Making Your Yoga Practice Suit You This Summer

For years I did something that I wouldn't even dream of doing now -- I did the same type of yoga practice regardless of how I was feeling. Sick or well; low energy or high energy; winter or summer -- it didn't matter. I did the same vigorous practice day in and day out. Not surprising that I found myself injured and unhappy and craving something different. That's when my yoga study began.

Luckily I learned a few things along the way and now I practice the yoga that suits me in the moment. Today's practice was completely different than the practice that I did last Monday. And my practice tomorrow will most likely differ from what I did today. My body, my mood, my needs are always changing, so why not change my yoga practice?

If you've never switched up your yoga practice before, why not consider it now that summer is upon us? I don't know about you, but I don't want a fiery practice that overheats me in the summertime. My body craves lightness -- in both my food intake and my yoga practice. I'm drawn to lighter foods like watermelon, beans (I made a killer three bean salad for the 4th of July barbecue), smoothies, and berries. My Kapha constitution typically prevents me from being overly affected by the warmer weather, but I still watch my practice during the summer. Here are some tips to help you adjust your practice for the warmer summer weather:

• I suggest eating lighter foods. As I've already mentioned, I turn into a watermelon junkie in the summer time. I just love the water content and the sweetness of watermelon and I tend to crave it constantly in the summer time. Click here for some great watermelon recipes from the folks at Kripalu. 
• Practice asanas that balance the internal fire rather than crank it up -- baddha padmasana, dhanurasana, matsyanasana, salamba sarvangasana, setu bandhasana, and vrksasana.
• If you prefer to stick with your usual practice, try practicing differently. Practicing asana in a gentle, meditative manner can cool down your practice. Make sure your breathing has the two qualities mentioned in the Yoga Sutras -- long and smooth. Don't force the breath and be sure that you're not holding it during your practice. And if you're loathe to give up Sun Salutations (you certainly don't have to), try toning them down a bit by taking out the jumps. Again, think gentle.
• Try cooling pranayama practices. My favorite is Sitali but sitcari and chandra bhedana are also excellent methods for cooling the internal fire. Click here for a wonderful Peaceful Pranayama practice from YogaToday.
• Chanting extends the breath and cooling chants like om and shanti, shanti, shanti can extend your exhale and calm you down. Try incorporating cooling chants into your asana practice for a cooling effect.

For more tips on staying cool this summer, check out the ISHTA Yoga blog.

If you feel your temperature rising at some point during the day, take a yoga break. Kripalu offers some wonderful -- and short -- downloadable yoga breaks that can offer a welcome time out at any time during your day.

One last note before I sign off to enjoy some of this delightful summer weather -- don't forget that tomorrow is the final day of the Summer Solstice Giveaway. That means that you only have through the end of the day tomorrow to enter to win one of the four great prizes that I know you'll love. Click here for details on how to enter. I'll be announcing the winners later on in the week.

Stay cool and namaste!

Comments

[Yoga]

Good to see you that you enjoyed yoga...I am planning to join yoga from next weekend.

[Nilendu Bhattacharya]

You are absolutely spot on about changing the practice routine or adding new asanas in the practice. That add more enthusiasm and energy to the practice. I started practicing different asanas and it gave me new perspective. I recently had back problem and solved it with back bending asanas. Doing this helped me cure the back problem, but more than that add newer ideas and interesting dimension to my routine. Thanks for sharing this.