Summer-time, and the yoga is...
For many of us, especially here in the northern part of the country, summer is a season that we eagerly anticipate and then savour. We want to squeeze every delicious moment from it. Yoga can help us to experience summer in a fuller and more balanced way. What can we balance in summer? We can balance the qualities that are inherent to summer, our summer lifestyles and activities (which stem from how we relate to summer), our individual constitution and condition in relation to the season, and the upcoming season (autumn), among other things. Yoga and its sister science Ayurveda have categorized qualities in the doshas (energies, or forces) and gunas (qualities of nature), which can help us understand different qualities and what balances them. The balancing of qualities can give us a fuller expression, helping us bring back the parts of ourselves that we have left out. This cosmic dance can be thought of as a qualitative dance in which you never completely abandon a quality that balances another quality, though the particular blend is constantly changing. Summer Qualities and What Balances Them Some of the qualities of summer include lightness, mobility, warmth, expansion, and moistness (except parts of the country are very dry in the summer). Light My (Summer) Fire It has been said that every balanced expression has a combination of stability and lightness. Lightness is certainly a quality that is strong during summer months. We could say, then, that summer can teach us about the quality of lightness. At the same time, since everything needs something to balance it, we need to balance the lightness of summer with a little bit of the heaviness of winter. Likewise, the heat and expansion of summer needs some (but not too much) of the coolness and contraction of winter. The extroversion of summer can be balanced by the introversion of winter. The yin of winter can balance the yang of summer: moon balancing sun; exhalation (apana vayu) balancing inhalation (prana vayu); the slower pace of winter balancing the breakneck speed of summer. One way to respect the lightness of summer is to let go of your focus on perfection and engage in more child-like exploration in your practice. This has been described as a kind of "play-mind." Practicing with children can help us access this play-mind, but we can learn from children even when we aren't practicing with them. "Kids naturally move their bodies without inhibition and certainly without seeking perfection. They are innately tuned into their bodies and don't worry about getting a pose just right. One of the many pleasures of doing yoga with your little one is you discover the pure joy of movement. Be willing to let go of your practice agenda and you will enjoy each profound moment with your child." - Ann Patolawala, Boston Adaptive Yoga Examiner I'm Cool With That The phrase "let cooler heads prevail" speaks to the tendency to get "hot-headed" in summer. Yoga practice that keeps the brain (the lunar plexus, or cooling center) cool helps to balance the heat of summer. This can include the shitali or sitkari cooling breaths, calming forward bends, calming pranayma practices, meditation, pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and anything that creates a more calming, restorative effect in our practice. Avoiding hot, spicy foods in summer is also advisable. Slow down, you move too fast "There's more to life than increasing its speed." -Mahatma Gandhi Leave some open, unscheduled time. It's easy to over-book ourselves and try to fill every available minute. Balance the "doing" of summer with "being." The phrase "stop and smell the roses" seems to recognize the fast pace we tend to have in summer. It is an invitation to slow down and be present with our surroundings. Summer also corresponds to the rajas guna. Rajas is characterized by change, movement and activity. Tamas guna, which corresponds more to the qualities of winter, is characterized by inertia, inactivity and heaviness. The stability of tamas can help to balance the rajasic nature of summer. Bringing some of the energy of winter into our summer experience can include anything that grounds us, slows us down, and helps us to contain our energy. Balancing Summer Activities Many of us are more physically active in the summer, which can bring challenges along with the enjoyment. Every activity emphasizes certain actions and qualities. Therefore, every activity also de-emphasizes, or even omits, other actions and qualities. Understanding what this means for any given activity can help us understand what is needed to balance it. Looking at imbalances common to different sports, as well as non-sports activities, can help us direct our attention to noticing the effects of our actions more fully and more quickly. This brings to mind yoga sage Patanjali's statement that future suffering that can be avoided should be. You can find articles, books and workshops about yoga for running, golfing, basketball, horseback riding, biking, kickboxing, swimming, volleyball, soccer, and more.Here's an article about balancing various sports with yoga. While we often focus on the physical aspect of practice to enhance performance, breathwork and meditation can contribute powerfully to your experiences. The ability to quiet the nervous system and concentrate on the task at hand can greatly improve athletic performance. Going deeper, yoga can alter how we relate to our experiences. "Yoga transforms performance in powerful ways, reframing most conventional notions of the very meaning and purpose of performance itself."--Stephen Cope, " Play at Your Peak," Yoga Journal (As a refreshing change of pace, Stephen Cope examined yoga's effects on musical performance rather than sports, though it can be applied to any activity.) Non-attachment in yoga (vairagyam) includes letting go of the outcome of our actions. In the eight-limbed path of yoga described by Patanjali the fifth yama, or ethical restraint, is aparigraha, non-grasping. "This is an aspect of flow in which the experience of performance is perceived as intrinsically rewarding and fulfilling, apart from any external rewards. The performer lets go of all self-consciousness about the performance--and any grasping for outcome or extrinsic reward. She feels compelled by the sheer joy of the activity itself. " -Stephen Cope, "Play at Your Peak." The desire for excellence and the need to be effective can lead us to explore our potential and move toward mastery in any activity or endeavor. While it's not guaranteed, greater self-mastery can be a doorway to greater self-acceptance, greater tolerance of others, more compassion, and a life of greater service. When we explore peak performance, we often look at the passion that is connected to the heart. Practicing loving kindness in all of our activities can also help us cultivate compassion to balance our passion. Take it Outside
One great gift of summer is the option of practicing yoga outdoors, one of my favorite summer activities. ( Here are some outdoor music-and-yoga festivals. ) Even if you aren't able to practice outdoors, opening windows can bring the outdoors inside for your practice, when it is feasible. Re-connecting with Nature and our own individual natures is central to yoga. That which disconnects us from nature can create a sense of feeling disconnected.
Come to Your Senses: Containment and Restraint
After the comparative sensory deprivation of winter, summer can feel like sensory over-load. The more subdued sensory experiences of winter invite us to pay closer attention in order to notice the more subtle input. This contrasts with the powerful smells, sights and sounds of summer, which can be intoxicating. These can easily pull our attention outward instead of inward. In a previous newsletter article, we looked at the subject of containment. To contain something is to hold it, to keep it within limits--restrain it. When we contain something, we check its expansion, or outward movement. It is easy to have our attention drawn outward by our senses, but especially during the out-going season of summer, with its expansive, energy-dissipating tendencies. The practice of pratyahara, the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga, involves restraining the senses by withdrawing them inward. Stopping and smelling the roses is an invitation to be deeply present through our senses. A simple act like smelling a rose can be profound and absorbing experience. The same senses that can easily direct our attention outward and move us away from our center can also be used to feel more present and more deeply connected to our center. A Tale of Three Doshas (Vata and Pitta and Kapha, oh my!) The first time I heard someone say that they disliked summer, I was flabbergasted. If I had a favorite season (and I did), it was summer. People with a lot of fire in their constitution (pitta), though, can find the heat and humidity of summer to be very unpleasant. Ayurveda recommends adopting a more pitta-pacifying lifestyle for everyone in the summer, as we take on more of the pitta characteristics then. When pitta is excessive in summer, we can feel impatient, agitated, and intolerant. Yoga practice can help us develop more patience, which can calm pitta. Doing a more cooling practice during summer can help pacify pitta, too, as can slower practice (and slowing down in general). Practicing asana (postures) in the morning, when it is cooler, can also be more comfortable and help us avoid the over-heating that can aggravate pitta. The non-competitive nature of yoga offers a way to be active in summer without encouraging pitta's competitive tendency (though competitiveness can certainly rear its head in yoga). Diet is a powerful way to help balance the doshas. In summer, our digestive fire (agni) tends to be low. Our physical appetites tend to decrease with this lower agni. Our mental appetites may not match our physical appetites, though, leading us to eat heavy and hard-to-digest foods. The combination of cold beverages, too much food, and heavy foods can overwhelm our digestion, creating impurities and compromising our health. Finding a happy balance between what the body needs for health and what the mind wants for satisfaction can be challenging. Eating a more pitta-pacifying diet in summer can be helpful for all constitutions, especially for those with a strong pitta constitution. Heading for a Fall Nature begins the process of withdrawing inward on Summer Solstice and continues this pattern until Winter Solstice. As the days get shorter through the summer, we may feel a bittersweetness over the impermanence that we are reminded of by the seasons. The busy, rajasic nature of summer tends to disturb Vata. Maintaining routines as much as possible during summer can help calm vata. As we move closer to the fall vata season, gradually shifting from more of a pitta-pacifying focus to more of a vata-pacifying focus can facilitate this challanging seasonal transition. "Everyone is more susceptible to respiratory problems when the seasons are changing, such as in the fall and early spring. ...If you do not adjust your diet and routine and follow the ayurvedic guidelines for the seasonal transitions, you can build up ama. Once the body is fertile for disease, it is easy for a cold or flu to sprout... That is why respiratory illnesses and allergies abound in the fall and early spring." -Rama Kant Mishra, "Ways to Boost Immunity Through Ayurveda," NaturalHealthWeb.com With fall following on the heals of summer, calming pitta without aggravating vata is important. This can be challenging--coolness calms pitta but aggravates vata, and moisture balances vata but aggravates pitta. Slowing down can help calm both pitta and vata doshas. "When following the pitta-pacifying diet, make sure that you enjoy mostly whole, freshly-cooked foods and avoid raw or cold foods and drinks. This will help to decrease vata without increasing pitta." -Dr. Claudia Welch, " Vikriti Results: Vata-Pitta," banyanbotanicals.com. Foods with sweet, sour, and salty tastes help to balance vata. "Change is stressful to vata, especially the onset of fall, the vata season. ... make sure you do some self-abhyanga (oil massage) with vata massage oil each weekend. This practice will be particularly useful during the change of season." -Alakananda Ma, " Healthy Transitions from Summer to Fall," www.banyanbotanicals.com. Getting sufficient sleep, especially during the transition to fall and during vata season is very important. Conclusion We express ourselves differently in the different seasons. Different parts of ourselves are encouraged to come out. By being in tune with the seasons, we can express those parts of ourselves more fully, helping to round out the overall expression of our lives. At the same time, yoga and ayurveda encourage us to continually re-balance and stay connected to our center and not get "swallowed up" by the effects of the season. Enjoy the rest of your summer. May it be full and fun, balanced and rewarding. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Paul Busch, St. Paul Yoga Center Instructor
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