Cool Off With Yoga

It is hot outside.  At least here in the Midwest, and that makes all the talk of creating inner heat (or using outer atmosphere to create heat) seem a little out of touch.  We do not need heat right now, especially with the humidity that any area surrounded by corn has in the summer, which is right where we are located here at Sunlight.

But also, the phrase “cool down” can mean other things besides a down-regulation of your body temperature.  It seems that this time of year is when we start to ramp up for things that are happening in the late summer and fall, like school and job shifts.  This year will be different for these events, we all understand that, so how do we keep our “cool” in times of trouble?  Can yoga help with that?

You bet.  I have long espoused the phrase “yoga makes you better at life” and this is no exception. 

There are a couple different techniques that are easy to add to a daily yoga practice to help you cool down, and these are all highlighted this month on our online platform Sunlight Streams. 

The first technique is Sitali, which is a pranayama technique that has been used to activate the cooling parts of our disposition by yoga practitioners for a long time now.  This only takes a couple minutes and is one of those techniques that you think when you read it is not going to help, but really is a game changer.  The technique itself is easy (as long as you can curl your tongue) and brings air into the body to help cool us down. 

Here is how it works:

• Make an O shape with your mouth and stick your tongue out, curling the edges up towards the top lips. 

Note: I have seen this technique referred to as “taco breath” which I find unappealing on a whole lot of levels, but I get why they say it.  Your tongue looks like a taco shell.

• Breathe slowly in and out through your tongue. 

The air should feel cool coming in and going out.  Keep this breathing for as long as you are comfortable doing so, 2-3 minutes is definitely long enough to feel the cooling effects of Sitali. 

Now that we have our go-to “beat the heat” summer breathwork strategy, is there anything else can we do to cool down the mind during this stressful weeks that can happen in July and August as we are hot and getting busier? 

Let’s try Rebecca’s go-to strategy for calming down and cooling of those high-firing neurons in the brain, Lazy Savasana. 

If you know the Sanskrit term Savasana, you know it is the pose that most yoga classes end with, which is laying flat on your back with your arms and legs extending, relaxing for 5-15 minutes depending on the yoga class.  That seems lazy enough, right?

But what we have noticed is that when someone says “do you do savasana or relaxation at home?” people get really worked up about it.  They don’t want to roll their mat out, get everything set up, gate off their dog in the other room, and then worry how long they have laid on the floor.

So there is a simpler, and much less labor intensive way to cool down those brain cells during the summer using the same principle as traditional Savasana.

Here are the steps.

1.  Find a couch near a window.

2.  Open the curtain to the window.

3.  Lay down.

4.  Look out the window.

5.  Set a timer if you are worried that time might get away from you.

It seems like a really basic not-super-beneficial technique, right?

NO!  It is very good for your brain to daydream and focus on something outside our own thoughts and feelings for a minute.  It gives us perspective.  It allows us to tap into parts of our brain that are used in creativity and also gives us the space to think about what is really important, and rest is as important as anything else we do in our lives. 

Do you want to live better and love more?  Do you want to feel more at ease with life?  You need to integrate a rest practice into your daily routine. 

Pretend you are a kid trying to find something to do.  Stare out the window, let your body rest, let your mind rest, and cool things down for a few minutes. 

5 minutes of this will make all of the difference.

Ready to cool off some more?  Check out Sunlight Streams (our online studio) July/August Cooling practices!

With gratitude,

Rebecca