YogMantra | A Manual To Stay Calm, Healthy In This Summer Heat

“Ya garmiyon ki raat jo purvaaiyaan chalein, thandi safed chaadaron pe jaagein der tak,

Taaron ko dekhte rahein, chhat par pade hue, dil dhoondhta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din.”

(The gentle breeze of summer nights, lying awake till late hours on cool, white sheets on the terrace, gazing at the stars …oh, how the heart longs for those slow-moving, relaxed nights and days!).

These were the words of poet Gulzar, eloquently describing summer nights of a bygone era.

In the no-air-conditioner days, this kind of slowed-down living made for cool summer holidays at grandparents’ homes. I remember the darkened rooms, khus (vetiver) curtains periodically sprinkled with water, the 4-pm melon-watermelon routine, the delicious falsa sherbet and aam panna! Simple food. Playing simple indoor games with elders and cousins. Orange-red hands and toes from applying fresh henna (mehndi), a coolant. Outings to a lake, riverfront or fountain that ended with milkshakes and ice-cream. Sleeping early and waking early. Watering the garden in the mornings. Sleeping in the breezy balcony or terrace at night, wearing white clothes to absorb the cooling effect of moonlight; the women wearing scented jasmine flowers in their hair.

APPLYING THE SAME FORMULA

Turns out this is precisely the formula that needs to be applied in the current day to beat summer heat. It is based on Ayurveda principles of diet and living and is followed even by Yoga gurus to keep their bodies healthy.

“In Uttarayan months i.e. those after the winter solistice – shishir, basant, greeshm – the sun’s intensity is gradually increasing and peaks during greeshm kala (summer). Heat increases and so does dryness. Take in madhura (sweet), amala (astringent), lavana (salty) and tikta (bitter) tastes. Provide yourself with barriers of coolants, shade, water, air, and food – and you are good,” says NCR-based Ayurvedacharya Purnima Midha.

In an interview, she shared nuggets based on the ancient Ayurveda texts Ashtanga Hrudaya and Bhaisajya Ratnavli. Here are edited excerpts.

A LIFESTYLE TO STAY COOL & KEEP CALM

Think Hydration, Electrolytes, Coolants

• Water cannot quench thirst on its own for long, not even cold water. The heat, dryness and loss of electrolytes from sweating is addressed by adding certain ingredients in water such as barley (jau ka sattu), curd (buttermilk), fresh lime (nimbu pani), kokum juice, raw (boiled) mango with mint and cumin (aam panna). Do add sugar and a pinch of salt in the above drinks.
• Watermelon and muskmelon supply madhura taste and water, so do drink sherbets made with bael, falsa and khus. Coconut water and ORS (oral rehydration solution) keep heat exhaustion at bay.

Think Easy Digestion

• Ingesting these coolants would reduce the digestive fire (agni). Since this fire is simmering (and not raging), the appetite is weak and the diet should be soft.
• Prefer squashes and gourds like bottle gourd, pointed gourd (parval), pumpkin, ridge gourd, cucumber, etc. Season it with cumin and ginger rather than with chillies and garam masala (five-spice powder).
• Alcohol and red meat are hard to digest.
• Eat an early lunch when the heat hasn’t yet stifled the appetite. Eat an early, light dinner.
• To tackle disturbed digestion, chew methi seeds softened by soaking in curd or sip on decoctions made of coriander seeds, mint leaves or fennel seeds.

Think Cooling Fragrances and Soothers

• Chandan (sandalwood) on the forehead, rather than being a mark of the religious, was used to keep the heat of the learned under control! Apply a paste made with sandalwood and water on the forehead.
• Alternatively, apply sandalwood essential oil on the space between the eyebrows, the throat, chest, temples and wrists.
• Dab rose and jasmine essential oils (ittar) behind the ears and on wrists. Infuse your bath water with rose petals.
• Apply a paste made with fresh henna leaves on hands, feet and the head.
• Apply organic turmeric paste on the soles of the feet. Rub a tiny bit of cow ghee on the inner tips of nostrils, inhaling which brings tranquility to the brain.
• As first-aid for sunburns and mild heat strokes, apply sandalwood-turmeric paste on the body. For rashes, use a paste of sandalwood and rose water (chemical-free), or glycerine-aloe vera gel.
• Use talcum powder to absorb sweat.
• Apply coconut oil on the scalp and soles of the feet at bedtime.

Think Cooling, Restorative Earth (Mitti)

• Drink water stored in earthen pots rather than fridge-cooled water.For an overheated body, soak clayey mud (taken from 12 inches below ground level) overnight in water, then sieve and apply as a pack on the stomach, hands and feet.
• Use inverted earthen pots to cover the surface of your terrace; this will insulate rooms just below the terrace from heat.
• Work in the garden soil in the mornings; walk barefoot on the moist earth.

Think Home Cooling

• Use darkening curtains. Khus curtains sprinkled with water are cooling and work as aromatherapy.
• Use bamboo hand-fans or even banana leaves as fans during power-cuts.Gentle, sweet-smelling flowers like jasmine and rajnigandha work as coolants.

Think Calming Routine

• Minimise screen time.
• Avoid intense physical and mental activities that can overheat you. Play indoor games. Read light books. Play soft or instrumental music in the background.
• Wear light-colored, loose, cotton or silk clothes. Use an umbrella when going out, and avoid direct sun exposure between 10 am and 3 pm.
• Sleep before 11 p.m.

Think Pranayama

• Sitali, sitkari and sadanta are well-known ‘cooling pranayamas’. The stream of cool air that goes in through the curled and rolled tongue (in sitali and sitkari) and through the clenched teeth (in sadanta) cools the third eye and brain, and exhalation from the nostrils (with mouth closed) spreads this cooling in the body through the nervous system.
• You’ll feel calmness in the mind and cooling in the body including in the eyes, ears and insides of the head.(Avoid these in case of respiratory troubles or low B.P.)

Rethink Yoga Asanas

• Yoga poses per se cannot mitigate effects of the sweltering heat. Yoga gurus emphasise taking it easy during summer – mild stretches, lying-down and loosening practices are good enough.
• Continue with your sequence of asanas, if you are keen on it, but then choose the early-morning hours, and maybe do fewer rounds. Stop if you feel tired or stiff.Do not introduce any new asanas in summer.

HOW YOGA REALLY COMBATS HEAT

Regularly practising Yoga poses, breathing, relaxation and meditation strengthens the body. Such a body will feel the heat but won’t succumb to it. Yoga strengthens the mind to an extent that it is not bothered by temperatures.