In the photos below, Ishani Naidu, long-time student of Acharya Shunya, conducts storytelling sessions with her book, The Song At The Heart Of The River, illustrated by Kalyani Ganapathy, for children in schools in various parts of India.
Through activities described in the book, the children giggle at the bubbly mess happening if they used a whole bottle of shampoo to wash their hair, and overflow with laughter imagining how yucky it would be like if they never wiped their nose when it was runny.
Ishani introduces this playful game to explore what too much, not enough and just right looks like in different situations. Moderation and balance in all things rises out of the conversation as an ideal we should aim for.
This intuitive health recommendation from Ayurveda resonates with the children’s inner wisdom. Parents observing the session come away with a method of setting healthy boundaries around screen time, junk food, outdoor play, etc. that builds on the child’s own observations of how they feel physically and emotionally when they have too much or too little of something.
Ishani’s work with families and the message this book carries is that Ayurveda and Vedanta have so many time-tested frameworks to support our parenting journey, and healthy balance is a natural state of satisfaction and self-awareness that we can choose to tap in to whenever we want.
Learn more about this beautiful book and find ordering info here: https://www.wholepeace.in/childrens-book.
About Ishani Naidu
Ishani Naidu is a Vedika Global-trained Ayurveda Health Educator. She has been a dedicated shishya of Acharya Shunya since 2009. Ishani brings the wisdom of Ayurveda to children and teens through workshops in schools where she lives in Coimbatore, India. She also conducts workshops for adults, and especially parents, on living aligned with nature's rhythms and our spiritual truth using principles of Ayurveda and Vedanta. You can learn more about her work at www.wholepeace.in.
About Kalyani Ganapathy
Kalyani Ganapathy lives in the Nilgiris, India where she grew up. She is a self-taught illustrator and art director. She loves bringing children's books to life. Her work has been featured in books and publications in India and abroad. Her children's books include Hambreelmai's Loom, A is for Anaar, Janice Goes to Chinatown and Amrita Sher-Gil, Rebel with a Paintbrush. Visit www.kalyani-ganapathy.com for more info.