5 Reasons to Practice Yoga Even in the Summer

This happens to the best of us as the weather gets nicer and nicer: we stop practicing yoga.

Well, it happens to those of us who aren’t addicted to our yoga practice or who don’t practice 4 or more times per week.

As the weather gets nicer we are pulled outside, especially after months of rain in the place we call home, Squamish. The sun comes out and we all want to be mountain biking, climbing, paddle boarding, river adventuring, hiking, lake swimming & enjoying barbecues and drinks with friends.

Really the list is endless when it comes to potential summer adventures.

We hear you, we are are the same, we just want to get outside.

5 reasons you should keep practicing yoga even during the summer:

1) Sanity

The sun, warm weather & long nights call us all out in the world. We tend to stay up later, sleep less and spend more time recreating, which is exactly what we should be doing during the longer day light hours.

However, we still need to be practicing self-care to ensure that we are staying in balance. We want to maintain our energy throughout the summer months, not end up feeling worn out and burnt out – and potentially also burnt – by July.

2) Injury Prevention

All of the outdoor playing we do creates tension in our bodies. This tension needs to be moved out of our bodies so that we can stay nimble and healthy. A regular yoga practice can help with this.

The strength that you have combined with the flexibility that yoga promotes creates mobility. This means, that you can be ready for spills, rapid movements as needed on the trails or water ways without having this unexpected movements lead to injury.

Regular yoga practice will help keep you healthy through out the summer and beyond!

3) Rest

It’s so important to rest even during this summer months. We are so used to doing and going endlessly, especially in the summer.

Coming to a Yin or Restorative class can help you rest and relax, this is so important to keeping yourself healthy, physically, mentally and emotionally.

4) Variety

We all love certain sports more than others, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, doing the same movements over and over again, just like sitting at a desk can create repetitive patterns in our body. A regular yoga practice can help to combat this, creating different movement patterns. It’s nice to mix it up every once and a while!

5) Community

This one may be cheesy, but true.

A lot of the activities we do are solo activities and yoga can be a great way to connect to community, whether you are into talking to people before or after class. Or whether you prefer to come in and speak to no one, it’s great way to be with a group of like minded people.

And if you really don’t want to be inside, Shala is offering an Outdoor Summer Yoga Series at Nootka & Sea at the Squamish Town Hub. Starting Monday, June 4th and running every Monday (except Holiday Monday’s). Classes start at 5:30 pm, are 75 minutes long and are a $15 cash drop in. Some of the nights there will be special musical guests! Those nights are $20 drop in!

We hope to see you on the mat soon if not for one of the reasons listed above for any reason you want.

This article was originally posted on Shala Yoga’s Blog here:  http://www.shalayoga.ca/2018/05/dear-yoga-practice-see-you-in-the-fall/