10 Cooling Yoga Poses That Help You Handle the Heat

Feeling frazzled, frustrated, or simply out of sorts? Countless things could be responsible for your mood, but chances are the relentlessly sweltering temps are at least partly responsible. Standing in front of an open fridge is one option. But more profound and long-lasting than any blast of cold air is an ancient approach, one that wastes zero electricity and focuses on taking down the temperature from within. Whether that heatedness comes from summer or an emotional situation, practicing these cooling yoga poses can help.

What Are Cooling Yoga Poses?

According to yoga tradition, different postures cultivate different qualities in your subtle, or energetic, body. Poses that demand physical exertion—such as intense standing postures, backbends, and binds—exacerbate internal heat. Whereas soothing forward bends and reclining postures are believed to bring about a cooling response from within.

10 Essential Cooling Yoga Poses

Practice the following cooling yoga poses individually or as a sequence when you’re feeling overheated. Let yourself linger in stillness while exerting barely any effort. As you slow your movement and bring your awareness back to your breath, you allow the less obvious aspects of the pose take effect, bringing about a quieting and cooling in your body as well your mind.

1. Balasana (Child’s Pose)

Kneel on the floor. Bring your big toes to touch and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips. Exhale and lean forward to bring your forehead to the mat, a block or a folded blanket. Walk your hands toward the front of the mat or reach back toward your feet and rest your arms on the floor alongside you, palms facing the ceiling. Allow the weight of the shoulders to pull the shoulder blades wide across your back. Sink your hips toward your heels and release any effort. Stay here for anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Breathe.

2. Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Stand facing the long side of your mat with your feet 3 to 4 feet apart and your hands on your hips. Inhale and lift your chest away from your hips, exhale and slowly fold forward, bending from your hips instead of rounding your lower back. If your back starts to round, stop folding forward. Place your hands shoulder-distance apart on the floor or blocks with your fingertips in line with your toes. Release your head toward the floor in Prasarita Padottanasana. Ground down through your feet, firm your leg muscles and activate your inner thigh muscles. Lengthen your entire spine from your sitting bones to the crown of your head. Breathe here for at least 1 minute. Exhale and bring your hands to your hips, inhale and slowly lift yourself to standing.

3. Gate Pose (Parighasana)

Come to kneeling, perhaps with a folded mat or blanket beneath you for cushioning. Straighten your left leg out to the side with your ankle in line with your hip and your knee facing the ceiling. Ground down through the outer edge and big toe mound of your left foot. Keep your right knee directly beneath your right hip. Exhale and side bend at the waist, lowering your left palm to your left leg and stretching your right arm up and, if it’s comfortable for you, overhead. Turn your gaze beneath your right arm or look straight ahead in Gate Pose. Breathe here for at least 1 minute. Repeat on the other side.

4. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes)

Sit with your legs straight in front of you. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the mat to the outside of your left knee. Press down through the base of your right big toe to ground your foot. Keep your left leg straight or bend your left knee and bring your left heel near your right hip. Place your right hand on the mat behind your right hip. Sit evenly on both sitting bones and inhale as you straighten your spine and lift your left hand toward the ceiling. Exhale as you bring your left elbow to your outer right knee or wrap your arm around your knee. Press your knee and elbow into one another to create some resistance. Turn your head to the right, looking past your right shoulder or keep your chin in line with your chest in Half Lord of the Fishes. Stay here for at least 1 minute, lengthening through your back on each inhalation and gently twisting a little more with each exhalation. Repeat on the other side.

5. Head to Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)

Sit on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Bend your right knee and bring the bottom of your foot toward your inner left thigh. If you feel any strain along the back of your straight left leg, place a rolled blanket beneath your knee. Inhale and lift your chest as you press actively through your left heel. Exhale and start to lean your chest forward over your left leg in Janu Sirsasana. Think of bringing your chest toward your toes rather than your thigh. You can wrap a strap around your right foot or rest your hands on any part of your foot or leg as you maintain length in your torso. Engage your core slightly as you fold forward, as if you were initiating a crunch. Try to lengthen through your upper body rather than rounding or hunching your back. Let your elbows bend out to the sides and relax your shoulder. Breathe here for at least 1 minute. Repeat on the other side.

6. Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)

Start seated with your legs extended straight in front of you. Lean slightly forward on your sit bones rather than slouching or leaning backward. Bend your knees and bring the bottoms of your feet together, allowing your knees to fall open to the sides. Draw your heels a comfortable distance from your hips to form a diamond shape with your legs. Use your hands to draw the arches of your feet apart, as if you were opening the pages of a book. Inhale and press your shoulder blades against your upper back to lift your chest. Exhale and start to lean forward, whatever amount is comfortable to you. Keep a loose grip with your hands and release your shoulders in Bound Angle Pose. Breathe here for at least 1 minute. Slowly lift your chest and straighten your legs.

7. Side-Reclining Pose (Anantasana)

Lie on your left side and flex your left foot. Press through your left heel and press your outer left foot into the floor to stabilize your position. Bend your left elbow and slide it away from your feet to stretch your armpit, and support your head in your palm. Draw your right knee toward your chest and take hold of your right big toe with your index and middle fingers or loop a strap around the arch of your right foot and hold the strap with your right hand. Externally rotate your right leg and reach your right leg toward the ceiling in Anantasana. Breathe here for 1-2 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

8. Reclined Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

From lying on your back, bend your knees and draw them toward your chest. Slowly lower them off to one side and rest the bottom leg on the floor, pillows, or folded blankets. Reach your arms straight out from your shoulders and release them into the mat. If you’re feeling a lot of sensation, wedge a rolled blanket or pillow under or between your knees to bring you out of the twist a bit. If it’s comfortable, turn your head to face the opposite direction of your knees. Breathe here for 1-2 minutes.

9. Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)

From seated, bring one hip as close as possible to the wall. Slowly swing your legs up the wall as you lower your upper body onto your forearms and then your back. Scoot your sit bones close to the wall and rest your legs against the wall hip-distance apart. You can bend your knees slightly, especially if your hamstrings feel tight. Relax your arms alongside your body in Legs Up the Wall. A folded blanket can feel nice under your lower back and sacrum. Breathe here for 5-20 minutes.

10 Savasana (Corpse Pose)

Place a rolled blanket or a couple pillows beneath your knees and lower yourself onto your back in Savasana. Relax and release into the pose for anywhere from 5 minutes to, well, as long as you can.