yoga practices to meet or beat the heat

a small summer gift for subscribers

Combating the cold in BK in March 2023 / by Grant Henry of House of Flow

Hello bonjour,

How’s the weather where you’re at lately? Do you maybe, like me, cherish summer but can’t always hang with intense heat?

*It’ll be much more temperate for yoga in Tuscany 17-23 Sept , and in Béarn 27-29 Oct.

It’s been mostly hot and humid in Nice - hence recent epic day-trip escapes to the mountains. Here and there we have a few relieving moments of a nice breeze, but I feel like I am melting more often than not.

That being said - summer here began with a few cooler mornings and evenings, and maybe some of you live or work in a place where the air is cooler than 30+ degrees C this season (or somewhere where air con is a lifeline, in which case good luck to you).

Movement practices are important year-round / for life (same goes for meditation!), but they are meant to nourish versus overheat us, which can feel difficult to accomplish when the temperature is already sweltering.

There are even postures and breathwork practices in yoga that are more cooling than heating (and vice versa); restorative practices in general can do wonders for calming the body of both high temperatures and excess energy or anxiety.

And if it’s still chilly where you are - especially in the early morning or later in the day - you can always pump it up a bit with a more active practice, because sometimes it might feel nice to meet the heat with some fiery movement if you’re feeling like that could boost your mood or energy levels (so long as you’re hydrated and more-or-less well-rested - let’s not make ourselves light-headed, please and thanks).

As such - I offer you 7 private video links to virtual practices that can help you beat or meet the heat during the remainder of summer and beyond, whether or not you’re practicing in front of a fan (or heater in winter) like I sometimes resort to… :