Hi there Youthful Yogis,
I was crossing over a babbling brook today and you'll never guess what happened... I almost fell in! Luckily, I caught my balance and didn't end up going for a very chilly swim, but it did get me to thinking...

Life is full of tippy situations: like jumping from stone to stone across a raging river (well, OK, a babbling brook),  carrying ten pounds of swim gear from the car to the house while trying to unlock the front door with one hand, or standing on tippy toes to reach that baseball cap that we just know is on the top shelf of the closet, unless mom gave it away with all that other stuff that she calls "clutter."

"If this isn't clutter, I don't know what is!"

It's true...we perform balancing acts everyday and we often don't even realize we're doing them! But here's the good news: balance is something Youthful Yogis know a lot about. They practice yoga poses like Eagle, Tree Pose, Warrior Three and Dancer to improve their balance, and they look to find steadiness off of their yoga mats as well.

"I am so balanced!"

Let's take a look at these yoga poses that challenge our balance. They involve standing on one leg, so here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Stand near a wall or a chair if you feel tippy.

2) Relax your face, it's really easy to tighten around the mouth and the eyes when something is challenging!

3) Try not to hold your breath...keep breathing!

4) Have fun!

"Are we having fun yet?!"

                                                   Youthful Yogis Balancing Poses:

Dancer Pose

                                                                         

Tree Pose

Warrior Three Pose

                                                                                     


                           

Look-at-me-I'm-a-pretzel-pose

I hope you'll have fun trying out these poses, Youthful Yogis. They can be really challenging at first, but once you do them for a while you'll be amazed at how fun they feel! Make sure you notice what's going on with your body off of your yoga mat too. I bet after practicing Eagle and Warrior Three you'll be able to cross babbling brooks with ease. And you may even get higher up on your tippy toes to find that old baseball cap in the closet.

That is, unless your mom did ....YOU KNOW WHAT!

"Mommmmm!"

On that note, I need to say goodbye for now, Youthful Yogis. Remember to take time to appreciate having two feet on the earth, but have fun standing on just one foot sometimes, too.

Have a great day, see you again soon!

Namaste