We pass you a selection of the most advisable asanas to practice on hot days and some Yoga Poses and tips that will help you take advantage of its benefits
During the summer, body temperature rises, the heart tends to work harder, the mind tends to work faster, and therefore, stress is another burden on our body. Yoga, deep and conscious breaths, Pranayama, Concentration, and Meditation techniques are ideal to perform at this time of year and to alleviate this natural process.
Although any type of posture can be done all year round, if you are going to practice it alone, it is advisable to do the simplest ones – both flexibility, strength and balance, and ground ones, which are more convenient because they are relaxing.
Here is a selection of the most advisable Yoga Poses that help to combat hot days:
Fish, Opening Pose
– Lie on the floor on your back, with your arms close to your body.
– Force your arms towards the ground.
– Pull the chest out well, pulling the head back, bringing the shoulder blades together and the chest protruding upwards, thus arching the dorsal and cervical area.
– How to breathe: when bringing the shoulder blades together, opening the chest and pulling it upwards well, this is the moment for inhalation. There the individual can stay inhaling and exhaling no more than 3 breaths, due to the type of position that is opening and arching the dorsal and lumbar area. It is high or pectoral breathing (in the chest) since the posture just opens the chest.
– To get out of the position, inhale and when you exhale, loosen your back and support it again gently, holding you with your arms on the floor.
Land Sloth Postures
The semi-inverted positions are also indicated since they favor venous return and thus help the heart, such as the “L” posture (which consists of keeping both legs straight in the air – you can assist yourself by supporting them on the wall-). Also the position of the lazy, which lies in:
– Lie on your back on the floor. Raise your legs keeping them straight. Try to take your feet or toes.
– Seeks to keep the entire back resting on the floor, from the lumbar area to the shoulders (avoiding lifting the shoulders). hold the chin lightly towards the chest.
– How to breathe: in these asanas, the breathing is also abdominal as much as possible (although you are doing force with the abdomen, so it can be difficult).
– To get out of the postures, it depends on your abdominal strength. If you control the abdominals, lower your legs gently, slowly and outstretched, until they rest completely on the floor (and incidentally work the abdominal area). If, on the other hand, the movement costs you and forces you to force your back, then you should directly bend your knees and lower after flexing them. In the specific case of the “lazy”, the arms should be taken apart and then the legs should be lowered in the same way mentioned above
Bee, Closing Posture
– In a sitting position, looking down, place the soles of the feet next to each other and move the feet away keeping the knees slightly bent.
– Drop the trunk forward.
– The elbows should be flex with the hands near the feet.
– How to breathe: inhale bringing your arms up (if you want), and when exhaling lower the trunk forward. You can stay as long as you like in this pose, but 5 breaths is usually enough to relax. Breathing is in the abdominal area (low breathing).
– To exit the position, inhale and slowly rise upward.
Savasana, Relaxation Posture
– Lie down in a supine position (lying on the back).
– Adjust the body to ensure the head is center and the spine is align. Arms slightly apart from the body and legs slightly open. The palms face up, and then the fingers curl as the tension relaxes.
– Close your eyes and focus on breathing. With each exhalation, you release tension and muscle stiffness. Let the air in and out effortlessly.
– How to breathe: as it is a relaxation posture, it requires a calm, soft breath in the abdomen (low breathing). You can stay in the position for a long time, at least 5 minutes, to reach a relaxed state of mind.
– To get out of the posture: first, make contact with the breath again, make the parts of the body (feet, hands, legs, arms, and the rest of the body) aware, also of the moment and the place where you are. And gently, on one side (to take care of the neck and head) slowly incorporate into a meditation posture, and slowly open your eyes.
In this position, it is especially important that you return slowly: In this position, without rushing the body or the mind when coming back to itself.
What to consider when practicing yoga poses in summer
Eat consciously: drink water, eat healthily, naturally and consciously; add more vegetables and fruits; avoid fats, since they are an additional burden on the digestive system and the heart; rule out or reduce spicy and stimulants like caffeine.
Connect with the energy of the place: if you are on vacation at the beach, the mountains or in the jungle, the practice of yoga poses or pranayamas, it is important that they are carried out with an awareness of where you are because also the geographical area it has a special vital energy. For example, the sea has that energy of its own, just as the jungle has its own energy and also the mountains. That the practice of pranayamas is carried out with that level of consciousness is very valuable, since it provides more vital energy to the organism.
