Hey Youthful Yogis!     
I hope everyone is relaxed and happy after practicing the Pranayama techniques we looked at last week. One of my Youthful Yogis friends told me she even used belly breathing to help get back to sleep the other night... it was 4 in the morning and her body was tired but her brain was going loopy. She said belly breathing was even better than counting sheep...can you believe it?!

"All these sheep are driving me nuts...I think I'll try belly breathing instead!"

But let's shift gears...today we'll take a look at some yoga poses that many Youthful Yogis know and love. It just so happens that theses asanas (poses) are named after animals, which is pretty cool!  I'll show you a picture of each pose next to a picture of the animal it's named after. When we're done....I'll give you a pop quiz! Remember that everyone always gets an A+ on Youthful Yogis pop quizzes, just for showing up and having fun!

                                                                 Yoga Poses:       

Downward Facing Dog Pose

Eagle Pose

                               

Tortoise Pose

Firefly Pose

....have you been paying attention?! I hope so because now it's time for a Youthful Yogis "Pop Quiz"!!  Have fun answering the following questions and, when you are done, check your responses with the answer key at the bottom of the page. Good Luck!!!

                                                    Questions

1) Cobra Pose is:  A) a balancing pose  B) a back bend  C) a good pose to do right after dinner

2)  Tortoise Pose: A) quiets the mind and stills the senses  B) is the very first pose you should do when you get out of bed in the morning   C) takes a lot of practice and may not be for everyone  D) A and C  E) none of the above

3) True or False:  very few people like Downward Facing Dog Pose

4) Firefly Pose is:   A) the easiest pose ever and good for beginners  B) one of a number of poses known as "arm balances"  C) a pose you have to wear a snazzy outfit and a headband in order to do

5)  True or False: the dude in the blue pants doing Eagle Pose needs a haircut


                                                                Answers

1) B  Cobra Pose is a back bend: it energizes the spine, opens the heart and lungs, stretches the chest and massages the belly. Please do not do this pose right after a meal, Youthful Yogis! You may end up feeling like this...

"I knew I shoulda eaten that pizza after I did Cobra Pose!"

2)  D Tortoise Pose can help us to feel as cozy and peaceful as a tortoise in her shell! In yoga we describe this as "quieting the mind and stilling the senses".

"My favorite yoga pose? Tortoise Pose, of course. It's the only one I ever do!"

                           
 Tortoise pose is not exactly easy; it's a super deep stretch for the backs of your upper legs (known as the hamstrings), as well as for your hips and shoulders. It's true, that it may not be for everyone. Please do not do tortoise pose right when you get out of bed in the morning! Stretch, warm up, and do a few other gentle yoga poses first!

"Does it look like I'm ready for Tortoise Pose? I don't think so...!"

                     

3) Are you kidding me? False, of course! People love, love, and I mean love, Downward Facing Dog Pose!      

best pose, ever!

4) B  Firefly Pose is in the category of poses known as arm balances. But guess what? It's also a really tricky pose and definitely not for beginners. Oh, and you do not have to wear pink, poofy pantaloons in order to do this pose. And the headband is optional also!

not necessary

            

not necessary

totally ridiculous

5) This question might actually cause some controversy in Youthful Yogis Blogland. I'm gonna go with False...the dude in the blue pants does not need a haircut. Some of you might think otherwise, but my feeling is that his hair looks OK. More importantly, I'm pretty sure the dude can see from behind those red locks. Youthful Yogis know that in order to stay balanced, a person needs to keep their eyes open; in fact, focusing the gaze on a point that's not moving is an important part of any balancing exercise.

"My eyes are open...and that's a good thing!"

But getting back to the dude's hair...Bottom line? The Youthful Yogis Blog does not specialize in hairstyling advice or fashion tips of any kind. So question # 5 should probably be deleted from this quiz!

"Everything we know about hair styling, we learned on the Youthful Yogis Blog!"

That's all the time we have for now, Youthful Yogis. I hope you've had fun taking the Youthful Yogis Pop Quiz!  How'd you do?

We'll look at more yoga poses soon...until then, stay relaxed, have fun, and try making up some yoga poses of your own if you feel inspired...!

Namaste

Hi Youthful Yogis!
The other day I had all kinds of thoughts in my head...which is not exactly a bad thing, except that my body was tense and it was hard to stay focused. It's what some people call going bonkers!

Can you guess what I did to relax and feel better?  I focused on my breath, of course!

Youthful Yogis know that the way we breathe affects the way we feel. That's why an important part of any yoga practice includes attention on the breath. The name for this aspect of our practice is Pranayama, and it is sometimes defined as controlled or regulated breathing.

"This is a super hard pose but, just so you know, I'm still focused on my breath!"

Pranayama, or regulated breathing, can be practiced while you are doing yoga poses on your mat, or at any other time when you want to quiet the mind and relax the body. Ultimately, Pranayama techniques prepare us for meditation...and that's a good thing!

"It's true...I practiced Pranayama and now I'm in my happy place."

               

Let's take a look at some basic Pranayama techniques. You'll be amazed to learn that certain methods of  breathing can calm us down, while others really wake us up. And get this...our breath can make us feel warm or cool. It's like adjusting a thermostat without having to worry about your parents freaking out over the electric bill!

"Thanks to Pranayama, I am super cool...and I didn't even have to turn down the AC!"

Here are three Pranayama techniques to try:

1) Belly Breathing: sit,or lie on your back, so that your spine is long and you are completely relaxed. Take some nice deep breaths and begin to notice how your body moves with each inhalation and each exhalation. Gently allow your belly to expand like a balloon as you breathe in; gently allow your belly to contract as you breathe out.

Belly Breathing sounds pretty simple, but the effects are huge! The smooth, deep quality of this breath relaxes the body and quiets the mind. Belly Breathing can release both mental and physical tension and it's also a great practice to do if you ever need help falling asleep at night.

I wanted this guy to talk to you about Pranayama, but the Belly Breathing put him to sleep!

2) Ujjayi Breath: It's easier to learn this technique from a real person, rather than from instructions in an uber fantastic blog. But let's give Ujjayi a whirl....sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor: make sure your spine is long and your shoulders are relaxed. Open your mouth and yawn, then close your mouth and finish the yawn by exhaling out of your nose.

Did you hear something? With Ujjayi Breath, we are slightly constricting the back of the throat as we exhale and this creates a soft hissing sound. Ujjayi breath warms us up and helps us to stay focused. You can practice Ujjayi breathing before doing yoga poses, during most yoga poses, or anytime you want to quiet the mind and relax the body. Pretty great...right?!

3) Sitali Breath: There are a lot of reasons why I love this Pranayama technique...#1 is because we get to do something called "taco tongue!"

I just want to say...YUM!

Sit in a chair or on the floor; as always, make sure you are comfortable and that you are sitting up pretty tall. Open your mouth a little and try curling the outer edges of your tongue in, like the shape of a taco (not everyone has a tongue that will make a taco shape...if you can't do "taco tongue", simply open your mouth slightly, bring your teeth together, and allow your tongue to rest behind the front teeth.) Next, inhale slowly through your mouth, you can lift your chin slightly when you breathe in, if you like. Feel the breath being cooled as it slowly moves over the surface of your tongue.

Sitali Breath with "taco tongue"

When you are ready to release the breath, exhale slowly out of your nose and bring your chin down, if it was lifted. You can do Sitali Breath for as long as you like, often 5 rounds (1 round is an inhalation and an exhalation) is a good way to begin. Sitali Breath cools you down and helps you to relax. You can practice Sitali at any time of day...and it's a fun technique to share with family and friends.

"We know you don't believe we actually practice yoga...but trust us, Sitali Breath is awesome!"

I hope you'll have fun trying these Pranayama techniques, Youthful Yogis. Once you get comfortable working with the breath, you can gradually lengthen your inhalation and your exhalation. In fact, making the exhalation longer than your inhalation might help you to go from this.....

  

Bonkers!

to this....

The opposite of bonkers!

 

Stay healthy and I'll see you again soon!

Namaste

 Hi Youthful Yogis!
I hope everybody is having an excellent long weekend! Personally, I've been thinking about my eyes a lot...because a few days ago I went to get an eye exam and, guess what?  It was actually a lot of fun!

Here's what I got to do...first, I had to read a poster that looks like this:

I'm not sure, but I think that last line says that I've won a free trip to Fiji! 

Next, I got to look into a gadget that looks like this:

...and it made me feel like this:

I guess I did all right on my eye exam since the doctor said she doesn't need to see me again for another year. That gives me 12 months to practice reading the last line of that eye chart...I really hope I win a cruise to Fiji!   

Youthful Yogis know the importance of taking good care of their eyes. Getting enough sleep and eating a healthy diet are two things we can do to support our vision. Believe it or not, there are also  exercises we can do to strengthen our eyes, just like we strengthen and tone the rest of our body. 

"After this, I'm doing my eye exercises...seriously!"

Eye exercises make a great addition to any yoga practice. Here are a few you might like to try...when doing these exercises, make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position; maintain a smooth deep breath, and plan on having fun!

1)  Eye Circles: without turning your head, slowly make large circles with your eyes; make two or three big circles in one direction then close your eyes for a few seconds to rest. Next, slowly make two or three large eye circles in the other direction. Close your eyes for a few seconds when you're done and blink, if you like. That increases blood flow to the eyes and helps to keep them moist! 

2) Figure Eights: Sitting comfortably, imagine that you are staring at the shape of a figure eight on it's side: follow the lines of the shape with your gaze, circling down, up, over and around. You'll look kind of funny doing this, but it's really a great exercise! Once you've outlined the shape of the eight three or four times in one direction,  reverse and trace the lines going the other way. Rest your eyes when you're done.

3) Palming: Our eyes, just like the rest of our body, can feel tired and tense sometimes, especially at the end of the day. Palming is a great way to give your eyeballs a relaxing treat!

 Sit comfortably and rub the palms of your hands together so they feel super warm. Next, close your eyes, cup your hands and cover your eyes with your cupped hands...this will block out most of the light, but you should not feel pressure on the eyeballs.  Palming allows the warmth of your hands to radiate into the area of the eyes and this feels really good, no kidding! You can practice palming whenever you like; it's definitely nice after Figure Eights, Eye Circles, and other eye-strengthening sets.

I hope you'll have fun practicing these eye exercises, Youthful Yogis. And before we say goodbye, there is one more exercise I'd like to share with you...officially, it's a pranayama technique, which means it relates to how we use our breath. This exercise relaxes the face, improves our immune system and strengthens and stimulates the eyes. Maybe you know what I'm talking about...it's Lions Breath, of course!  

"Remember I told you not to do this with Gummy Bears in your mouth?!"

Lions Breath involves exhaling out of the mouth as you extend your tongue toward your chin and make the sound "ha". When you exhale, direct your eyes over the tip of your nose; or you can look up between your eyebrows. 

Here are three examples of Lions Breath (the Gummy Bear guy doesn't count):

                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                

A real lion, showing us how it's done

A man named BKS Iyengar, who really knows what he's doing


   

Bart and Lisa Simpson, who seem to make their way into this blog a lot...although this time it actually looks like  they're sticking with the program!

That's all the time we have for now, Youthful Yogis. Thanks for joining me today and I hope you'll have fun taking good care of your eyes.

I'll catch up with you again soon, unless of course I win that cruise to Fiji....then you may not hear from me for a while!

Namaste

Hi Youthful Yogis!
Last week I introduced everyone to"Youthful Yogis Q & A", otherwise known as "I'm going crazy trying to figure something out and can't I please just get my question answered so I can get back to other important stuff, like convincing my dad I need new soccer cleats and maybe even a spiffy pair of new sunglasses while we're at it...?!"  

"If I miss this goal it might be cuz I need new cleats!"

"I'm spiffy and I know it...!"

That's right, getting your questions answered is important...and come to think of it, so are sun glasses. Remember to ask your mom or dad for protective eye wear if you're going to be out in the sun a lot this fall. And once that's taken care of, why not show them the Youthful Yogis Blog?... they'll probably end up learning a lot!

"We never knew a blog could be so informative...and fun!"

All right, it's time to get serious. I'd like to share the latest Q & A entries with you now... question # 1 addresses something the whole world's been wondering about for a while: "who puts the youth in Youthful Yogis?"  Question # 2 reminds us that Gummy Bears are just the most fantastic treat ever...but there's a time and place for everything!

Question # 1: My best friend is about to turn sixteen...can she still be a Youthful Yogis even though she'll be getting her driver's license soon? While we're on the subject, my mom loves your blog too; I forget how old she is, but I know she had a Partridge Family lunchbox in grade school so she's pretty ancient. Any thoughts?

Answer: Thank you for that most excellent question! In our culture the word "youth" tends to relate to the number of years a person has been alive. But Youthful Yogis know that age is not important. In fact, being youthful is not about how old we are... it's about how we feel inside; it's the way we approach life and the joy we get from connecting with others. You heard it here first Youthful Yogis: a person can be youthful at any age!

"What keeps me youthful?...music, yoga and this hairstyle that I love!"

                             
Thanks again for the great question. Tell your mom I say hi, and if she still has that Partridge Family lunchbox, you're in luck...I hear they're collector's items these days!


Question # 2:  Is it Ok for me to eat Gummy Bears during yoga class?

Answer: Wow, I think we need to break this one down a little: yoga is a physical activity which means your body needs nourishment both before and after practicing poses. In general, eating a meal less than an hour before you do yoga is not a good idea because you'll feel queasy if you're still digesting your food. A light snack that is easy to digest can be a good thing, though...and while Gummy Bears aren't exactly a nutritious choice, eating a few before you hop onto your mat isn't the worst thing in the world.

As for eating Gummy Bears during yoga class?...I really do not recommend it!

Here are a few things that will probably happen if you chow down on Gummies in class:

1) Your teacher will go into shock... plus, he or she will probably feel a little insulted.

2) Your fellow students will pretend they don't notice you're eating dessert in yoga class; but of course they will notice and it will make them hungry, and a roomful of hungry yogis is just a little bit scary.

3) Your teacher may instruct you to hold your breath in for a few seconds and then to exhale out of the mouth while sticking out your tongue (people do this in yoga class sometimes, really!)...where exactly are those ten Gummy Bears you popped into your mouth going to end up if you stick out your tongue while exhaling vigorously? Yuck, I honestly don't want to think about that scenario.

This is called Lion's Breath, please do not do it with food in your mouth!

As you can tell, it's best to enjoy your snacks either before or after yoga. While we're on the subject...here are a few other things it's best not to do in yoga class:

1) talk or text on cell phones

2) sing your favorite Justin Bieber song out loud while everyone else is chanting OM

4) run around in in those new platform shoes that you just bought at Macy's...most people practice yoga barefoot, anyway.

Yes, they're great...just not during yoga!

You get the gist: yoga is about quieting the mind and stilling the senses: talking, eating, singing and wobbling around in shoes that are uncomfortable do not really encourage a safe and reflective practice. Enjoy your time on the mat, and know that the Gummy Bears-- and the platform shoes--will be there for you when you're done!

That's all the time we have today, Youthful Yogis. I hope you've enjoyed our Q & A session, and remember that today's questions can also be found on the "Youthful Yogis Q & A page" to the left side of this blog, just below the Listening Activities.

If you have questions that you would like to ask, please email them to me at: youthfulyogis@gmail.com  I can't guarantee I'll answer every question, especially if it has to do with what brand of soccer cleats is hottest at the moment or what style of platform shoes is most fashionable...in fact, let's just say those sporty/fashion questions are out of my comfort zone. Please tell your mom and dad I recommend whatever is least expensive...now I know they'll love this blog! 

"Best blog ever, seriously!"

See you again soon!

Namaste