Summer is an Invitation to Slow Down
Summer arrives as an invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and connect more fully. It’s a season when the body absorbs light, the mind expands, and the heart longs for more presence, softness, and honesty. To truly feel the richness of this time, we don’t need a perfect vacation—just a conscious space to reconnect with ourselves.
During hot days, we naturally seek lightness on all levels—in movement, in thought, and even in what we wear.
For summer yoga practice and daily life, natural fabrics like linen and soft cotton are ideal. They breathe with your skin and invite ease.
Loose linen shorts, flowy tunics, or a sleeveless top allow freedom of movement while keeping the body cool—even when the sun is at its strongest.
Summer and the Heart in Eastern Wisdom
In traditional Eastern medicine, summer is the season of the heart—an organ that governs not only the blood but also consciousness, joy, and inner peace. The heart is seen as the seat of the spirit (shen), deeply connected to emotional balance and presence.
To nourish the heart in summer, we can turn to simple daily rituals:
- seasonal, heart-supportive nutrition
- morning and evening meditations focused on the heart center
- a gratitude practice to regulate emotions
- open, gentle yoga that expands the chest and brings flow to the heart space
2. Morning and Evening Heart-Centered Meditation
The heart has its own rhythm—but we often forget to listen.
Heart-centered meditation brings us back to a rhythm that isn’t dictated by the outside world, but arises from inner stillness. On summer days, when the world is loud and fast, a few quiet moments in the morning or evening feel like a cooling breeze for the soul.
You don’t need much.
Just a few minutes with your hands resting on your chest, attention placed on your heartbeat or gentle breath.
You might repeat a mantra (so ham, ahimsa, joy), or simply listen—to the quiet pulse of life inside you.
These short mindfulness practices help to regulate the nervous system, reduce reactivity, and create emotional flow and spaciousness—offering a calm foundation for your day.
3. Gratitude Practice for Emotional Balance
Gratitude is the most direct bridge between thoughts and the heart.
In the pace of summer—when we give a lot, move constantly, and plan ahead—it is gratitude that grounds us and reminds us that everything is already here. We just have to notice.
Each evening, take a few quiet moments to write down three things you are grateful for.
They can be simple: a cool breeze, a friend’s smile, the taste of a ripe peach, time for yourself.
This practice gently balances the emotional world, expands the heart’s capacity, and softens the internal tension that often builds up in summer.
Gratitude is not a concept. It's a daily anchor—morning, evening, and in between.
How to Practice in Summer
Iyengar yoga is especially valuable in the summer thanks to its precision, structural intelligence, and the use of props, which allow:
- longer holding of poses without strain
- deep stretching without overheating the body
- lifting the diaphragm and relieving the heart space
Key Elements of Summer Practice:
- Chest expansion: opens the heart area, improves breathing, and soothes the heartbeat
- Soft and intentional breathing (ujjayi, viloma pranayama): cools and stabilizes the nervous system
- Adrenal recovery: through gentle inversions that don’t stress the neck or circulation
- Turning inward (pratyahara): reduces the effect of external stimuli, which is essential in the summer pace
Cooling Yogic Asanas for Summer: How to Stay Grounded Despite the Heat
Summer is the season of fire—dynamic energy, heightened metabolism, long days, and high temperatures.
During this time, the body naturally becomes more sensitive, the nervous system more prone to irritation, and the mind restless due to external activity.
That’s why in yoga practice we don’t want to build heat, but to balance it.
Instead of heating sequences and intensity, the practice should become restorative, slow, and inwardly directed—focused on conscious breathing, an open chest, and gentle support.
Support your summer practice with the right props
A restorative summer yoga practice is most effective when supported with the right tools.
In our classes—and in the sequences shared above—we use trusted Iyengar yoga props to help the body release tension without effort.
These include:
- a bolster for gentle chest opening and passive backbends
- one or two yoga blocks to elevate the pelvis or support the sacrum
- a yoga chair for supported inversions and heart-opening postures
- a folded blanket to soften pressure points and support the neck or knees
Recommended Summer Asanas
Here are a few cooling and restorative yoga poses to include in your Iyengar practice during summer:
Supported forward bends have a cooling effect: Adho Mukha Svastikasana with a block.
Supported Paschimottanasana – releases heat, calms the nervous system, and softens the abdomen. Palms turned upward enhance the cooling effect.
On hot days, Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana is an excellent alternative to headstand – with an open chest, supported head, and relaxed shoulders, it gently cools the body and mind.
Variations of Setu Bandha with one or two blocks under the sacrum not only open the chest, but also use gravity to encourage the return of blood from the legs to the heart.
A firm connection between the chin and the chest stimulates the thyroid gland and helps regulate the hormonal system.
In Halasana (plough pose), the legs can be extended beyond the edge of the mat or supported on a chair.
Warm thanks to Claudia Lamas Cornejo for the beautiful photographs that embody the calm, clarity, and openness of a mindful summer practice.
You can read more about her contribution to summer practice here:
https://www.claudiyengar.com/post/yoga-for-hot-days?lang=en
Summer as Practice in Nature
Summer yoga is not limited to the mat.
It’s a season when nature gently reminds us that we are already part of the rhythm we seek.
Even when we’re not practicing asana, the sea, forest, river, or mountain breeze can reconnect us with ourselves again and again.
Nature is the greatest teacher of presence—always here, always available, without judgment or expectation.
May your summer be filled with:
Movement that honors the body
Silence that calms the mind
and Nature that heals without words.
