With the ongoing high temperatures, keeping cool is of importance. Fortunately, there are two simple breathing methods from yoga that can help you cool your body.

These methods can help lower your internal and external body temperature – that is, from the climate or when you are angry.

The first version is called sitali pranayama. In Sanskrit, the word is broken down into three parts – “sitali” for “cooling”, “prana” for “breath”, and “yama” for “control”.

It requires you to be able to roll your tongue into a U shape. The air passes exclusively over the tongue, producing a noise similar to the one generated when you suck through a straw.

Those who are unable to roll their tongue may place it behind their teeth – a variation called “kaki mudra”.

The word “kaki” means “raven” in Sanskrit and “mudra” means “gesture”, as the shape of the mouth when the breath is taken is similar to a bird’s beak.

On her YouTube channel, yoga professional Brett Larkin advises taking the time to smell the air as you are breathing to better feel its effects.

There are five steps to this breathing technique:

• Sit with your back and neck straight and your abdomen unencumbered, hands resting on your knees.
• Close your eyes and, if possible, empty your mind.
• Stick out your tongue and roll it into a tube shape, or press your tongue against your teeth. Take a deep breath.
• Exhale through your nose while closing your mouth.
• The exhalation should be twice as long as the inhalation.
• Repeat the cycle five or six times.