Practice suggestions for summer

 In the summer, pitta season, do yoga at about 70 to 75% of your capacity to avoid getting over heated.  Notice if this is difficult for you.  Try to relax your effort and breathe slowly and calmly. Consider focusing on the heart in meditation and practicing with compassion.

On especially hot and humid days, practice sitali breath; this is a cooling breath in which you inhale air slowly through a curled tongue, pause at the top of inhale, and then breathe out slowly through your nose.  Do 6 to 10 rounds. 

Good poses for the summer include:
-restorative back bends like reclined butterfly pose
-standing forward bends like wide-legged forward fold
-seated forward bends 
-belly back bends like cobra and locust
-lateral poses like triangle and half moon
-supine twists
-legs up the wall pose

Remember to drink cool, not ice cold drinks!