Summer has arrived! The days are warmer and quite frequently, more humid. You may have noticed that your body feels slightly different, too, whether it be that you need to drink more fluids, or move a little slower. In order not to burn out and burn up in our aerial yoga classes, it may be necessary to adapt how we practice during the summer months. Read on for my suggestions!
Step 1: Your Hammock
The first thing you may need to do, is shorten your hammock.
Even if the relative humidity of the day doesn’t sound all that high, when the temperature is higher, the air actually holds more moisture. So, the absolute humidity can be much higher on hot days. When there is more moisture in the air, your hammock soaks it up, and stretches. On the first hot, humid day of the summer, you might find your hammock has stretched itself closer to the floor. If you have shorter ceilings, or use an aerial yoga stand, there may be only a small difference. But if you have tall ceilings, your hammock can stretch an inch or more, and you’ll probably want to adjust it.
Another thing that happens to your fabric during humid weather, is that it becomes very sticky to your skin. And, if your skin sweats a bit more than usual due to the heat, the hammock gets even stickier.
If you like to practice positions that require wrapping your torso and/or limbs around the fabric, and/or threading legs and arms into tight spaces to wriggle through, I highly recommend you wear clothing that covers your skin (no short shorts or bra tops without a tank), even if it will make you feel a little warmer. It’s possible to give yourself “rope burn” when practicing those positions that you normally slide into during colder months. During the warm summer months, you may not slide as much as scrape your way through class. Ouch!!
Step 2: Your Body
In the summer, your hammock behaves differently, but your body also gets affected by the heat. And, you’ll want to adapt for those changes, as well.
You might think standard warm-ups such as Sun Salutations and standing poses are not necessary during the warmer months. But in fact, your body still needs to be prepared for the more bendy poses in order to tap into their effectiveness, and possibly to prevent injury. In addition, the body can feel a little swollen with excess fluid and unable to bend much when it’s hot, and an appropriate warm-up can help the body stay regulated while also lubricating the joints and warming the deeper muscle layers to promote flexibility. The key to summer warm ups is to move at an intensity that doesn’t overheat.
I recommend using easy Sun Salutations, ones that do not require a lot of strength, so that the movement becomes more about lubrication and even creating a breeze, than it is about building heat. Also, I suggest minimize standing positions such as Warrior 1 & 2, focusing instead on standing positions such as Side Angle pose and Tree.
For many people, long-held inversions can overheat the body, especially the Back Straddle inversion. Because inversions tend to be the favorite part of everyone’s aerial yoga practice, though, it’s unlikely you’ll want to eliminate or even reduce those positions from your practice during the summer. So instead, add in long, reclined rest breaks directly after inversions, such as Viparita Karani, or Savasana in the hammock or on the floor.
Being inside the hammock can feel stifling when it’s hot, even though the hammock fabric allows breezes to pass through. While cocooned, you might find it difficult to breath.
Therefore, when inside the hammock, I recommend practicing positions that are slow moving, and/or positions that are held for several breaths so that you can maintain easeful breathing, with deep and long breaths. After all, this is a yoga class, and we want to stretch our breath just as much as our muscles!
Step 3: Have fun!
Those are my recommendations for how to adjust your aerial yoga practice when it’s hot and humid. Follow my suggestions, and perhaps these dog days of summer will become your Downward Facing Dog days!
