Anja Yoga

This week we will cool and calm down in our Online Yoga Classes because its hot hot hot here in the UK

I am sure we will include some variation of legs-up-the-wall or in the air or resting the lower legs on a sofa/char/bed.

Definitely Shavasana and relaxation pose. Tonight this will include yoga nidra.

Some kind of seated practice like Sheetali pranayama (Cooling Breath) or meditation.

🥵 Heat is Pitta, it is Agni and the Fire element. In ayurveda we say ‘like increases like’ so anything that is heating or pitta-increasing will make us feel hotter. Additionally, it is also midsummer and the time when the Sun (literally a fireball) is most intense. And in summer, Pitta will naturally increase in the outer environment as well as in us. 

Excess pitta might manifest immediately (sweating, hot flushes, diarrhoea, frustration, inflammation, anger, heartburn, irritability...) but it can also build up over time. So in the summer we always want to decrease excess heat - especially in a heatwave. 

So first things first: don’t do anything that increases heat such as: Hot yoga, heating exercises, or anything strenuous or frustrating (where it can be avoided).

How to cool down or decrease heat and excess pitta:
Enjoy cooling and calming activities such as restful and restorative yoga and pranayama

Want 🧘🏻‍♀️ to join us?

You’ll have access to 100s of live-recorded classes and shorter videos - as well as live zoom sessions.

‘The only constant is change’
I love this quote. Because it is so true. I used to focus a lot on handstand and calisthenics training to support my yoga asana practice. I went into the sea through the years as often as possible (when tides and waves allowed). And then… things changed.

But yesterday I went into the sea. Had a lovely dip - and it was warm. On the way back I stopped at the calisthenics park for a quick handstand. Seriously I can’t remember when I last kicked up but it’s months. And it took a few tries.

I love the sea. I love having access to this outdoor gym. I loved when I did the more intense training and handstands. And it was wonderful to feel that again.

I also know that things have changed. Life, my body, my circumstances. And so my practice and what I need in my practice and what I have capacity (in time, and energy) has changed. And that is ok too.

Having a special needs dog like who need 24 hour attention. He has complex needs with hydrocephalus and frequent seizures so can’t be left on his own.

He is an amazing teacher though. Of change. Of being present. Taking an extra breath especially when he is reactive or when he has a seizure or postictal (or simply the ongoing never ending dog training). And a lot of my practice is dog walks in nature. Watching the trees, plants and flowers change - because ‘the only constant is change’.

Yoga is such a support. You can join me on my online membership. Or if you are a dog parent you might want to explore the Dog Parent course (even if you are a complete beginner of yoga). Because that course was created with all of this in mind.