Beat the heat with these cooling yoga positions, experts reveal
Monday 21 June is International Yoga Day and interest worldwide has increased by a staggering 2500% for ‘when is International Yoga Day’ over the last seven days proving our love.
But as temperatures begin to soar at home and abroad, it can be tricky to maintain our love for feeling zen, when our sweat levels reach new heights.
Therefore, this encouraged lifestyle and health experts at Flawless.org to partner and consult Sara Picken-Brown, a leading Yoga instructor, Holistic Coach and Integrative Movement Specialist to provide well-known positions to not only help you stay trimmed, but stay cool ahead of summer.
“The heat is a great way to access mobility and flexibility, sweat being a great way to detox the skin and system of toxins and encourage rehydration. But how can we cool the body with movement when it’s really hot?
Here are some of my favourite heat releasing activities you can try. Make sure you are well hydrated and that you are in a shady place, always go at your own pace listening to your body and if pregnant be mindful of your overall temperature and use a cold compress at the back of the neck if you get too hot or feel nauseous at all.”
4 Yoga positions to try:
- Childs Pose or Puppy Pose are wonderful for calming the nervous system and if you are experiencing heat related headaches, after hydrating, these can be gently calming for a sore head.
- Camel Pose & Wheel: Both heart openers and back bends, these can help dial down the stress response and tightness built up from sitting and any tension found in the body.
- Butterfly Pose (sitting with soles of feet together, knees open or;
- Reclined Goddess Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) is wonderful for opening the hips and releasing tension in the lower back, if this is your usual ‘hot spot’ of tension.
- A Yogic Breath technique called sitali meaning “cooling’. You sit comfortably, moisten your tongue then stick your tongue out and roll the edges of your tongue together to make a tube shape. Taking deep inhalations and exhalations for 4-6 counts, repeating 10 -50 times. An additional imagery that I find useful is to imagine yourself sitting by a stream in a cool rainforest. Hear the birds, smell the scent of flowers in the air. It’s a wonderful meditation practice and very effective.
