhana) and inspirational detachment (in the way Krishna was a friendly father figure to Arjuna?)

Episode 4: Yoga of Parenting: A Q&A series with Rajendraji

Episode 5: Parents cannot be around forever to drive/regulate/sustain their children nor can they follow them everywhere. How does a parent create ‘svadhyaya’: self-drive/regulating/sustaining behaviours in their children, so the child can survive and thrive anywhere?