Heated Energy & Yin Yoga - The Summer-Time Practice

In summers Sun is at its peak through the day, days go longer, heated & lethargic. Do you feel a shift in your energy as you wake-up & try to get onto your Yoga mat, feeling much more difficult to get into your daily practice just because you feel energy-drained for no reason! Moving further through the day, your energies keep dipping until you immediately begin to feel a drop in energy as the Sun?begins to set. And this same feeling is gripping you each single day, is it?

Are you wondering, you were quite active in your practice till March, then what happened to your energies now?

Well, there is much going on in the nature that’s impacting you than just your own body changing! Your moods & feelings changed because the nature’s energies changed!

Before I move further on this subject, let me share my experience of exercising in summers. For past 15 days my good 2 hour morning Yoga practice started to get hindered, because all of a sudden, without anything changing, I could feel lethargy & heat setting-in deeper into my system, making me feel energy-less to begin my practice. Now, there is nothing wrong with you if this time around you begin to feel heated, irritated, agitated, tired, energy-less & similar energy-consuming feelings, these are all synonyms of the heated energy that dominates the atmosphere during summers. As per the philosophy of Ayurveda, & its sister science Yoga, we are dominated by seasonal energies & its manifestation shows everywhere, be it the nature, our body or our thoughts, all is one when it comes to energy!

Specifically for my changing energies, I recognize I am more of a Pitta type personality as per Ayurveda Dosha philosophy, & as summer sets in, heat imbalances begin to occur in my body, even with the same foods or same lifestyle that I have been living with in past?days. It is an indication, I ought to change my diet & lifestyle to balance my energies as per the changing energies of the nature externally.

In a balanced physical & emotional state, a high-pitta type Ayurveda personality will hold typical traits like self-motivated, self-disciplined, big dreams, high ambitions, ample energy, enthusiasm, great metabolism & a toned body composure. However, when Pitta energies begin to imbalance with either external changes in nature or with internal body changes, balances convert into imbalances, happy energy converts into anger, motivation converts into frustration, high-energy converts into lack of energy & tiredness & high ambition converts into lack of zeal & motivation. Fire or Pitta stands for fiery intellect and passionate emotions & its balanced side is a joyous, compassionate & connected person while its imbalanced side gives rise to anger, frustration, irritation & disconnectedness. This energy when in balance, lets us live life to our full potential. However, to bring this energy in balance, we must self-connect & feel if this kind of energy is rising within us in imbalanced ways like we feel angry, digestive issues persist & we feel really hot. The balance can then be induced by diet, cooking styles, cooling yoga practices, meditation, cooling pranayama, lifestyle choices & balancing selfcare practices.

So, coming back to having enough energy for your Yogic practices in summers, specifically if you resonate with Pitta type body composition, it is fundamental to slow down to bring the internal fire to a slow burning soothing flame state, that’s the key!

Understanding Summer Energies

Summer resonates Pitta season & for an already Pitta personality, summer will add-up extra heat. It is something like adding cayenne pepper on an already burning wound. The point to make a note of is that our modern way of life is highly ruled by pitta traits such as fast food, high-fat & animal food, high sense of competition & ambition, all of which burn us out & take away the deep sense of joy of being alive & deep relaxation from us. That rush & sense of busyness keeps our internal fire on a high that burns us really fast making us completely exhausted over years. This means most people today resonate with Pitta traits in modern lifestyle. However, the wisdom of Yoga & Ayurveda can be used to get ourselves back into balance by balancing the energies within us with the changing external energies. Summer stands for fire, & in its balanced state it nourishes us like a winter Sun & in an imbalanced state it consumes or burns us leaving us feeling tired & energy-less. Since the energy of nature is heated in summers, for an already fiery Pitta personality, anything overdone will end up leaving you very tired & exhausted as your internal fire & external heat consume you inside-out!

Yin Yoga For Heated Body & a Heated Atmospheric Energy

Now that my body told me, it cannot continue with rigorous Yoga practice due to heat consuming my energies, my summertime Yoga approach has gone Yin considering my patience & energy to perform rigorous Yogic flow is way lesser & I am finding hard to stay grounded & being mindful in my practice.

So this time around, it is important to turn down that extra heat & also the intensity of Yoga practice to a more subtle, gentle, opening yet deep Yin practice. Technically, Yin Yoga works on the deeper bodily tissues or connective tissues, reaching where is one of the toughest part in Yoga. However, connective tissues only get stimulate with a slow, steady & long holding Yoga approach.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the functioning of heart & small intestines is associated with circulation & digestion respectively. In excess which indicates imbalance, it may convert into inflammation or hot flashes at body level & anxiety & nervousness at the emotional & mental level. This in totality may lead to digestion issues & heart rate disruptions making you feel palpitations.

One of Yin Yoga postures, Uttana Shishosana Asana or the Puppy Pose induces wrist & forearm stretch & a slight backbend which helps stimulate the Heart & Small Intestine Meridian (energy traversing pathway) that span across the chest, armpits, neck, upper back, shoulders & goes uptil wrist & little finger. This energy pathway can be subtly stimulated by wrist/forearm stretches, twists, forward bends & backbends. This posture & other front body Yin postures gently yet deeply open up chest, inner & outer arm, upper back, neck, shoulders & deep relaxation from fingers till the shoulders. Since summer is associated with the Heart & Small Intestine meridian, doing puppy pose stimulates this meridian & its associated body parts & organs, it helps stimulate a state of deep relaxation at physical, emotional & mental level.?This Yin Yoga style in summers can help you with feelings of sluggishness, irritability, energy-loss, fatigue at mental level & at physical level will help balance heart functioning, circulatory functioning, digestion, absorption & immunity. Overall it helps maintain the body balance & induces optimal internal functioning for overall state of health & wellness & deep feeling of joy.

Live Conscious & Eat Clean,Deepti!