Stay Cool, Calm & Collected: Your Ultimate Summer Yoga Guide
As temperatures rise, yoga offers a powerful way to regulate the body’s internal heat and maintain mental clarity. Selecting the right āsanas is essential for staying balanced during the summer months. According to Gabriella Giubilaro, a senior Iyengar Yoga teacher from Italy, understanding the nature of each posture—whether it is heating or cooling—is key to creating an effective seasonal practice.
Heating postures, such as standing poses (Utthita Trikoṇāsana, Vīrabhadrāsana I & III), backbends, and inversions like Śīrṣāsana, energize and awaken the body but can also build excess internal heat if not balanced properly. Cooling postures, including forward bends, supported supine poses, and inversions like Sālamba Sarvāṅgāsana and Viparīta Karanī, help soothe the nervous system and calm the mind. A thoughtful summer sequence begins with stimulating poses and gradually transitions to calming, supported ones, concluding with deep rest in Śavāsana. As Giubilaro wisely notes, the sequencing of these postures—moving from effort to ease—is essential for cultivating inner peace rather than agitation.
In addition to understanding the nature of āsanas, it’s important to consider the individual needs and circumstances of each practitioner. Giubilaro emphasizes that factors like age, experience level, physical condition, and life stage all influence how a yoga sequence should be designed—particularly in the heat of summer. Beginners, for instance, may find all postures initially challenging and heating due to muscular effort, making the cooling effects harder to experience. Similarly, women navigating menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, or menopause may benefit from sequences tailored to support hormonal shifts and avoid overheating. For those recovering from travel, fatigue, or emotional stress, restorative poses with ample support can offer immense relief. Giubilaro advises adapting both the intensity and timing of practice—always finishing with poses that cool the body and calm the mind. By respecting both seasonal and personal rhythms, yoga becomes not just a physical discipline, but a deeply supportive tool for well-being during the summer months.
Read more on heating and cooling āsanas from Gabriella Giubilaro at iyengaryogavancouver.com.
Cooling Breath, Calming Mind: Pranayama and Summer Wellness Tips
In the peak of summer, when the sun’s intensity can overheat both body and mind, prāṇāyāma—the art of conscious breathing—offers powerful relief. Sri Krishan Verma, director of Sri Sri Yoga, outlines effective cooling pranayamas that support the heart, soothe the nervous system, and reduce excess pitta (the fire element in Ayurveda). Techniques such as Śītalī, Śītkārī, and Chandrabhedana are especially helpful in the hotter months. These practices gently draw in cool air and help lower internal heat while calming both body and mind.
For example, Śītalī involves curling the tongue and inhaling through the mouth, then exhaling through the nose, creating a noticeable cooling effect. Similarly, Śītkārī and Chandrabhedana stimulate parasympathetic activity, pacify the nadis (energy channels), and ease symptoms like irritability, restlessness, and fatigue. After completing prāṇāyāma, resting in Śavāsana allows the breath to settle and the nervous system to integrate the practice. As Verma wisely notes, a calm mind is crucial to staying balanced in intense external conditions—making meditation, breath awareness, and deep relaxation indispensable practices during summer.
Just as breathwork helps cool the inner system, nourishment must also align with the season. Verma emphasizes avoiding foods that increase heat and burden the digestive system. Spicy, oily, and heavy foods—as well as excess caffeine, sugar, and alcohol—can intensify pitta, leaving the body agitated and depleted. Instead, summer calls for light, hydrating meals rich in fresh fruits, leafy greens, cucumbers, melons, and yogurt-based dishes. These foods support digestion and help regulate internal heat. A squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt in water can restore lost electrolytes due to sweating, though caution is advised—too much citrus may also aggravate pitta. Simple, nourishing meals, mindful hydration, and cooling herbal drinks can make a meaningful difference. When combined with a balanced āsana practice and calming prāṇāyāma, these strategies offer a holistic and seasonal approach to yoga—honoring the body’s need for rest, renewal, and rhythm.