When things get too hot in class, New York City yoga teacher Sadie Nardini takes it down a notch with cooling postures designed to help the body and mind come back from the brink of burnout. These simple, restful moves will create more space in chronically tight areas and encourage longer breaths, helping you decompress -- and turn on your internal air-conditioning.

"I lead my students through these moves whenever I see they're pushing themselves too hard," Nardini says. "They provide pockets of rest that allow your body to cool down and your hotheadedness to subside, helping you get back to a place of focused calm."

Consider the following poses the fitness equivalent of napping in a shaded hammock -- soothing, restorative, and as good for the soul as for the body.

What it does: Releases tension in the hips and brings movement into the spine and breath into the body, which calms the nervous system. Resting the forehead also quiets and focuses the mind.

How to do it: Start in pigeon pose with right knee forward, left leg back. Place fingertips beside your hips and inhale into a mild back bend (A).

Exhale and lean forward, leading with your heart and head toward the floor. Repeat, moving like a wave through your spine: Roll up on the inhale, and reverse as you release on the exhale. Do this 5 to 10 times, then rest your head on your thumbs or the backs of your hands (B).

What it does: Stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (which runs the "rest and digest" functions of the body), bringing you into balance.

How to do it: Lie on your back in goddess pose -- soles of feet together and knees bent, falling away from each other to form a diamond shape (A).

Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly and inhale, feeling the belly and ribs expand (B); let gravity take the breath out. Lie still for at least one minute. Feel your breath become smooth and slow.

What it does: This mild inversion requires little muscular effort (unlike a handstand), so the larger muscles can rest. It encourages lymphatic fluid to flow toward the heart, sweeping out toxins and boosting circulation.

How to do it: Start in bridge pose (on your back, with knees bent and feet close to hips and pressing into the floor). Place a block under your hips -- wide for more stability, narrow for more opening in the lower back and sacrum. Lift feet and legs straight into the air, above hips (A). Hold for two minutes.

You can do the same pose with knees bent directly over hips (B), which lets legs relax even more and releases hips.

What it does: Opens the rib cage, letting you breathe more effectively and bringing more calming oxygen into the body.

How to do it: Come into a low lunge with right leg forward and left knee on the floor. Place a block just to the left of your mat, parallel to your right foot. Rest both forearms on the block with spine gently curved to make a crescent moon shape (A).

Now walk the right fingertips forward as far as you can (B). Hold for 5 to 10 breaths on each side.

What it does: Releases excess "fire" and relieves face and jaw tension.

How to do it: Bend your knees and lift arms overhead, keeping your pose soft (A).

Exhale and fold your torso over your legs, knees bent, and swing your arms down and back, exhaling with a "ha" sound and sticking your tongue out (B). Inhale, keeping knees gently bent, and sweep your arms up to the starting position. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

What it does: Soothes and grounds, allowing you to let go of tension in the belly and reconnect your center to the earth.

How to do it: Lie on your belly with elbows out to the sides, one cheek on the floor. Rest for five minutes. If you have low-back discomfort, flip over, or push back into child's pose (knees folded under, upper body and forehead on floor).

As the temperature rises, our patience and general tolerance levels plummet. But it's not just because we're crazy from the heat. According to Ayurveda, the ancient school of Indian medicine, summer is the season of pitta, or fire. And while that fire has a purpose (to provide the heat needed to spark action and digest food and emotions), too much of that energy can be toxic, says Shubhra Krishan, author of "Essential Ayurveda."

"If you let your inner heat spiral out of control, you expose yourself to a whole range of 'burning' issues, such as acid reflux, ulcers, sunburn, rashes, impatience, frustration, anger, and anxiety," Krishan says.

To regulate your temperature -- and your temper -- think of your workout as a chance to cool down.