Depending on where you live, the weather can have a powerful impact on your yoga practices. If it gets very hot or very cold, you might find yourself unwilling or perhaps even unable to keep up with your at-home yoga practices. This can be a problem unless you can afford to attend a yoga class every day. The following are some tips and tricks that you can use to help make you comfortable during your yoga practice no matter what the weather is doing outside.
Yoga when it’s hot
In some areas of the world, it can get swelteringly hot or humid. Doing yoga when you’re already dripping with sweat can seem like too much effort, destroying your motivation and good intentions. If you are doing yoga in a hot place, make sure that your lesson is early in the morning, before the sun and your house gets too hot, and keep a bottle of water close by. You could also try altering your yoga practice to include more poses that relax and cool you down such as meditation or the legs up the wall pose.
Yoga clothes for summer need to be light. This is the time for tank tops, crop tops, muscle tees, and shorts. Make sure that all fabrics are lightweight and breathable and try light colors to keep you cooler. This may be the time to experiment with doing yoga in just a sports bra or topless for the men. Also, a hairband can be a lifesaver if you have long hair, it will keep your fringe out of your eyes and stop the sweat from dripping down your face.
Yoga in the cold
It’s hard to do yoga when you just want to live in your flannel pajamas, fluffy socks, and dressing gown. The idea of taking them off, even just enough so you don’t slip, can put any devoted yogi off their practice. The cold can also make your muscles and joints constrict, meaning that you could have more trouble with certain movements or feel pain when stretching. Try drinking warm water before your practice, it will heat your body from the inside out and don’t be afraid to increase the intensity of your workout. The more you move and the harder you work the warmer you will feel.
Layers are excellent for yoga in cold weather. You can remove them when and if you warm up and the extra layers will hold in the warmth. Put your tank tops away and reach for form-fitting, dark fabrics that are thicker while still allowing you to move freely. You can even buy yoga socks if your feet get too cold, which are warm and have a grip sole so you can still perform your postures. Make sure you also have a wrap so that you can cover yourself when you are doing prone postures at the end of your practice and start to cool down again.
Trying to convince yourself to do yoga when it’s too cold or too hot to move can be difficult. Don’t let the weather be another reason for skipping your workout. Try some of the tips here, or come up with your own, for making your at-home yoga practices comfortable no matter what the temperature.
