Yoga has a lot to offer us regardless of the season or the situation. And in this period of intense heat, we thought that a small selection of the best yogi tips against the heat would not be too much!
How does outdoor heat affect our body?
With the noticeable increase in external heat, body heat also increases. This can cause an accelerated heart rate and therefore a rise in stress on the human body. Sleep is also disturbed most of the time by these high temperatures. We are hot, we sleep badly, not enough, and so we wake up tired, dehydrated and often in a bad mood.
With a week hovering around 40 degrees all over France, yoga can really be of great help in calming and soothing the body subjected to these disturbances. Yoga, regardless of its form, calms and detoxifies, it relieves fatigue, which is why it is practiced all year round, in extreme cold or in a heat wave.
We reveal some tips to make your practice refreshing and fight against the heat wave!
SHITALI PRÂNÂYÂMA so-called “refreshing” breathing
The basis of all practice is breathing. There are different types, for different purposes. To bring down the body temperature, it is the Shitali breathing that must be privileged.
It is a so-called “refreshing” breath (Shitali means refreshing in Sanskrit), it cools the body and the mind and therefore counterbalances the very high outside temperature. It is a breath that acts directly on the heart chakra and is therefore extremely soothing in addition to being refreshing.
How to practice it?
To practice this breathing, sit comfortably cross-legged.
Roll your tongue out of your mouth and inhale for about six seconds.
Feel the cool enter your body during this hissing sound, from your mouth to your belly.
Hold the breath for a few seconds before exhaling through your nose.
For this breathing to be effective, it must be practiced between 10 to 15 total breaths. At the end of this session you will feel soothed and filled with fresh air .
Head over to our Instagram account @yujyioga for Shitali breathing with Hélène Duval.
Sarvangasana against heavy legs
In addition to Shitali breathing, a few postures are particularly effective in annihilating the effects of the outside temperature on your body. One of the main effects of heat on the body is this feeling of heavy legs.
To fight against this, it is the posture of the candle to privilege, Sarvangasana in Sanskrit. This posture allows a better blood circulation and automatically relieves this unpleasant feeling.
How to practice it?
To practice it, you just have to lie down, then raise your legs by pressing on your tailbone with your hands to give it support, and thus avoid injury.
If it's a pose you're not used to doing, you don't need to have perfectly straight legs, just the feeling of having your legs lifted improves blood circulation.
The right gestures to adopt during the practice
Of course, good hydration is essential to avoid any risk of dehydration. Don't forget to drink at least 1.5L of water a day. So bring your bottle in addition to your mat during lessons! Sweating in the summer - or under infrared lamps - is excellent, provided you are well hydrated.
However, it is advisable to wear light clothing, which facilitates the evacuation of sweat. That's why we are committed to producing clothes that breathe. All YUJ leggings and bras are produced in Polyamide, the material used in swimwear. This ensures comfort for our yogis during their practices, and extremely rapid evacuation of perspiration.
Finally, it is important to know how to listen to your body. If the practice becomes too intense, do not hesitate to put yourself in Balasana, the posture of the child, to breathe and let your body come back to its senses.
Yoga is therefore a very good remedy against the heat wave that should never be neglected.
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