Phew what a scorcher it was! We knew it was going to be hot but experiencing this kind of heat was tough.
I can't imagine how difficult it was for people living in high rise blocks. No outdoor space. The homeless. Emergency or service workers who have no choice but to get on with their normal routine.
In my yoga initially I wanted to work with the warmth, but as the mercury rose as did the temperature of the earth and our bodies. The heat really took me off centre. I don't know about you but I was restless, my skin felt itchy, prickly and really felt the need to take the heat out any practice to feel cooler and calm.
You may be aware of ayurveda which translates as the science of life. (Of which yoga is a part). I don't profess to know a huge amount about it as it's a massive subject who's practitioners and therapists have extensively studied and trained. But from my own experiences I can whole heartedly appreciate the methods.
There's a great book by Sebastian Pole of Pukka Herbs which is a really accessible introduction to ayurveda https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/sebastian-pole/pukka-life/9781844009350
A quick summary is that we are made up of a mix of three different qualities (prakriti). These qualities are identified by examining everything from the colour of your eyes, your skin type, shape of your frame, muscle tone, hair and even poo. Amongst many other diagnostics how we respond to situations, think, sleep, breath and digest food adds to the equation.
The 3 doshas are Kapha, Pitta and Vata. Kapha is linked to the earth, Pitta to fire and Vata to air. Here's a link to a a really good article which explains more about it much better than me!
We all have a mix of all 3 doshas but one is usually dominant. We are often identified by two i.e. kapha/pitta. However, these can be knocked off balance by circumstances and life situations. These characteristics are preset at birth and as we move through life can also change in balance.
You can do a little quiz to find out what your main dosha is. Here's one from the Pukka herbs people https://www.pukkaherbs.com/uk/en/dosha-quiz
Anyway, the point of this blog is that with the intensity of the heat this week I'm sure I won't have been the only one who's pitta dosha was affected.
The science of ayurveda (as with yoga) is to balance things out. In this case reduce the effects of pitta. To slow down, eat non pitta foods (for example anything hot, spicy, salty, avoid stimulants, alcohol or foods red in colour). To reduce the heat of physical activity. So in yoga, do less vinyasa's and core work. Increase kapha and vata by focusing on stability, longer breaths and more calming restorative poses, pranayama and relaxation.
Practical things like using cold damp towels, spraying light mist or even placing your feet in cold water helps to regulate the body's temperature, as does yogi cooling breath 'sitali', (which I made a little reel of on instagram). Obviously, keeping the heat out of our homes by closing windows and curtains is also helpful and being in darker thick walled buildings can be cooler. All these things increase the kapha and vata around us.
A lot of it sounds common sense - but sometimes in the heat of the moment we can't always see the wood for the trees.
I hope your body has regulated. Have a lovely weekend.
Namaste
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