"Woof!"

Sorry if I surprised you, Youthful Yogis...my name is Frank and today I'm taking over the Youthful Yogis Blog...

"ARGH!"

No, no...not a pirate kind of takeover. What I mean to say is I'm a visiting author, and that's another word for someone who has seen enough cat images for a few days!!

So let's just say there will be no pictures of cats today:

Cat-free zone

I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of the Youthful Yogis Q & A section of this blog. It's just to your left, underneath Youthful Yogis Listening Activities (another fun thing to check out!)  Q & A stands for "question and answer" and on the Youthful Yogis blog it's a great place to get all your yoga questions figured out.

"It all makes perfect sense now!"

You may be wondering why I am using my very important guest-writer time to talk about the Q & A section of this blog...well, it's because the latest question is all about ME!!

"It's really all about Frank."

You heard it from the mouth of Honest Abe, Youthful Yogis...the latest Q & A discussion revolves around moi. And "moi", as you may know, is French for ME!!!!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

That's all for today Youthful Yogis. If that cat Ping shows up again, I really can't be held responsible. But at least for today it's been a cat-free kind of day!!

Cool!

Hi Youthful Yogis!
The other day I introduced you to a cat named Ping...

Ping!

I wish I could say that Ping is a cuddly, sweet cat. Unfortunately, the honest truth is that Ping is usually kind of crabby.

"Who me, crabby?!"

I'm not sure what puts Ping in a bad mood: maybe he wasn't treated well as a kitten (his current owners adopted him when he was six months old.) Or maybe he doesn't know how to express his emotions!

"I have no idea how to express what I am feeling right now!"

Whatever the situation, Ping's owners have learned to give him a lot of space!

Open Space

Talking about Ping and his crazy moods reminds me that we all experience lots of different emotions in a given day...sometimes we are happy:

Other times we feel kind of sad:

Just like Ping we might feel crabby:

Or really, really peaceful:

"No worries!"

The great thing about yoga is that is helps us to accept all our emotions!  We learn to check in with how we are feeling and by so doing we take a step towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.

Here's an idea, Youthful Yogis...take a few moments every day to breathe deeply. Imagine you have a little camera inside your body and inside your brain as well. Take some pictures! Notice how your body feels...notice what's going on in your head. You might be surprised by what you find!

"Seriously?!!"

Once you are aware of your own situation, it will be lots easier to move through your day...and your yoga practice as well:

"I did not sleep well last night!"

"...and this is just the yoga pose I need!!"

Well, I guess you get the idea here, Youthful Yogis. We all have good days and less-than-good days. And with this in mind, I don't blame Ping for his crabby moods. In fact, I kind of respect the fact that he lets everyone know when he wants to be left alone! Still, I wish he could take a chill pill now and then. I guess that would look something like this...

Serious chilling!

That's all for now. Have a great day and I'll see you again soon!

Namaste

Hi Youthful Yogis!
Today I would like to introduce you to a cat named Ping....

Baby Ping

As you can see, when Ping was little he used to like to hang out in the dishwasher! Now that he is older--and just a little chunky-- I don't think he could get into the dishwasher if he wanted to.

"Who are you calling chunky?!"

It's true, Ping has an amazing cat perch where he spends a lot of time (more on that later.) But first, let me just answer the burning question "Why is Ping the cat being profiled in a yoga blog???"

Well, here's the thing....Ping's owner happens to be a yoga teacher and let's just say that makes for a slightly stressful situation! To show you what I mean, here's a short video of Ping from a few years ago, when he wasn't chunky!

If you'd like to see the rest of this movie, which I promise is actually more about yoga than cats, just click on the "yoga movie" link under the cool picture below. It will take you to the Youthful Yogis youtube page where you can find other videos and guided relaxations.

     

Yoga Movie

Have fun!

Namaste

Hello there, Youthful Yogis!
It's time to rescue the Youthful Yogis Blog. You heard that right...let's brush off the cobwebs and get this party started!

Serious cobwebs!

So here's what you need to know: The real, live author of this blog is named Ellen. But please forget about her because, as you can tell, she really isn't up to the task of keeping this thing going....

NOT up to the task!

Let's just say Ellen is getting a little inspiration from someone who is a wee bit more together. Enough said...really.

The Youthful Yogis Blog is about yoga (of course!). But there's lots of other stuff to talk about. Like brownies, for example. Whoever came up with the idea of making brownies with applesauce instead of butter? Yuck! I can't stand that!  As an official blogger,  I'll just put it out there that the only good brownie is one made with chocolate, sugar and LOTS of butter!

Yum!

Ok, I got that out of my system. Now, let me think what else I have to say....

Oh, right, something about yoga. Well, Here's the thing. If you're going to make brownies, it probably means you are going to EAT brownies. And if you eat brownies you will most likely feel FULL.

Seriously?!!

I'm not even sure where that frog came from but he does kind of look like how I feel after I've had too much to eat!

"What's that you say? The brownies are all gone?!!"

My point is, there's a time and place for everything. If you're planning on doing some yoga, please do it when your tummy isn't full. I like doing yoga in the morning...

"Wait, what time is it right now?!!"

I also like to do yoga before dinner...

Tasty, tasty!

Here are some yoga poses you can choose from:

Only do what feels comfortable. And if you're trying a difficult pose, make sure you have a yoga teacher to help you!

Have fun, be safe and I'll be back soon!

Happy New Year, Youthful Yogis!
As you have probably noticed, I am not adding new entries to the Youthful Yogis Blog at this time. But I do hope you will browse the archives and find lots of fun and interesting information for the new year!  Click on the words underneath each picture for links to a few of my favorite entries:

Youthful Yogis Q & A

Anatomy S'natomy

Your Brain

Youthful Yogis Show and Tell

Youthful Yogis on YouTube

You can also scoot over to the left side of this page for links to listening activities, the Youthful Yogis Photo Gallery and more cool stuff!

Have lots of fun, stay safe and keep doing yoga!

                               

Hello Youthful Yogis!
Well, it's official...spring is in the air and many of my Youthful Yogis friends are heading outdoors to enjoy fun activities like hiking, biking and maybe even putting a few dandelion necklaces together...that's definitely one of my favorite springtime activities!

more fun

funnest!!

fun

It's true that nice weather gets us moving. You may wake up and feel like doing 20 sun salutes...

Or maybe five rounds of plank pose....

"I am in my happy place...please don't judge me!"

On the other hand, some days we just feel like taking it easy. And that's fine, too!

"Taking it easy sounds pretty good right now..."

When it comes to yoga, we always have plenty of choices.

"If we can do this, anyone can!"

Way back in 2012 I wrote about chair yoga. Let me tell you, Youthful Yogis...I love chair yoga! It's great for anyone who is healing from an injury...

 Or having trouble with their balance...

"Did somebody say yoga?...of course I want to do it. Just get me a chair!!"

In fact, chair yoga is great for everybody!  It's perfect as a break from schoolwork...

"I can't stop thinking about chair yoga..."

Or while traveling....

"Dude, I don't have my yoga mat but a chair will work just fine!"

To check out my last chair yoga post, just click on the link: August 2012 Chair Yoga   And if you want more, click on the words Chair Yoga Video below and it will take you to my Youthful Yogis YouTube site. I've posted a chair yoga video there, and a lot of people are having fun with it. Check it out, and then share it with someone you know!

Chair Yoga video

Come to think of it, chair yoga might be just what you need after a long day of hiking, biking or playing around in the dandelion patch!

Enjoy springtime, Youthful Yogis. Have fun and I'll see you again soon!

Namaste