Calm, Cool, and Collected
Calm, Cool, & Collected
Did you know that as we get deeper into the hot days of summer that instead of gearing up and increasing our work outs we should start to slow down? Our yoga practice (and our workouts) should follow the trends of seasons and in the heat of the summer it’s time to take it a little easy on ourselves.
Springtime and early summer we up our workouts enjoying the warmer weather; our workouts take us outdoors for longer runs, walks, hiking or even swimming. Whatever we could find to keep us outdoors and enjoying the elements. If you look at most warm weather cultures, they actually slow down as the temperatures climb, taking a siestas (rest) during the day as the hot weather can be draining on our energy levels.
Instead of pushing yourself harder, maybe today is the day to stop, assess how you are feeling, and allow the body some down time. Take the walk or run or swim and of course get on your mat for yoga, but maybe you don’t have to run those five miles, maybe three slower ones will suffice. Instead of 10+ Sun Salutations why not five and add a few other postures and stretches that are more cooling to the body. By slowing down, using only 70% of our energy, and looking inside and around us and not pushing too much, maybe more energy or better balance can be found within us. Yoga recognizes that heat can collect in the body and the tissues from exposure (both external and internal). This can have an inflammatory effect on the body and mind. Staying cool also helps us to stay calm.
Keeping your yoga practice a little more low key and including breath work (always a great idea any season) can help keep you cool in your body, mind and spirit. Who doesn’t need to keep their cool these days!
Here are some suggestions:
Workout or practice yoga in the morning before the heat of the day begins to creep in. Add some meditation and cooling breaths.
Lesson the intensity of your workout. Allow your yoga practice to be a bit more flowy instead of holding poses.
The effort of your workout needs to be about 70% so not to overheat the body. Once overheated it’s hard to recover.
Soften your gaze and your thoughts. The eyes are the seat of the fire element, when they are intensely staring or overly busy the body can experience feelings of heat or stress. Softening the gaze brings in a sense of calmness and can have a cooling effect.
So the next time you start to feel overheated in your body or emotions; like you’re about to reach your boiling point, maybe you can use some of these tools to help find some calm, coolness and ease to get you through these last hot weeks of summer.
I wish you all, love light laughter, health and happiness - Namaste,
Terry