Beat The Heat This Summer With These Ten Cooling Yoga Exercises

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Triple-digit “feels-like” temps and an endless heat advisory. Ahhh summer in NOLA.

The slow energy of the summer here can be an oddly refreshing change of pace after festival season. But some of us want to keep getting after it, or just be more comfortable in our day-to-day living.

We get it! That’s why we’ve put together this list of tried and true yoga-based exercises to beat the heat and stay cool this summer.

Don’t let that 70% humidity keep you down!

Instantly Cool Off With Your Breath

Try these three breathing techniques, or pranayamas, to cool down almost instantly!

Sitali Pranayama

This cooling breath works wonders to chill out both tempers and temperatures.

To practice it simply:

  1. Stick out your tongue and roll it like a taco

  2. Inhale through your mouth (it will feel like you’re breathing through a straw)

  3. Close your mouth and breathe out of your nose

  4. Repeat until you feel the glorious cooling effects, about 5 minutes

Sheetkari Pranayama

Can’t roll your tongue? No worries! Sheetkari is very similar to Sitali, except for the tongue roll. Both of these breathing techniques cool you down by cooling the air down as you breathe it in.

To practice it:

  1. Press your teeth together and open your lips

  2. Breathe in through your teeth

  3. Close your mouth and breathe out of your nose

  4. Continue for about 5 minutes

Lion’s Breath

Lion’s Breath is another wonderful pranayama exercise to beat the heat and let out some steam. Don’t be shy with this one, Lion’s Breath gets its name from the ferocious exhale!

To practice:

  1. Inhale through your nose

  2. While inhaling squeeze your eyes shut and squeeze all of your facial muscles toward the center

  3. As you exhale out your mouth...

  4. Open your eyes wide, open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue, and let out a big growl

Keep Calm and Stay Cool

When you are stressed your body is warmer because it is activated. So, the more relaxed you are, the cooler your body can be. And what’s our favorite way to keep the stress at bay? Yoga, of course!

Join any NOLA Vibe Yoga class to experience the relaxing effects of yoga. Just don’t expect to cool down while we’re practicing.

There are also specific postures, or asanas, that invite a deeper relaxation into your body. They do so by switching on your parasympathetic nervous system, or the “rest and digest'' state. When you are stressed, your body is stuck in the sympathetic nervous system, or “fight or flight” state. Forward bends and twists are especially good for de-stressing and cooling

1. Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-knee forward bend)

Find that rest and digest state from the comfort of your mat. Ahhh cooling and calming!

2. Uttanasana (Standing forward bend)

This pose reduces your metabolic rate and therefore decreases body heat... just be careful not to topple forward!

3. Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend)

Full body relaxation and plenty of space for extra body heat to escape.

4. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes)

Twists actually help to cool your blood! Who’s blood is boiling now? Not yours!

5. Supta Matsyendrasana (Supine Spinal Twist)

Twists also release excess toxins from the abdomen. Not like anyone in NOLA might have excess toxins in that region though...

6. Savasana (Corpse pose)

Everyone’s favorite! Lay back, starfish out, and relax.

Visualization Meditation

Can you think your way out of being too hot? This technique might be a little more advanced. But if you have an established meditation practice- give it a try!

Visualization is a powerful meditation practice for many aspects of life. People have used visualization meditations to find more personal freedom, financial abundance, and relationship success. Cooling off is a walk in the park compared to those feats!

If you want to give it a try, simply visualize snow-capped mountains during your meditation practice. You can also focus on the color blue to invite feelings of cold. Be open to experiencing the magic of small shivers during your practice!

Stay Cool, NOLA!

Remember these practices, techniques, and tips to stay safe and cool this summer! We can’t wait to see you on your mat and catch a NOLA vibe with you!