Cat’s Bum Breath: a cooling practice video for heatwaves & hot heads 🥵

Do you have 60 seconds? 😼💨

✨ In this edition of a space to land, I share:

🥵 Cat’s Bum Breath: a 1-minute practice to cool you down
Feeling hot, overwhelmed, or on edge? This playful breathwork video offers a simple, somatic tool to regulate. Good for heatwaves, snappy moods, emotional overflow, or overstimulation.
💨 Includes: a 1-min annotated video, 3 gentle cooling tips, and a bonus 45-min slow practice from the archive.

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For you, dear reader, i’m sharing a breathwork practice video with a name that might make you chuckle as it has me over the years - but it's an effective way to bring some chill into the system.

Cat’s Bum Breath is my loving nickname for the classic yogic cooling technique Sitali but it’s also based on other somatic tools i’ve loved over many years, as well as an impression my old homeslice and i used to do for fun to try to make each other laugh in the office or club back in the day. We’ve all been there, no? …Does anyone still go to the club?

This breath and movement technique can help you regulate when you’re:
- Roasting in the heat 🌞
- A bit snippy-snappy at loved ones 🔥
- Feeling emotionally flooded 🌊
- Overstimulated baybee 😖
- Needing an instant reset 🧊

The breath is simple, but the shift is real. Watch the 1-min video below to try it. And yes, it took me a painstaking amount of time to annotate this 1 minute video but i’m trying haha! Shoutout also to my mate from San Diego who inspired it (and it’s only taken me two weeks to muser the courage to share it - thumbs up everybody! 👍🏽 )

💌 Let me know in the comments: How was it for you? Do you use breathwork to help to cool yourself? Would you try this in a moment of heat or anger? I mean the full cat’s bum. In public. (and yes, you already know i have 😏)

🌱 If this helped, consider:
- Forwarding it to someone who needs a breather
- Becoming a paid subscriber to support more slow, spacious offerings like this one

Your support helps me create these free practices with care. Thank you for being here.

+++ Bonus BITS! call this a loving reminder, an: i’ll be your mirror moment…🪞✨

☀️ 3 Gentle Cooling Tips for Body - Mind - Being

1. Stay low + slow where poss. Literally. Lie on the floor, legs up a wall. Helps lower body temp + soothe the vagus nerve. Sidenote: i find this a helpful place to go when that afternoon heat slump arrives as opposed to the morning. There’s also a 45 minute video practice i made 4u below if you want some gentle guidance and slow-flow.

2. Cool cloths on wrists, neck, or temples help regulate heat fast. Sidenote: many of you who have been to classes / workshops and retreats with me know my flannel hack (wet it and put it in the fridge and use it as and when you need it). You can also run water over your wrists if you’re in the office and can’t access a flannel.

3. Avoid over-efforting. A life practice because i’m extra in general butttt in my somatic, yoga, movement and more recently in my creative practices, this is something i’m heavily into and advocating for. Slower breaths, softer gaze, less push. Soft-soft.

What cooling tips would you add?

🗄 more from the archives

Interested in a 45 minute guided movement practice keeping things low and slow? I’ve gotchu!

Low & slow: a restorative practice for tender times 🐢

In case you missed it, Friday’s despatch and my most recent post offering soft-soft practices featuring current rituals, studio notes and more tools and recommendations (books, music etc)

Soft-Soft anchors for turbulent times 🌴

I know, these sacccc references are a bit much, but you might be happy to know i’m consistent?! More cosmic summer self care practices, resources and yes, memes.

hot scrots and spicy meatballs 🌶

Thanks for reading, i’m so grateful for your presence in this space.

Take good care,

Dionne 💜