After what feels like forever in a lockdown, there are burgeoning signs that Summer 2021 has arrived. Longer days, milder weather and trips to the beach can only come as a welcome relief. Hello sunshine and goodbye frost. The world is quite literally bursting awake from its lockdown hibernation with a renewed sense of joy and vitality. 

The season of summer brings with it a natural inclination to cleanse and detoxify. Capitalise on this season’s growth mindset and adopt a revitalising yoga routine to rebalance body and mind.

Get Prepared

Slipping and sliding can be dangerous and is a common cause of injury. When doing yoga, it's essential to use a non-slip yoga mat. This will also support joints, balance and posture and there’s much less likelihood of injury. For indoors, we’d recommend trying our high performance Yogi-Bare Paws Non-slip Mat for extreme grip technology. If you fancy an outdoor yoga session, try a Yogi-Bare Teddy Non-slip Mat, which has the added benefit that it can be cleaned in a washing machine.

6 Yoga Poses to Help You Welcome In Summer

You can warm up with some sun salutations or a few rounds of cat-cow to loosen muscles.

Fierce Pose (Utkatasana)

Begin your routine by strengthening and lengthening the body with this pose, otherwise known as the chair pose too.

Start with your feet together. Bend your knees and lower your hips towards the floor as if sitting down into a chair. Reach arms upwards towards the sky. Hold the pose and feel strong, fierce and powerful.

Divers Pose (Drinking Bird Pose)

Use this pose to stretch the entire lower body.

Straighten your legs before you do anything further. The key to this one is that you need to hinge (or lean) forward from your hips until your upper body is parallel with the floor. Once you’ve done this, it’s time to incorporate an oppositional stretch. Reach your arms backwards whilst sending the crown of your head forwards. Lift your heels up so that you’re on tiptoes.

Crescent High Lunge (Ashta Chandrasana)

This is a fantastic pose for opening up the hip and groin area and is also known to be good for indigestion. 

Step the left foot towards the back of your mat. Bend your front knee, so that it’s sitting directly over your ankle. Stay on the ball of your back foot and gently straighten your back leg. Reach up with both arms, keeping your gaze forward. From here, you can either go straight into Warrior I or if you fancy a back stretch, move into a high lunge backbend and then a low lunge backbend.

Warrior I (Virabhadrasana)

An energising stretch for the whole body, this is the pose to build focus, power and stability.

Lift your right leg forwards, bending into the right thigh. Left foot stays in place, with the heel on the floor and turned at a 45° angle. Reach up arms overhead, fingertips towards the sky and draw the stomach in. 

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

The classic yoga pose that strengthens the core, improves circulation and provides a wonderful full body stretch.

From Warrior 1, lower your arms down. Exhale. Step back into plank position before pushing-up into cobra. Fingertips press lightly on the floor. From cobra, tuck your toes under, press into your hands to lift your body up and push back into downward facing dog. This is where the spine and legs invert to create a triangle shape, keeping the back of legs and spine lengthened. Hips are lifted up, elbows soft, heels drop towards the floor and you should also feel a nice stretch across the chest.

Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)

This gives a great stretch through two opposing movements. Being rooted to the spot symbolises the calm, balancing energy of the moon, whilst the stretch upwards embodies the fierce, fiery force of the sun. 

Place your right hand on the floor in front of your right foot. Carefully lift your left leg, keeping your left hip open and flex your left foot. Stretch your left arm skywards. When you feel balanced, look upwards.

Final Poses

You could finish your sequence with any number of stretches. We especially like to finish off with the camel pose, boat pose, plow pose and finally, the child’s pose - before you know it you’ll feel fresh as a daisy, ready to enjoy the summer sun.