Tag: kids yoga

February 2023 – Asana (Pose) Styles: Kids and Family Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Intro Info

Table of contents

Happy February 5, 2023 – Asana Styles: Kids and Family Yoga

purple yogi girl vrksasana tree pose yoga
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Good morning Yogis! We are continuing covering the various Asana styles. I have covered these in the past, and for the next week will revisit or introduce some of the various Styles of Yoga. Hopefully you will find one or a few favorite Asana styles to integrate into your daily practice, and be more informed to select between class offerings at a Yoga studio. Today we will cover Kids and Family Yoga and try a Family Yoga Series.

Kids and Family Yoga

Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. Most family and kids classes are more exciting versions of Hatha Yoga Style from yesterday. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately, the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, and most classes for kids cannot flow, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asanas practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga. The nontraditional approach may be a bit more challenging for experienced Yogis than an intro Hatha class.

Today’s Positive Practice suggestion

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a family Yoga series and connect with your inner child!

Recommended Videos

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped-up version of a Cosmic Kids video above (I tried Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motions for kids… I could not stop giggling during the Zombie section, but my dogs got a bit upset!

Get today’s Daily Yogi Positive Practice in your inbox
Register for our email list!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Want to check out more types of Yoga? Check out our Asana Styles Guide!

Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Share your Practice

Please comment to share your experience with this series! Which version did you try? What did you think? Always remember, be kind!

More Positive Practices

Missed yesterday’s post? Read it here!

              

October 2022: Draconids Meteor Shower – Utthita Tadasana (Five Pointed Star Pose)

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Grounding Asanas, Holiday

Good morning Yogis! Today is the ideal day for the Draconids Meteor Shower. This is a fairly minor meteor shower at only 10/hour, but it is one of the few meteor showers that is best viewed in the early evening.. if the sky is clear, try to catch a shooting star tonight! I seriously LOVE stars, all kinds of stars… whether sparkling in the sky, printed all over my footed pajamas, or doodled in the margins of all my notebooks. So today we are taking a break after completing the Yamas and before starting the Niyamas to cover Utthita Tadasana (OOT-hi-ta ta-DA-sa-nuh) or Five Pointed Star Pose.

We are in the middle of a bonus Daily Meditation Challenge for October! For our Star Themed day today, my meditation for the day is a Celestial Visualization Guided Meditation.

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try Utthita Tadasana or Five Pointed Star Pose, and try to stargaze and catch a shooting star in tonight’s Meteor Shower! PS the Draconids Meteor Shower peaks tomorrow, but this meteor shower is active until the 10th, so you can stargaze another night if visibility is poor today.

Utthita Tadasana – FIve Pointed Star Pose

The literal translation for this pose from Sanskrit is “Extended Mountain Pose” and we will enter from Tadasana or Mountain Pose. The traditional version and variation below are frequently used in Kid’s Yoga, or this is a common transitional Asana that is often passed-through (ie when moving into Warrior Poses) but not often held in adult classes. However, this “Extended” Mountain Pose is a great power pose on its own!

Utthita Tadasana - five-pointed star pose - yoga pose girl pink and purple planet galaxy background
Utthita Tadasana – Star Pose

Feet and Legs – Starting with your legs closed in Tadasana / Mountain Pose, step or hop your feet out as wide as comfortable, at least double hip-width. Try to have your wrists under ankles when you raise your arms around to come into the traditional expression of this Asana – I prefer holding his pose with legs closer together for a solid “power pose”. Toes can point straight ahead, or turn out slightly to point at the corners of your mat. Make sure your legs are comfortably straight. Perhaps keep a slight bend in the knee. Always make sure you avoid hyper-extending or locking your knees.

Hips – Make sure your hips are neutral. Try to tilt your hips forward and back a bit to get a feel for your natural posture. Err on the side of tucking your tailbone under, rather than sticking your booty out.

Torso – Notice your rib cage. If you notice the bottom of rib cage is sticking out, pull back in and down to correct your posture. Next notice your shoulders. Try to gently roll your shoulders back and down, away from your ears. Notice how this helps your chest open.

Head and Neck – Check where your ears are compared to your shoulders. Most of us keep our heads slightly forward. If you notice you are doing this, tuck your chin slightly and gently press back to bring your neck and ears into alignment with your shoulders. Either close your eyes, or gaze softly ahead.

Arms – Exhale and spread your arms wide at shoulder height to come into the traditional version of Utthita Tadasana. Spread your fingers wide, and your palms can face down to the floor or straight ahead.

Hold this pose for as long as comfortable, usually 3-5 breaths.

To come into the variation below, keep your shoulders down and back, and raise your hands above your head.

Utthita Tadasana - five-pointed star pose variation hands raised - yoga pose girl blue planet galaxy background
Utthita Tadasana – Star Pose – Hands Raised

PPS If you are comfortable with Utthita Tadasana, please tag us with your pictures on Instagram!

Check out our Top 5 Yoga Mats and Equipment for Newbies!

Utthita Tadasana will not require any props other than a yoga mat.
You can try holding a strap between hands for tight shoulders and to keep arms in line.

Top 5 Yoga Equipment for Newbies

Top 5 Yoga Mats


Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried Utthita Tadasana / Five Pointed Star Pose before? Were you able to catch a shooting star for the Draconids Meteor Shower? Always remember, be kind!

YOGA TEACHERS – see more on Tummee

              

September 2022: Asanas (Poses) – YogaFit Day & Family Health & Fitness Day: Family & Kids Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Ayurveda, Holiday, Intro Info, Self Care

Good morning Yogis! Today is Asana Day!. Today is National YogaFit Day and this weekend (yesterday) is also Family Health and Fitness Day USA! We are in the middle of a daily Asana practice challenge for September! Please see our Asana Styles page for links to youtube videos for various Yoga Styles. For Family Heath & Fitness Day today, I recommend a dynamic Vinyasa series, or try a Family or Kids Yoga Session! Cosmic Kids Yoga has a ton of different classes enjoyable for school aged kids. Or, look for ‘mommy and me’ yoga for options for Yogis with younger children.

I usually practice with the Yoga Studio App rather than streaming services, so I can download my favorite classes and use in areas without Wifi or phone signal. Today I am trying a new 60 minute Vinyasa, and breaking a sweat for YogaFit or Family Health and Fitness Day!

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a Vinyasa series, or perhaps a family Yoga series if you have children! Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asana practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga.

Today’s Daily Yogi practice is fitness based, but today’s Family Health and Fitness Day USA is focused on both health and fitness. So, I would like to share a couple things I have learned from some of my research on nutrition to cover the health piece. I have a few old friends who are MDs… and though there is a bit more coverage for DOs, I was shocked how little traditional education for MDs focuses on nutrition! These old friends with MDs will be slightly horrified to learn about my interest and continuing education in Ayurveda, so I will mostly hold off on going there… for today (though I still swear by my Ayurvedic Diet that explains why I am a rare American woman who does not like salads and also supports my love of cheese).

The modern scientific community has made many changes in nutrition recommendations in recent years. Remember the Food Pyramid you learned about in school, which recommended 1/3 – 1/2 of your daily calories from grains? That has changed to a Food Circle or Plate, with some very different diet recommendations! Along with this change to 50% fruits and veggies rather than 50% grains, I have seen a lot of recommendations about trying to “eat the whole rainbow” to get more essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, and this seems fairly logical to me. Here are a couple nutrition info-graphics on this, click if you want to print or save for reference!

healthy nutrition redefined food pyramid vs healthy eating plate, nutrition recommendations infographic
Healthy Nutrition Redefined
rainbow of health fruit and vegetables infographic: white benefits immune support, orange benefits cancer prevention, green benefits detoxification, red benefits heart health, yellow benefits beauty, purple benefits longevity
Rainbow of Health

If you are interested in nutrition and diet, I strongly recommend doing research on MacroNutrients which is widely accepted by the scientific and fitness communities. Or, perhaps do some more digging on ancient Ayurveda if I piqued your interest and you enjoyed our star chart exercise. I’m just a nerd and like all the learning 🙂

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped-up version of a Cosmic Kids video (I did Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motion for kids.

Get today’s Daily Yogi Positive Practice in your inbox
Register for our email list!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried kids or family yoga before? Please share any favorites.. Vinyasa and Kids’ Yoga are probably the two styles I practice the least! Have you heard these nutrition recommendations before? Always remember, be kind!

              

February 2022 – Asana (Pose) Styles: Kids and Family Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Intro Info

Table of contents

Happy February 6, 2022 – Asana Styles: Kids and Family Yoga

purple yogi girl vrksasana tree pose yoga
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Good morning Yogis! We are continuing covering the various Asana styles. I have covered these in the past, and for the next week will revisit or introduce some of the various Styles of Yoga. Hopefully you will find one or a few favorite Asana styles to integrate into your daily practice, and be more informed to select between class offerings at a Yoga studio. Today we will cover Kids and Family Yoga and try a Family Yoga Series.

Kids and Family Yoga

Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. Most family and kids classes are more exciting versions of Hatha Yoga Style from yesterday. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately, the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, and most classes for kids cannot flow, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asanas practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga. The nontraditional approach may be a bit more challenging for experienced Yogis than an intro Hatha class.

Today’s Positive Practice suggestion

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a family Yoga series and connect with your inner child!

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped-up version of a Cosmic Kids video above (I tried Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motions for kids… I could not stop giggling during the Zombie section, but my dogs got a bit upset!

Get today’s Daily Yogi Positive Practice in your inbox
Register for our email list!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Want to check out more types of Yoga? Check out our Asana Styles Guide!

Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Share your Practice

Please comment to share your experience with this series! Which version did you try? What did you think? Always remember, be kind!

More Positive Practices

Missed yesterday’s post? Read it here!

1             
1
Share

Utthita Tadasana – Five Pointed Star Pose – Draconids Meteor Shower

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Grounding Asanas, Holiday

Good morning Yogis! Today is the ideal day for the Draconids Meteor Shower. This is a fairly minor meteor shower at only 10/hour, but it is one of the few meteor showers that is best viewed in the early evening.. if the sky is clear, try to catch a shooting star tonight! I seriously LOVE stars, all kinds of stars… whether sparkling in the sky, printed all over my footed pajamas, or doodled in the margins of all my notebooks. So today we are taking a break after completing the Yamas and before starting the Niyamas to cover Utthita Tadasana (OOT-hi-ta ta-DA-sa-nuh) or Five Pointed Star Pose.

We are in the middle of a bonus Daily Meditation Challenge for October! For our Star Themed day today, my meditation for the day is a Celestial Visualization Guided Meditation.

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try Utthita Tadasana or Five Pointed Star Pose, and try to stargaze and catch a shooting star in tonight’s Meteor Shower! PS the Draconids Meteor Shower peaks tomorrow October 8th, but the dark sky of the new moon makes for ideal viewing tonight! This meteor shower is active until the 10th, so you can stargaze another night if visibility is poor today.

Utthita Tadasana – FIve Pointed Star Pose

The literal translation for this pose from Sanskrit is “Extended Mountain Pose” and we will enter from Tadasana or Mountain Pose. The traditional version and variation below are frequently used in Kid’s Yoga, or this is a common transitional Asana that is often passed-through (ie when moving into Warrior Poses) but not often held in adult classes. However, this “Extended” Mountain Pose is a great power pose on its own!

Utthita Tadasana - five-pointed star pose - yoga pose girl pink and purple planet galaxy background
Utthita Tadasana – Star Pose

Feet and Legs – Starting with your legs closed in Tadasana / Mountain Pose, step or hop your feet out as wide as comfortable, at least double hip-width. Try to have your wrists under ankles when you raise your arms around to come into the traditional expression of this Asana – I prefer holding his pose with legs closer together for a solid “power pose”. Toes can point straight ahead, or turn out slightly to point at the corners of your mat. Make sure your legs are comfortably straight. Perhaps keep a slight bend in the knee. Always make sure you avoid hyper-extending or locking your knees.

Hips – Make sure your hips are neutral. Try to tilt your hips forward and back a bit to get a feel for your natural posture. Err on the side of tucking your tailbone under, rather than sticking your booty out.

Torso – Notice your rib cage. If you notice the bottom of rib cage is sticking out, pull back in and down to correct your posture. Next notice your shoulders. Try to gently roll your shoulders back and down, away from your ears. Notice how this helps your chest open.

Head and Neck – Check where your ears are compared to your shoulders. Most of us keep our heads slightly forward. If you notice you are doing this, tuck your chin slightly and gently press back to bring your neck and ears into alignment with your shoulders. Either close your eyes, or gaze softly ahead.

Arms – Exhale and spread your arms wide at shoulder height to come into the traditional version of Utthita Tadasana. Spread your fingers wide, and your palms can face down to the floor or straight ahead.

Hold this pose for as long as comfortable, usually 3-5 breaths.

To come into the variation below, keep your shoulders down and back, and raise your hands above your head.

Utthita Tadasana - five-pointed star pose variation hands raised - yoga pose girl blue planet galaxy background
Utthita Tadasana – Star Pose – Hands Raised

PPS If you are comfortable with Utthita Tadasana, please tag us with your pictures on Instagram!

Check out our Top 5 Yoga Mats and Equipment for Newbies!

Utthita Tadasana will not require any props other than a yoga mat.
You can try holding a strap between hands for tight shoulders and to keep arms in line.

Top 5 Yoga Equipment for Newbies

Top 5 Yoga Mats


Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried Utthita Tadasana / Five Pointed Star Pose before? Were you able to catch a shooting star for the Draconids Meteor Shower? Always remember, be kind!

YOGA TEACHERS – see more on Tummee

1             
1
Share

Asanas (Poses) – Family Health & Fitness Day 2021 – Family & Kids Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Ayurveda, Holiday, Intro Info, Self Care

Good morning Yogis! Today is Asana Day, and it is also Family Health and Fitness Day USA! We are in the middle of a daily Asana practice challenge for September! Please see our Asana Styles page for links to youtube videos for various Yoga Styles. For Family Heath & Fitness Day today, I recommend a dynamic Vinyasa series, or try a Family or Kids Yoga Session! Cosmic Kids Yoga has a ton of different classes enjoyable for school aged kids. Or, look for ‘mommy and me’ yoga for options for Yogis with younger children.

I usually practice with the Yoga Studio App rather than streaming services, so I can download my favorite classes and use in areas without Wifi or phone signal. Today I am trying a new 60 minute Vinyasa, and breaking a sweat for Family Health and Fitness Day!

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a Vinyasa series, or perhaps a family Yoga series if you have children! Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asana practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga.

Today’s Daily Yogi practice is fitness based, but today’s Family Health and Fitness Day USA is focused on both health and fitness. So, I would like to share a couple things I have learned from some of my research on nutrition to cover the health piece. I have a few old friends who are MDs… and though there is a bit more coverage for DOs, I was shocked how little traditional education for MDs focuses on nutrition! These old friends with MDs will be slightly horrified to learn about my interest and continuing education in Ayurveda, so I will mostly hold off on going there… for today (though I still swear by my Ayurvedic Diet that explains why I am a rare American woman who does not like salads and also supports my love of cheese).

The modern scientific community has made many changes in nutrition recommendations in recent years. Remember the Food Pyramid you learned about in school, which recommended 1/3 – 1/2 of your daily calories from grains? That has changed to a Food Circle or Plate, with some very different diet recommendations! Along with this change to 50% fruits and veggies rather than 50% grains, I have seen a lot of recommendations about trying to “eat the whole rainbow” to get more essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, and this seems fairly logical to me. Here are a couple nutrition info-graphics on this, click if you want to print or save for reference!

healthy nutrition redefined food pyramid vs healthy eating plate, nutrition recommendations infographic
Healthy Nutrition Redefined
rainbow of health fruit and vegetables infographic: white benefits immune support, orange benefits cancer prevention, green benefits detoxification, red benefits heart health, yellow benefits beauty, purple benefits longevity
Rainbow of Health

If you are interested in nutrition and diet, I strongly recommend doing research on MacroNutrients which is widely accepted by the scientific and fitness communities. Or, perhaps do some more digging on ancient Ayurveda if I piqued your interest and you enjoyed our star chart exercise. I’m just a nerd and like all the learning 🙂

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped-up version of a Cosmic Kids video (I did Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motion for kids.

Get today’s Daily Yogi Positive Practice in your inbox
Register for our email list!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried kids or family yoga before? Please share any favorites.. Vinyasa and Kids’ Yoga are probably the two styles I practice the least! Have you heard these nutrition recommendations before? Always remember, be kind!

1             
1
Share

Asanas – Poses – Asana Styles – Kids and Family Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Intro Info

Table of contents

Happy February 7, 2021 – Asana Styles: Kids and Family Yoga

purple yogi girl vrksasana tree pose yoga
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Good morning Yogis! We are continuing covering the various Asana styles. I have covered these in the past, and for the next week will revisit or introduce some of the various Styles of Yoga. Hopefully you will find one or a few favorite Asana styles to integrate into your daily practice, and be more informed to select between class offerings at a Yoga studio. Today we will cover Kids and Family Yoga and try a Family Yoga Series.

Kids and Family Yoga

Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. Most family and kids classes are more exciting versions of Hatha Yoga Style from yesterday. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately, the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, and most classes for kids cannot flow, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asanas practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga. The nontraditional approach may be a bit more challenging for experienced Yogis than an intro Hatha class.

Today’s Positive Practice suggestion

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a family Yoga series and connect with your inner child!

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped up version of a Cosmic Kids video above (I tried Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motion for kids… I could not stop giggling during the Zombie section, but my dogs got a bit upset!

Get today’s Daily Yogi Positive Practice in your inbox
Register for our email list!

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Want to check out more types of Yoga? Check out our Asana Styles Guide!

Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Share your Practice

Please comment to share your experience with this series! Which version did you try? What did you think? Always remember, be kind!

More Positive Practices

Missed yesterday’s post? Read it here!

              

Utthita Tadasana – Five Pointed Star Pose – Draconids Meteor Shower

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Grounding Asanas, Holiday, Intro Info

Good morning Yogis! Today is the peak day for the Draconids Meteor Shower. This is a fairly minor meteor shower at only 10/hour, but it is one of the few meteor showers that is best viewed in the early evening.. if the sky is clear, try to catch a shooting star tonight! I seriously LOVE stars, all kinds of stars… whether sparkling in the sky, printed all over my footed pajamas, or doodled in the margins of all my notebooks. So today we are taking a break after completing the Yamas and before starting the Niyamas to cover Utthita Tadasana (OOT-hi-ta ta-DA-sa-nuh) or Five Pointed Star Pose.

We are in the middle of a bonus Daily Meditation Challenge for October! For our Star Themed day today, my meditation for the day is a Celestial Visualization Guided Meditation.

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try Utthita Tadasana or Five Pointed Star Pose, and try to stargaze and catch a shooting star in tonight’s Meteor Shower! PS the Draconids Meteor Shower peaks tonight October 7th but is active until the 10th, so you can stargaze another night if visibility is poor today.

Utthita Tadasana – FIve Pointed Star Pose

The literal translation for this pose from Sanskrit is “Extended Mountain Pose” and we will enter from Tadasana or Mountain Pose. The traditional version and variation below are frequently used in Kid’s Yoga, or this is a common transitional Asana that is often passed-through (ie when moving into Warrior Poses) but not often held in adult classes. However, this “Extended” Mountain Pose is a great power pose on its own!

Utthita Tadasana – Five Pointed Star

Feet and Legs – Starting with your legs closed in Tadasana / Mountain Pose, step or hop your feet out as wide as comfortable, at least double hip-width. Try to have your wrists under ankles when you raise your arms around to come into the traditional expression of this Asana – I prefer holding his pose with legs closer together for a solid “power pose”. Toes can point straight ahead, or turn out slightly to point at the corners of your mat. Make sure your legs are comfortably straight. Perhaps keep a slight bend in the knee. Always make sure you avoid hyper-extending or locking your knees.

Hips – Make sure your hips are neutral. Try to tilt your hips forward and back a bit to get a feel for your natural posture. Err on the side of tucking your tailbone under, rather than sticking your booty out.

Torso – Notice your rib cage. If you notice the bottom of rib cage is sticking out, pull back in and down to correct your posture. Next notice your shoulders. Try to gently roll your shoulders back and down, away from your ears. Notice how this helps your chest open.

Head and Neck – Check where your ears are compared to your shoulders. Most of us keep our heads slightly forward. If you notice you are doing this, tuck your chin slightly and gently press back to bring your neck and ears into alignment with your shoulders. Either close your eyes, or gaze softly ahead.

Arms – Exhale and spread your arms wide at shoulder height to come into the traditional version of Utthita Tadasana. Spread your fingers wide, and your palms can face down to the floor or straight ahead.

Hold this pose for as long as comfortable, usually 3-5 breaths.

To come into the variation below, keep your shoulders down and back, and raise your hands above your head.

Utthita Tadasana – Star Variation

PPS If you are comfortable with Utthita Tadasana, please tag us with your pictures on Instagram!

Check out our Top 5 Yoga Mats and Equipment for Newbies!

Utthita Tadasana will not require any props other than a yoga mat.
You can try holding a strap between hands for tight shoulders and to keep arms in line.

Top 5 Yoga Equipment for Newbies

Top 5 Yoga Mats


Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried Utthita Tadasana / Five Pointed Star Pose before? Were you able to catch a shooting star for the Draconids Meteor shower? Always remember, be kind!

YOGA TEACHERS – see more on Tummee

4             
4
Shares

Asanas – Poses – Day 4 – 2020 – Family Health & Fitness Day – Family & Kids Yoga

by Tarryn Tyler - Daily Yogiposted in 3-Asanas, Asana Styles, Ayurveda, Holiday, Intro Info, Self Care

Good morning Yogis! Today is Asana Day, and it is also Family Health and Fitness Day USA! We are in the middle of a daily Asana practice challenge for September! Please see our Asana Styles page for links to youtube videos for various Yoga Styles. For Family Heath & Fitness Day today, I recommend a dynamic Vinyasa series, or try a Family or Kids Yoga Session! Cosmic Kids Yoga has a ton of different classes enjoyable for school aged kids. Or, look for ‘mommy and me’ yoga for options for Yogis with younger children.

I usually practice with the Yoga Studio App rather than streaming services, so I can download my favorite classes and use in areas without Wifi or phone signal. Today I am trying a new 60 minute Vinyasa, and breaking a sweat for Family Health and Fitness Day!

Today’s Daily Yogi Practice is to try a Vinyasa series, or perhaps a family Yoga series if you have children! Many Kids’ Yoga classes use traditional Yoga Asanas (poses) with fun animal names and animal sounds. This is a great trick for busy parents – get some Yoga in your day, even if it is hard to find alone time in your day! Unfortunately the animal noises and trippy cartoons in Family or Kids’ Yoga may not be as relaxing and meditative as you are used to, but I personally find the physical benefits of Asana practice equally if not more beneficial than the mental benefits. You will also get a laugh.. it is hard not to smile at silly stories, animal noises, and the other fun things in kids yoga.

Today’s Daily Yogi practice is fitness based, but today’s Family Health and Fitness Day USA is focused on both health and fitness. So, I would like to share a couple things I have learned from some of my research on nutrition to cover the health piece. I have a few old friends who are MDs… and though there is a bit more coverage for DOs, I was shocked how little traditional education for MDs focuses on nutrition! These old friends with MDs will be slightly horrified to learn about my interest and continuing education in Ayurveda, so I will mostly hold off on going there… for today (though I still swear by my Ayurvedic Diet that explains why I am a rare American woman who does not like salads and also supports my love of cheese).

The modern scientific community has made many changes in nutrition recommendations in recent years. Remember the Food Pyramid you learned about in school, which recommended 1/3 – 1/2 of your daily calories from grains? That has changed to a Food Circle or Plate, with some very different diet recommendations! Along with this change to 50% fruits and veggies rather than 50% grains, I have seen a lot of recommendations about trying to “eat the whole rainbow” to get more essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, and this seems fairly logical to me. Here are a couple nutrition info-graphics on this, click if you want to print or save for reference!

healthy nutrition redefined food pyramid vs healthy eating plate, nutrition recommendations infographic
Healthy Nutrition Redefined
rainbow of health fruit and vegetables infographic: white benefits immune support, orange benefits cancer prevention, green benefits detoxification, red benefits heart health, yellow benefits beauty, purple benefits longevity
Rainbow of Health

If you are interested in nutrition and diet, I strongly recommend doing research on MacroNutrients which is widely accepted by the scientific and fitness communities. Or, perhaps do some more digging on ancient Ayurveda if I piqued your interest and you enjoyed our star chart exercise. I’m just a nerd and like all the learning 🙂

Cosmic Kids Yoga – check out the Disney-themed Yoga Adventures!

Yoga with Infants

Yoga with Toddlers

Check out a sped-up version of a Cosmic Kids video (I did Minecraft Adventure), to get a quick idea of what this style is like! You will notice beginner poses held for a longer period of time, silly names for poses, and fun motion for kids.

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Vrksasana - tree pose beginner variation - yoga pose yoga girl wearing pink and green sparkle set doing yoga inside in cool pink and green yoga studio
Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Like this Yoga set? Click here for product links and discount codes!

Please comment to share your experience! Have you tried kids or family yoga before? Please share any favorites.. Vinyasa and Kids’ Yoga are probably the two styles I practice the least! Have you heard these nutrition recommendations before? Always remember, be kind!

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