Cool Your Fire With Yoga

In this episode, I speak about balancing out the heat of the summer with cooling yoga and diet. Here in Europe, it’s very hot right now. Of course, our bodies will automatically work to adjust to the weather, but we can also help the transition by practicing certain asanas and eating certain foods. The summer is the season of the fire element or pitta, ayurvedically speaking. What we want to do here is to reap the benefits of this element without getting “burnt out”.

Transcript

Heat,

Fire,

Light.

How is the summer for you?

Today I will talk to you about the summer and its element and how we can balance the heat with yoga and food during the summer.

Hello Yogi!

Welcome to my podcast.

I'm Aiko and on this show we explore ways to put spiritual theory into sustainable practice.

So today I would like to help you maximize your summer health with some tips regarding yoga and lifestyle.

Some weeks ago I went to Bulgaria for a retreat,

Some of you might know that and it was an extraordinary experience.

It was a bhakti yoga retreat but I was living in Costa Rica for some years before coming here to Sweden,

Since one year here in Sweden.

And I knew,

I remember Bulgaria was hot but when I landed there with my husband it was just crazy hot,

Like I was melting.

We went there with jackets but definitely it was unnecessary and it was so hot all the time,

The first nights we couldn't sleep for the heat.

So I just thought that some of you might experience the same thing because now in these days it's so hot like in all Europe.

I don't know about the rest of the world but at least in Europe it's very hot.

So I wanted to talk to you about the pitta element and how can we balance this heat with the help of yoga and food.

So first of all I would like a little bit to explain you some theoretical things.

Our bodies go through a naturally ebb and flow of change as the season change which works to harmonize and establish balance inside us.

Hours of daily light,

Seasonal vegetables and fruit and seasonally inspired activities are all factors that impact these changes.

Although your body will adjust to these changes on its own,

At least it tries,

It never hurts to make a few minor adjustments to your routine to help with the transition and make you feel more connected to the season.

Why?

Because for example,

In my example,

I was here in Sweden which is summer and the weather is maybe something between 20 celsius degrees and 30 and then I just took a flight to Bulgaria and then there we had 35 degrees,

Very humid so it was really hard.

So in this case my body didn't have the time to adjust so it's very important and helpful to have this small knowledge about it and help your body to adjust.

Summer's most prominent characteristics are heat,

Long days of bright sun,

What to speak about Sweden,

During the summer celsius in June we didn't have practically night there was a couple of hours of night which were very bright when we flew to Bulgaria at 3.

45 in the morning was definitely bright outside and all these characteristics of summer with bright sun,

Sharp intensity and the heat are all in line with pita dorja which is why it's referred to as a pita season.

I don't know,

Maybe some of you already heard my or watched my video about the inner season of women,

Some of you might not but there I'm talking a little bit about these dorjas,

What they are but it's very interesting,

It's based on Ayurveda.

There are three different dorjas,

Vata,

Pita and kappa.

The dorjas are the physiological humours that assist to establish one's individual constitution.

So these elements,

The dorjas are vata,

Pita and kappa I just said and they contain the elements of earth,

Ether,

Water,

Air and fire and Ayurveda it puts them in these three main groups.

So it says that everything,

Most of the things has all these elements inside us,

We have them,

The things has them and the nature has them and the secret to health,

To good health is to have all these elements balance.

So when the elements change outside like during the seasons our body is trying to adjust but of course we can help this process,

This movement by knowing how these energies are working.

Pita is primarily influenced by the sun,

Therefore as the natural cycle of the seasons welcomes us into the hot,

Flaming summer months it is critical to calm the natural pita within our bodies so that we do not respond to the hot with a similar internal energy and that also I explain about our inner seasons,

Like women inner seasons,

When we are in certain seasons we try to balance the energy by doing yoga with opposite energies.

So what that means,

It means that summer is hot and it has the fire element then we will try to cool it down with water and air.

As a result we are able to fully appreciate the excitement that summer brings without being overwhelmed by too much of one powerful energy.

Summer is a time of expansion and mobility which are attributes associated with the vata dosha.

A summer seasonal routine aims to promote diet and lifestyle practices that will help you avoid over-absorption of summer qualities while yet allowing you to appreciate the particular benefits that summertime has to offer.

But how do we bring that pita energy into balance?

A smart way to counteract the hot temperatures in this time of the year is to produce a lunar current within the body by focusing on cooling activities and meals.

So this method will help your body and make you feel more energized.

Try and then tell me.

You will actually see the results so just try.

During the summer one of the fundamental principle of Ayurveda is that our habits,

Routine and dietary choices should ebb and flow with the seasons.

So of course we have our own energies,

It's not that everything is so universal,

Like maybe some of you is totally into water and air elements so for those people summer is just wow,

Is just like perfect and balanced as it is.

But those small exercises that I'm going to tell you to do are pretty much good for everyone.

And of course as I said to be more precise than one should know it on his own dosha's and then work with it.

Before doing any yoga class I always start with some pranayama,

Some breath work and it's a very very powerful thing to do before meditation,

Before yoga because it really brings you down,

It brings you within.

Like you kind of disconnect with the rest of the world with the thoughts and you go into your own energies.

So there are different pranayamas that work but the ones that I want to present to you today are two of them and one is the Nadi Sodana Pranayama which means single nastier breathing.

The word is explained in itself,

It means that you are working with one nostril only.

How you do that?

The left nostril also known as Idanadi,

Subdal channel is the body's cooling channel and is placed on the lunar side of the body.

With one finger you will close the right nostril and you will make at least 5 to 20 breaths in and out through the left nostril and the position of the hands there are two main ways to do that.

You can check online,

You can do it with the index and middle fingers placed on your third eye and close your right nostril with your thumb or you can put the index and the middle fingers close,

You fold them in and you close your right nostril with the thumb,

With the right hand.

So this is very cooling.

What I do with this,

Just to balance the breathing,

I do one breath in with the left nostril,

I breathe out with the right nostril so I close the left,

Then I breathe in through the right nostril and then I close it,

I breathe out to the left and then I start the cycle only with the left and then at the end I do it again with the one time only with the right nostril just to balance.

Now I want to tell you some asanas that are very helpful during the summer and it's very very important to follow the seasons while doing yoga and doing any kind of practice because otherwise you don't really get the benefits that you can get with yoga or other things in life.

So first we just mentioned before we have a lot of sun energy then we go through the moon.

So the Chandra Namaskar,

The moon salutation is top one asana series that you can do during the summer to cool down your body.

It's a kind of variation of the sun salutation but the energy that flows in all the movement,

It's not fire so it really balances it out.

When you do the sun salutation which is anyway good if you do it slowly,

Try,

I know some people are the jump forward to Uttanasana,

I never do that but many do this,

Instead of doing that just walk through very slowly.

Another asanas you can do it's the Viparita Karani,

Legs up the wall which is super,

It's one of my favorite.

You just lie down,

You put your legs hang like 90 degree to the wall.

In this pose remember to keep your tailbone flush against the wall and your legs straight up and try to keep your back flat down on the ground.

Then you can also do the Anuvitasana standing back bends.

It's very important you don't push too much yourself backward as most of the poses squeeze a little bit your glutes,

Activate your abdomen so you protect your lower back,

It's super important when you do these back bends.

And in this way also if you keep this activity you really can't go too much backwards,

Also important to don't over arch your neck so keep the ears aligned with your shoulders.

I don't remember if I say the Sanskrit name,

Anyways Anuvitasana.

Cut and cow pose,

This is one of my favorite and it's super powerful,

Chakravakasana.

It kind of fits most of the seasons but during the summer really try to keep the breath longer than usual.

As you know every asanas in yoga moves according with your breath.

So during the summer we work a lot on our breaths and we do cut and cow pose trying to just put an extra second in breathing,

An extra second in breathing out.

Four world folds,

Uttanasana.

Another of my favorite poses.

Remember in this pose often is not said,

You push your tailbone up and your abdomen is active and your chest is open,

That's very important,

Your chest is open when you do Uttanasana.

And floor twist,

Supta Matsyendrasana.

That probably I didn't pronounce correctly and this just maybe if I say like this is probably not coming to your mind,

The pose,

But this is when you lie down,

You open your arms,

You look on one side and you fold your legs and you bring the legs on the opposite side of where you're looking.

You can do this pose seated or lying on your back like if you're working,

You can definitely do it on a chair and this poses send a calming wave to the nervous system and serve the body's attempts to self-regulate.

It's very very powerful.

And very important to center your energy and embrace the benefits of practicing yoga.

Always end your practice with a few minutes of Savasana or I suppose not only for summer,

This always,

But in the summer just stay a little bit longer in your Savasana.

Before I mention that the diet also it's very important because the food we eat it's so much affecting our entire body,

Our mechanism and most of you definitely know this or experience this.

If you eat something that you can digest then you will be weak,

You will not have energy,

But if you eat something light that puts you up then your body,

Your mind,

Your brain is more functional.

So during the pitta season we have this fire element around us from the summer.

So the Agni which is the digestive fire is a powerful source of internal heat disperses in the summer to help keep us cool.

So our bodies naturally seek light foods and small meals that are easier to digest.

I'm pretty sure most of you had experienced this,

Like during the summer you don't want to have a super heavy lasagna for example,

You would rather choose a big salad or something like that.

Summer is the season for sweet,

Bitter and astringent tastes as well as cool,

Watery and slightly oily dishes.

The ideal time of the year to eat fresh fruit and salad is now.

Try to choose veggies that are high in water and of course that are from the current season is always.

One note about this that maybe some of you might not know is that the raw veggies,

Such as those found in salads we talk a lot about salads,

Are better absorbed if eaten at lunch rather than dinner.

During the lunch from 10 to 2 we have all the elements during the day too.

We are cyclical being,

So we have to be more cyclical.

We are cyclical being,

There are these cycles during the day,

During our master's cycle,

During our year,

During our life,

There are all these elements all the time and we are cyclical beings.

It's very kind of funny to think about like science and a lot of western people like find with linear things like we think that something has a beginning and at the end there is the famous question like there was first the chicken or the egg.

The point is that there was no first chicken or first egg because we are cyclical beings so there is not beginning and end,

There is just a cycle,

It's very easy but if we think in a linear way then we can't give an answer.

But if you just change your perspective of thinking and you understand we are cyclical being then the answer is there,

There is no beginning and end,

It's simply a cyclical thing.

That said,

I was saying that from 10 to 2 there is also the 5 element during the day so it's better to eat your main meal during these hours.

There is a common belief that the breakfast is the best,

It's the most important meal of the day while according to Ayurveda it's not and even with my body I can't eat too much for breakfast and many people experience that and lately I heard that even there is some scientific proof of this that during the morning it's not ideal to have big meal.

So veggies,

Raw veggies are a little bit hard to digest,

Are super healthy but our body needs a little more of an effort to digest so eat them during lunch.

Okay,

Except for honey and molasses,

Molasses I think,

All ampersand sweeteners are cooling and can be consumed in moderation during the hot months.

Cool or room temperature water infuses with mint or lime and a pinch of raw sugar,

Sweet lassi,

Refreshing herbs,

Tea like peppermint,

Licorice,

Fennel or rose are all good ways to beat the heat.

Iced drinks that I think many many people are drinking should be actually avoided since they disrupt the digestive process and cause toxins to build up in the body.

Avoid meals that are excessively hot such as chilies or cayenne pepper,

Mint,

Fennel,

Cilantro,

Cumin,

I really don't like cilantro,

And coriander are among herbs and spices that help to balance the pita.

Although your body will naturally seek balance as the seasons changes,

And as we said before,

You really don't look,

You're not craving for heavy food,

Your body knows these things but if you help out it's always better.

So I was saying that although your body will naturally seek balance as the seasons change,

It is always a good idea to lend a helping hand.

On these ideas trust your instincts and always do what feels right for you.

So this is pretty much what I wanted to tell you and I really hope it helped you in some way.

As I said there is not a universal way to do.

You can search online,

There are many Ayurvedic websites,

Really really well done,

Some of them.

And if you get to know which one is your dosha,

Then you can balance out with more details like also with specific foods and specific hours to eat and this and that.

But all the things I shared during this episode are very generic and doable for everyone during the summer.

Thank you and see you next time!

I hope this episode fulfilled its purpose of inspiring you.

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And if you have any questions please get in touch at IcoYogaReiki.

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Namaste.