Written by Isidora Bugarski
And every day more birds are joining our flock
We are happy to announce that in July we launched the official Early Birds Club Balkan website, where we offer events, news, reasons to wake up early, volunteer opportunities and more.
ONLINE PROGRAMS
This month, it was interesting to hear what members of the club have to say on the topic of how waking early has affected their lives.
“Early morning is a precious time,” says Jelena Ilić, who has been a member for more than two years.
In her opinion, the most important thing is adjusting to nature. Waking up with nature prepares her for success, by helping her be full of energy, and ready for the day ahead. In this way there is no room for panic or stress. One of the major things that drive her to stay persistent is the realisation that she is developing more love for herself and her surroundings through this positive habit, which she says is her motive for keeping it. She also mentioned how autophagy helps her – which is greatly assisted by, fasting from around 6pm onwards and only eating the next morning.
Jelena shares,
”When we eat late at night, we have more inertia in the morning. We are lazy in getting up, because the food has not digested yet, and all the toxins go to our wrists. Mind is also not strong enough to recognize this, so we fall into inertia, laziness. In this way, our digestion doesn’t function well. The happiness hormone – serotonin – is also closely connected to our digestion.”
According to Jelena, autophagy is directly connected to physiological processes impact our mood..
Another member, Sanja Polovina, claims that when we wake up early, our day is richer. She reveals her experiences with our unique morning routine. It makes her feel brighter, lighter, and joyful and, as she shares, it shows on her face. This lifestyle helps her accomplish much more during the day. It increases her mental clarity and productivity.
EBC Balkan Kids conducted the MINI SUMMER CHALLENGE that lasted for nine days.
From the 9th to the 17th of July, the challenge was conducted every morning. It started at 8 AM with yoga for kids and after that, the children listened to positive affirmations of gratitude and self-confidence, which are part of the regular morning routine in our club. Then the kids listened to a short story with a moral and were given a related daily task to complete.
One of the tasks included decorating a jar with an intention to become a treasury of gentle, nice feelings, with positive messages to themselves. The next day they were directed to paint something that is their heart’s desire, then make a poster and put it in a place in their room where they can see it every day and remind themselves of what is important to them, and what motivates them no matter what others say, etc.
Every morning ended with the Freedom Meditation, a powerful guided meditation, primarily for children, created by Mohanji.
The aim of the challenge was to motivate children to maintain their practices, to adopt and develop healthy morning habits.
Here are some of the parent’s impressions of the event:
“Beautiful activity and an inspiring event. This mini-challenge inspired Luna to wake up early during the summer holiday, to feel the benefits of yoga asanas (postures), to tell us stories she heard, which became the subjects of family discussion, to feel better because she adopted the routine as a discipline and widened her self-esteem through determination and meditation in which she went deeper every day. Thanks to the whole team!” – Marija (Luna’s mother)
“Having a daily activity where my children felt safe and loved made a world of difference in my 11-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. They have reached a higher level of peace and calmness. Each day they looked forward to the daily activity, which got them out of their normal routines and gave them ideas of what to do. The daily affirmations left them smiling, and the Freedom Meditation left them feeling bright and cleansed from the inside.
By the fifth day, I could see a difference in calmness and bravery in my son’s behavior, and by the last day, a huge diminishing of anger that he’d been trying to cope with during the last school year. We go for weekly psychotherapy sessions, and even his therapist noticed how happy he was, which she had not seen at all during the past three months that we have been going to her!
Both children loved the feeling of being safe and accepted, as Staša, Ana and Vesna truly wear their hearts on their sleeve, and, as my daughter says, “The love in their voices hugs children’s hearts.”
We can’t wait for the next program to be available to bask in the love for EBC Kids.” 💖💖💖
Anđelija (Milan and Marina’s mother)On the occasion of Novi Sad’s Kid’s Summer at the beginning of July, a Creative Children’s Camp was organized. It was held in two locations on different dates, each of them lasting for five days. Staša Mišić, representative of EBC Kids Balkan and Himalayan School of Traditional Yoga, led the yoga classes. 200 children, aged 5 to 12, participated through all 10 days of both camps. In the sessions they were led with interesting stories and went through asanas, like the frog, cat, dog, warrior, tree, etc., and the breathing technique of ‘humming bees’.
