Hi Youthful Yogis!
Today I am excited to announce the grand opening of the      Youthful Yogis Photo Gallery....it's not too hard to find, just take a look to your left, right below the Youthful Yogis Art Gallery.



It's fun to see pictures of people doing yoga; if you have a photo you would like to share, email it to me at youthfulyogis@gmail.com
I'll need to get permission to put your picture on the Youthful Yogis blog if you are under the age of 18...parents or guardians can contact me at the youthful yogis email address above.



Have fun posing for the camera, Youthful Yogis...maybe you'll end up looking like this funny guy!!!


See you again soon!


                                                                

                It's that time again Youthful Yogis...are you ready for another round of.........     

        

 

                      
                                                       Yoga Jeopardy?!


As I'm sure you remember, Yoga Jeopardy is a fun way to tickle your brain: just look at the questions below and see if you know the answers. Play with a friend, or on your own...and no peeking at the answers 'til you've given each question your best shot!

Are you ready??  Let's get started.....


1) The word Namaste means:  a) please be quiet I am trying to sleep  b) thank you so much for dinner, you are really a wonderful mom c) the light within me bows to and appreciates the light within you                       

2) "Cat Cow" stretches: a) the spine  b) the ankles and feet c) the hands  d) all of the things I just mentioned

3) True or False: your vertebral column is also your backbone

4) In India, cows: a) do not exist b) walk down the street next to cars and bicycles c) are very loved and have their horns painted, sometimes  d) all of the above   e) b and c only 


Extra Credit:
If  four Youthful Yogis can do five yoga poses in ten minutes, how long should it take for one Youthful Yogi to do three poses?

                                  


Answers:              

1) C   Namaste is a way of acknowledging the bright light and energy of others, although it would be nice if we could also find a word meaning "thank you for dinner, you are a wonderful person"!

2) D   We usually think of "Cat Cow" as a stretch for the spine, but it's great for ankles, feet and hands, too.

3) True! Vertebral column refers to the small bony segments, each one called a vertebra, which make up the backbone, or spine.

4) E  It's hard to believe, but in India cows really do stroll down the street next to cars and bicycles. And people do decorate cows in India, they love them so much!

Extra credit:  Are you kidding me?!  By now I am sure everyone knows that each person can do yoga in their own time and in their own way. Youthful Yogis can take as much time as they want to finish three poses....so please ignore that ridiculous question!


Thanks for joining me for Yoga Jeopardy today, Youthful Yogis. How did you do?

We'll play some more another time...but first I need to find a way to screen out silly extra credit questions!!

Have a wonderful day,

Namaste

Hi Youthful Yogis!                                       
I was getting ready to do some yoga poses today when I got to thinking about a doctor's visit I had a few months ago. It wasn't anything serious, just a sore throat. The doctor did what doctors usually do...he looked at my eyeballs with a little flashlight and asked me to stick out my tongue and say "Ahhhh".  Then he looked into my ears and said: "Well, you have inflexible eardrums".

Inflexible eardrums??!

Youthful Yogis know that yoga helps us to stay flexible: we reach and bend and twist in order to be relaxed and happy in every part of our body. You've seen Cat Cow, a great stretch for the spine; and Triangle Pose, which stretches the legs, hips and chest.
  
But what about our eardrums? Seriously, is there anything we can do to stretch inside our ears?!!

I was starting to feel  badly about my inflexible eardrums as I headed towards my yoga mat this morning. But then I realized.... there are a lot of different ways we can be flexible. Yoga definitely makes our bodies stretchy, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

What we really learn from yoga is that we can change and adjust to all sorts of situations, both on and off of our yoga mats. Sometimes there are things we have no control over, like inflexible eardrums, and we learn to deal with that stuff also. In a funny way, being able to accept who we are, without judgement or criticism, shows the greatest kind of flexibility of all.



Once I got over worrying about my eardrums, I had a great time doing yoga this morning. When I was done, I took a short rest and then I said thank you to my body: I thanked my feet and my knees for all the hard work they do everyday; I thanked my heart and my lungs for keeping me going...  and yes, I even thanked my inflexible eardrums. Because, when it comes right down, I can't imagine life without them!   

Thanks for joining me today, Youthful Yogis. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you again soon.

Namaste!

Hello Youthful Yogis,
If you've been to a yoga class lately, chances are you have heard the word Namaste. Teachers often say this word at the end of a class (and sometimes at the beginning). You might even see the word Namaste on water bottles, t-shirts or bumper stickers...it's really that popular!
                                                                                                                    


But what does Namaste mean, anyway? Let's take a look....

The word Namaste comes from the ancient Indian language known as Sanskrit. Namaste can be translated as "I bow to you", and people in India often say it to each other as a greeting; they sometimes press their hands together at their chest and bow their heads when they say Namaste, also.

                                                                            
Namaste is a nice word because it comes from the heart. It is a way to say hello, but it means a lot more than "hi". I tell my Youthful Yogis friends  that when I say "Namaste" I am really saying: "the light and energy within me appreciates the light and energy within you".

It's pretty great that a whole big idea like that can fit into one small word!


I hope this helps you to understand the word Namaste a little better; now you'll know what's going on if you hear it in a yoga class. And you might just use the word Namaste yourself sometime...if you say it to a friend and they reply "Nama...what'd you say?" you'll be able to give them an answer!

That's all for now, Youthful Yogis. Have a wonderful day.

Namaste!

Good morning Youthful Yogis!                                   

Did you see the Super Moon last night? It was awesome...I barely slept a wink. They say the moon was closer to the earth than it's been all year...that's what made it super!

The Sanskrit name for moon is Chandra, which is a word I really love. And there's a yoga pose named after the moon too...it's called Ardha Chandrasana, or half moon. Ardha Chandrasana is very popular with my Youthful Yogis friends. I'll describe the pose in more detail later; right now the sun is up...maybe I can finally go get some sleep!

Have a great day, Youthful Yogis!

Hey Youthful Yogis!                                   
I was drinking a cold glass of milk today when I got to thinking about my spine.

You're probably wondering what a cold glass of milk has to do with a backbone?  Well, that's a pretty good question, so let me fill you in...



Milk, as we all know, comes from cows. And cows are peaceful vegetarians mostly interested in munching on green grass all day. In India, people love cows so much that they paint their horns to make the animals look special!









But back to my spine....there is a stretch I like to do everyday and it's what I was thinking about when I was drinking that cold glass of milk earlier. The stretch is called  "Cat Cow" and here's how you do it:

                                                                           CAT COW

Start on your knees with your hands on the floor; take a big breath in, drop your belly and lift your chest so your spine stretches like a cow.                                                

When you breathe out, round your back and arch up like a Halloween cat.

Go back and forth about five times from cat to cow and notice how great your spine feels. Make sure you make some noise when you're doing this exercise: moo when you stretch into cow, meow when you round into cat. When you are finished, take a rest. 



                                                      

Cat cow is an exercise you can do everyday... it will really keep your body happy. Show the stretch to your mom and dad and also to your friends. See who can moo the loudest...but not if people in your house are sleeping! 

                                                                                                                                                

Have fun, drink some milk and I'll see you again soon!

Hi Youthful Yogis,
Have you ever heard of a vertebral column? It kind of sounds like the name of  a skyscraper in China, or maybe a new ride at Disney Land.....                 





But you don't have to travel to China or Los Angeles to check out a vertebral column...in fact, all you need to do is pat yourself on the back!
                                                                                                             

The vertebral column is another name for our spine, or back bone. You might remember that the spine is long and bony and made up of segments called vertebra. Our spines allow us to stay upright, which I guess means they're kind of like skyscrapers...except that tall buildings are supposed to stay still and the spine is all about movement!

Youthful Yogis know lots of ways to keep their vertebral columns happy and flexible...remember the exercise called "Sit up Tall"?  In my next post I'll describe a stretch that is great for your spine and involves making some noise...get your earplugs out, everyone!

In the meantime, remember to pat yourself on the back, say thank you to your vertebral column and try to stay active and have fun everyday.

See you next time!

                  


                                                                                             
                                                           

                                                                                                                                    

                

Hello Youthful Yogis!
Has this ever happened to you...it's late in the day and you're starting to think about bed when--boom!--you suddenly feel wide awake?    It happens to most people now and then.

So what can a sleepless Youthful Yogi do??

Here's an idea...grab a copy  of Yawning Yoga, written by Laurie Jordan, and you might just get yawning like crazy!

Yawning Yoga describes some fun stretches to do before bedtime: be a monkey, or jiggle like jello!  My Youthful Yogi friends like this book a lot and I bet you will too. Yoga relaxes the body and quiets the mind, so it's a great way to help you feel sleepy. You can even make up a few of your own bedtime yoga poses...cozy cobra, anyone??!

Have fun and..... SWEET DREAMS!
                                                                                                                                                            

Hi Youthful Yogis!
Yesterday I announced the grand opening of the Youthful Yogis Art Gallery. I wanted to share with you some of the new artwork that has been added to the gallery....do you recognize the poses?  Two of the poses are new to this blog...I'll describe them in more detail later.

Thanks for the wonderful artwork, everyone.
See you again soon!

 

Attention Youthful Yogis!

Announcing the grand opening of the Youthful Yogis Art Gallery!

Did you know that many of the drawings shown on this blog are original works of art created by some of my very good Youthful Yogis friends?  I am so excited to be able to share their work with you!

So join me at the grand opening of the Youthful Yogis Art Gallery...all you need to do is stroll over to the left side of this text, click on Youthful Yogis Art Gallery, and enjoy looking at some pretty cool stuff.                                    
                                                                 
If you have a drawing you'd like to show in the Youthful Yogis Gallery, get some help scanning it onto your computer then send it to me as an attachment in an email at youthfulyogis@gmail.com . I'll try to put it in the gallery!

That's all for now....have fun at the art show!