Hi Youthful Yogis!

You'll be glad to hear my skin color is getting back to normal after that mini frog-fest we had the other day. In fact, if you could see my face, you would notice that I've switched from a froggy shade of green to a brilliant rosy red. You might be looking rosy too, if you live where I do...it's over 100 degrees here, no kidding!!


A lot of people wonder what Youthful Yogis do when the thermometer hits triple digits? Heading for the hills is one popular activity!

"I know those mountains are around here...somewhere!"

And splashing in a cool body of water is also a big hit!

"We are feeling so cool!"

But Youthful Yogis have another great way to stay cool, and it's something you might never, ever think of...our breath!

We all breath everyday (of course!) and it's not something most people notice much.

But Youthful Yogis know that the breath is very important; in yoga there is even a special name for the way we regulate breathing...it's called Pranayama.

Youthful Yogis use breathing techniques, or pranayama, a lot. Our breath can warm us up or cool us down; it can help us to relax, or make us feel more energetic.

There is really a lot to say about the breath, but since most of you just want to know how in the world to deal with this ridiculous summer heat, we'll fast-forward to a pranayama technique that Youthful Yogis use when they are feeling overheated: it's called sitali breath...let's check it out!

"taco tongue"

The first thing you need to know for sitali breath is...do you have a taco tongue? Taco tongue, in case you are wondering, is not the latest snack fad being offered by your friendly neighborhood fast food restaurant. Actually, it is a way of curling the edges of your tongue up so that you create a sort of tunnel, or "taco", as my Youthful Yogis friends call it, in your mouth. Not everyone's tongue will curl at the edges in this way, and that's fine.

 If taco tongue doesn't work for you, close your mouth gently, keep your lips slightly apart, and allow your tongue to rest behind your front teeth.

      

For sitali breath, we choose one of the two positions for our tongue described above, then we inhale through the mouth while lifting the chin up slightly. The breath is drawn in through the mouth and over the tongue which, because it is a tongue, is usually good and wet. Our breath is cooled as it flows into our bodies, just like evaporative coolers keep some homes comfortable in the desert by drawing outside air in over water.

please don't be insulted that I am comparing your mouth to this

                         
We finish the sitali breath by closing our mouths and slowly exhaling out of the nose. The chin lowers down to where it was when we started. Many Youthful Yogis like to take about five rounds of sitali breath to cool down and relax; one inhalation followed by an exhalation equals a "round".

That's probably everything you ever wanted to know about keeping your cool when things heat up outside, Youthful Yogis. I hope you'll try sitali breathing and teach it to your friends, also. Let me know what you think!

I'd love to hang out, but I need to go look for a swimming pool now; those "cool" ladies up there reminded me of something I really need to work on...my backstroke!

Have a great day and I'll see you again soon,  

Namaste

"Stay cool!"