WITH last month ranking as the world's third hottest July on record, beating the heat has become of major significance at the country and city level but also on a personal level. There are two simple breathing methods from yoga that can help you cool down your body: sitali pranayama and kaki mudra.
Such breathing techniques can be practiced both in cases of intense internal or external heat. That is to say that it can be done in case of a heat wave, after a sports session or a fit of anger.
There are different variants to the technique depending on the ability to form a "U" with your tongue.
The original version is called sitali pranayama (which can also be written sheetali). In Sanskrit, the word is broken down into three parts: sitali for cooling, prana for breath and yama for control.
This breathing is different from how we breathe normally because it requires one, during the inhale, to stick out the tongue in a "U" shape. The air then passes exclusively over the tongue. This step produces a sound of inspiration which can be similar to the one generated when one sucks in a straw.
For people who are unable to roll up their tongue, it is possible to place it behind their teeth. This variation is called kaki mudra. The word kaki means "raven" in Sanskrit and mudra refers to "gesture." The shape of the mouth, when the breath is taken, is similar to a bird's beak.
On her YouTube channel, yoga professional Brett Larkin advises taking the time to smell the fresh air as you are breathing in order to better feel the effects.
There are 5 steps to this breathing technique:
- Sit with your back and neck straight and your abdomen unencumbered, hands resting on your knees.
- Close your eyes and, if possible, empty your mind.
- When you stick out your tongue, roll it into a tube shape and take a deep breath. Or press the tongue against the teeth.
- Exhale the air through the nose while closing the mouth.
- The exhalation should be twice as long as the inhalation,
Repeat the cycle 5 to 6 times. – ETX Daily Up, August 14, 2021
