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Remember when you were a kid and you loved being upside down?  You liked to play "tick-tock-I'm a clock" while your mom, dad, or older sibling hung you upside down by your ankles.  Well, those days aren't gone.  Inversion poses or inverted positions are still in!  Not only that, but they are good for you.  Basically, inverted poses are positions where your head is below your heart.  Some examples of inverted poses include a hand stand, head stand, plow pose, standing forward bend/fold, downward dog, legs up on the wall, and happy baby pose.

So, why is it that we should do this more often? Well, for one, it brings more oxygen to the brain.  Now, I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a great reason to do these for a few minutes a day. 

Here are a few other reasons:

1. It helps with balance. 

2. It builds self-confidence. 

3. It gives you a different perspective of the world.  Check out life upside down for a few moments.  Notice the sky or the trees. Take a moment and breath.

4. It shifts your organs and gives them a bit of different space for a moment. 

5. It helps the spine and disks between the spine.  Did you know that we can potentially shrink as we age, because our disks get smashed and withered away?  We need to give them a break more often.  Inverted poses will help with this.

6. It strengthens the core muscles.  When we move up and down into our inverted poses, we are engaging these core muscles even more. 

7.  It improves circulation!  Again, our hearts, brains, and lungs are going to thrive when we get into inverted positions.  Blood flows throughout our body, and the more oxygen we send to our cells throughout the body, the better we feel and the healthier we are.

Alright, so now what? Get into a few positions every day...even if it's only for 5 minutes...and enjoy. You could even try meditating in an inverted position.  Give it a shot.  If anything, it will give you a boost of energy in a healthy, free way. 

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine sent me a list of the top 5 toys for kids.  Being both a teacher and a mom, I was so excited to see what the toys could possibly be, knowing that birthdays and holidays were right around the corner.  It was an email that my friend sent me and I felt like a child anxiously, excitingly waiting to open my present the moment I was opening up the email message. 

So, the top 5 toys for kids included: Sticks, string, cardboard box, cardboard tubes, and dirt. 

What do these 5 things all have in common?  They are open-ended! Imagine the possibilities and fun that a child can have with these items either separately or all together in a gift basket. Kids have the best imaginations and creativity is so important at a young age.  We want our future musicians, designers, architects, athletes, gardeners, doctors, dentists, teachers, moms, and dads to be creative and come up with great ideas about life and living.  This is why it's very important to give them opportunities to use their imagination.  This is why the top 5 toys are what they are.

Well, I have one more toy to add to the mix......the balance board.  The things you can do with this board are endless. People of all ages and sizes can use it and it can be used not only for balance, but for a million other things.  Think about it. 

What could you do with a balance board?  Can you think of 10 things that you can do?  I know you can.

We all know that we're supposed to get a few servings of fruits and even more servings of vegetables a day....kids and adults included.  Well, as you may have guessed from the title, a great trick on how to get these tasty treats into your daily diet is through milkshakes, smoothies, and juices.  Now, I know this isn't new, but I just want to remind everyone of how delicious and nutritious a smoothie can be, especially when made at home.  And if your kids get involved in the process, even better. 

Here are three tried, tested, and oh so approved recipes from young athletes with selective appetites (AKA Picky Eaters).  Enjoy!

Berry Yogurt Smoothie

All you need to do is throw in some cut up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, a handful of spinach, yogurt of your choice, and some milk of your choice (almond, soy, coconut) into a blender or food-processor.  Mmmmm, so blissful.

Gone Bananas Milkshake with PB & F

Throw in a banana, some peanut butter, a Tablespoon of flaxseed oil, ice, and milk of your choice into a blender or food processor.  Viola!

Jungle Juice

bunch of spinach, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 pear, 1/2 apple, 1/4 papaya, 1 celery stalk, a bit of parsley, 1 inch fresh ginger root.  Put all of these in a juicer or powerful blender until smoothie-like consistency.  This is tasty and loved by a 4 year old.  If you don't like it, at least you will know that your getting your greens. 

Whether it's about life, being mindful or friendships, here are some of my favorite quotes that I've come across lately.

Whenever I teach a yoga class, I would have to say that Savasana is one of the most requested and enjoyed moments of yoga.  This is also called "corpse pose" or a "yoga nap."  It's the last part of a yoga lesson, where everyone lies down on their back and relaxes.  There's either music, silence, or a story to go along with Savasana.  The idea is to get into a deep meditative, relaxed state and of course, if you fall asleep during Savasana...it's A-ok.

So, how do we get kids to get into Savasana? We all know that kids go a mile a minute. They have more energy than the energizer bunny.  We often talk about how wonderful it would be to bottle up kids' energy and sell it.  So, how is it that they can go from 0-60 and back to 0 so quickly?  The key is this:

#1: Kids need to run and play.  They have so much energy and they need to use it.  That's why yoga and even the simple (or not so simple) act of balancing uses this energy efficiently.  Anything active will get their hearts and lungs pumping, their brain oxygenated, and their bodies thriving. 

#2:  Kids need to rest.  Rest is just as important as exercise.  Fortunately the two go hand-in-hand like yin and yang.  After some good running, jumping, balancing, or yoga-kids are ready to rest.  Their bodies crave it and their minds cherish it. 

Tips:  Eye pillows are great to put over the eyes to keep the eyes from opening during Savasana.  Some kids can't handle silence, especially if they aren't exposed to it much.  So, music is a great relaxer.  I find the most useful tip is to tell an imaginative relaxation story during Savasana.  Children have a great imagination, and by practicing these stories, they will learn to find their own "special place" when they are at home or on their own. 

Savasana can be practiced right before bed time to help children and adults get into a deeper, more relaxed sleep.

Good night. Sleep tight.