In this fast- moving, chaotic life, yoga can be your best friend for staying cool, healthy and stress free. Most of the people resort to supplements and medicines to stay healthy. In summers, you just want to sit back and relax. Commitment is the key. Yoga can be practiced in the comfort of your homes and also without being too hard on your pocket.
Take a look at these 9 cooling yoga tips to remain healthy and stress free in this scorching heat:
- Keep up or begin an exercise program: Yoga helps to flush out waste and toxins on a daily basis.Ustrasana (Camel Pose), Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), Matsyasana (Fish Pose) are some of the asanas that bring coolness to the body. ‘Pitta dosh’ can be controlled with spinal twists that regulate the liver and spleen activity to purify and maintain healthy blood.
- Meditation: Meditation is a very effective way to relieve stress and gain control of your body and mind. It also helps to deal with negative emotions like anger, jealousy, judgments etc. and makes you more aware of your surroundings. Sleep Well: Do not try to stay up late during summers. Maintain regular sleeping patterns and go about your daily activities as per a schedule. Sleeping rejuvenates the body and speeds up the healing process.
- Devote enough time to your exercises: Fast movements and high temperatures aggravate the ‘hot pitta’. Hence, yoga practiced at a fast pace or in a hot room is not at all beneficial for the body. Yoga practices should bring about a quieting, cooling and calming effect. Closing the eyes and deep breathing helps to focus more on the exercises.
- Stay cool and hydrated: It is necessary to drink up to 6 litres of water in a day. Carry a water bottle wherever you go. Also, the benefits of drinking water are immense, like detoxed organs, clear skin, appetite control, proper digestion etc. Dehydration makes the body feel lazy and sluggish. Eliminate or reduce both alcohol and caffeine.
- Healthy eating: Include seasonal fruits and vegetables in your regular diet. Limit fried, oily, salty or fermented foods. Turmeric, cumin and coriander are some of the digestive spices that speed up metabolism. Protein should also be included in a few meals. Soy products, sprouted beans, seeds, nuts, yogurt and cottage cheese can also be eaten.
- Experience nature: You can try your hand at gardening. Vegetables like squash, beans and cucumber can be grown easily in the summers. Edible leaves and flowers can be added to your drinks. Spend your free time in gardens or nature parks. Simply observing nature also helps you stay calm and also increases your oxygen intake.
- Skin: Give yourself a nice and relaxing massage with natural aroma oils. It helps to ease out the body and relieve stress.
- Smell: Keeping sweet smelling flowers around you keeps you in a happy mood. If you do not have access to fresh flowers, room freshners can be used.
- Music: Music works like a therapy to release stress. Listening to meditative music works even better.
