Rest to Cool

It’s a hot summer, there’s no doubt about it! In yoga class and in my writings I’ve been offering yogic guidance for cooling down. My best suggestions have been 1) eat cooling foods, 2) practice shitali pranayama, or cooling breath, and 3) do yoga twists around the mid-section of the body. This is an excellent three-part strategy to cool down.

In my studies this week, however, I learned that while these strategies are helpful, they also tend to heat the body. And this makes sense when you think about—for each of these activities, you have to use effort to do them, kind of like trying to cool your face by using your hand as a fan. This extra effort can diminish the cooling effects. 

Here’s my best tip for staying cool this summer: Take time to rest. In yoga class we call this shavasana, corpse pose. Or we can do any of the wonderful restorative yoga postures where we use lots of props to support the body in a restful pose. Resting postures work because they activate the parasympathetic response of the nervous system.

When the parasympathetic system is activated, blood moves away from the surface of the skin toward the internal organs. As a result, the organs are nicely supported and happily begin to gurgle, activating what is also called the “rest and digest” response. At the same time, the hands and feet get chilly, which makes the body cool down quickly. 

So on these hot days, do continue to eat cooling foods, practice shitali and twists to release heat from the midsection of the body. But also make time each day for 20 minutes or more of still, dark, quiet rest. Resting really does make you cool—in more ways than one.