The Down Dog Days of Summer: Yoga to Stay Cool

We are officially in the dog days of summer, my friend; are you feeling the heat?! I know I am!

The days from about July 3rd through August 15th are known in the Northern Hemisphere as the dog days of summer. These are the hottest, muggiest, stickiest days of the year. I don’t know about you, but things are definitely hot, muggy, and sticky around here!

The dog days of summer were historically the period of time following the star rise of the star Sirius, known as the dog star. The star rise of a star occurs every year, when it briefly becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn, just before sunrise.

In Greek and Roman astrology, the star rise of Sirius was connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. Today, they are just known to be the hottest, most uncomfortable days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

I don’t know about mad dogs and bad luck, but I’m definitely feeling the extreme heat and lethargy!

You might be too, which is why I’ll be bringing you mellow hatha practices for the rest of the month of July I call them the Down Dog Days of Summer Practice, and they’re designed to help you keep your cool in the midst of all this heat.

There won’t be any fast-moving vinyasas in these practices; basically nothing that’s very heat-building. There’s already plenty of heat out here! I’ll be throwing in some cooling pranayama as well, as we make our way through this month.

For this week’s practice, you’ll want to grab two blocks in addition to your yoga mat.

I’ll meet you on the mat!