Can yoga help with heat waves?

We’re surviving a heat dome right now on the east coast, and I am turning to a few of my trusty yoga practices to help beat the heat.

Acknowledge Stress

Stress creates “inner heat.” You might have noticed that anger and frustration often comes with a side of flushed skin, raised temperatures, even sweat. Think of the heat related language we have - fiery temper, makes my blood boil, hot under the collar, etc etc. There are even correlations to higher outdoor temperatures and violent crime. So one of the first practices to integrate is acknowledging and honoring whatever stress you are holding at this time - including the stress of being uncomfortable in the heat! Acknowledgment makes room for compassion, and lets you slow down and notice if your thoughts and reactions are being influenced by frustration.

Pranayama Practices

Sitali and Sitkari pranayama are cooling practices for the breath and energy. In Sitali pranayama, you open your mouth into an O, stick out and curl your tongue, and inhale through your mouth, as if your tongue was a straw. Close your mouth and press your cool tongue to the roof of your mouth, exhaling slowly out your nose. If you can’t curl your tongue, try Sitkari pranayama - keeping the upper and lower teeth together, open your lips and inhale through your teeth - it will sound like a hiss. Close the mouth and exhale slowly from your nose. Repeat for as long as you’d like. With each repetition, visualize the cool relief spreading from the roof of your mouth through your body. Slowing down the breath also helps calm the nervous system.

Yoga Asana Practices

If you’re dealing with edema in the feet and legs, try gently pointing and flexing the feet, circling the ankles, or doing standing heel lifts to get the calves pumping - the calves are the “second heart” of the body and responsible for circulation in the legs.

Gentle belly backbends are recommended in Ayurvedic traditions to release heat from the abdomen. Try laying on your belly and trying a gentle sphinx pose (Salamba Bhujangasana) or cobra pose (Bhujangasana), while keeping a slow steady breath.

Spend 5-10 minutes in a variation of legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani Mudra) - remember that if having the legs straight up a wall is too intense, you can elevate the feet against a chair seat or another piece of furniture for the same benefits. This position helps fluids return back to the center of the body through gravity, and can be very calming.

Cooling Self Massage

In extreme heat and humidity, many people experience heat edema, or swelling of the lower extremities. There are a variety of causes to this uncomfortable experience - blood vessel dilation to cool the body can leak fluid into soft tissues; the body retains sodium as a survival tactic against dehydration; and lack of movement during heat waves can cause poor circulation, resulting in retained fluids in the lower limbs. To tackle edema, try a foot and leg massage. Massage the soles and tops of the each foot, and then move up the legs one at a time, gently sweeping up the inside of the leg all the way to the groin, and then down the outside of the leg from the hip to the foot. Repeat 8-10 times in a fluid loop. Using gentle pressure will help encourage the return and recycling of excess fluid. I use cold pressed sesame oil for my self massages, and if you run hot, you might find cold pressed coconut oil to be even more cooling. Sometimes I mix a little essential oil into my sesame oil. You might enjoy something cooling like rose, eucalyptus, or even peppermint. I like this Pitta blend from Una Biologicals . Banyan Botanicals also has a traditional Pitta calming blend of massage oil.

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