According to Ayurveda, summer is considered Pitta season, where the solar force and energetic principles of fire and water are strong. Pitta season is characterized by its hot, sharp, fiery, and intense nature, and typically begins in late spring and lasts through early fall.
Although these summer months are a fantastic time for self-expression, accomplishment, exploration, and adventure - they can also be a difficult time for the Pitta dosha. When these attributes build up within the body and mind due to wrong diet and lifestyle, Pitta accumulates and begins to manifest various imbalances. Here are some signs that this might be happening:
- You have inflammation, redness, puffiness, and swelling. Pitta governs your heat and metabolism so watch your body for any signs of redness and swelling. In the skin this looks like red, hot irritation, including acne, hives, and the most obvious: sunburn. In the body, it feels like puffiness and bloating.
- Your digestive system is processing everything a little too quickly. This manifests as loose stools, heartburn, and the feeling that no matter how much you eat, you’re never satisfied.
- You feel irritable, angry and easily stressed. When pitta is high, our fiery emotions tend to get the best of us. This includes extreme or explosive reactions to things that normally don’t bother us.
If any of these feel relevant, it’s time to find ways to cool down. According to Ayurveda, we can use a combination of diet and lifestyle choices to find our way back into balance.
Although Pitta types are more at risk of a Pitta imbalance during summer, Vata and Kapha types can also develop Pitta imbalances, so it's important to find ways to counteract the intense heat by embracing a lifestyle that emphasizes the qualities of cool, heavy, dense, dry, slow, dull, and static.
How To Adjust Your Routine to Beat the Heat
Follow these Pitta-balancing tips to help navigate the summer season with health and happiness.
Add Pitta-Pacifying Rituals to Your Morning Routine
Here are two of the more important practices to emphasize in your morning routine during Pitta season:
1. Washing the eyes. The eyes are a seat of heat and pitta in Ayurveda and are particularly prone to overheating and irritation in the summer months. Here are some cooling balms:
- Organic rose water sprayed directly into the eyes if your eyes are feeling red, irritated, or you’ve spent too long in front of a screen
- Melted Ghruta ghee rubbed carefully and CLEANLY into the eyes for a medicated nourishing support
- Cucumbers over the eyes - an oldie but a goodie!
2. Self-massage with cooling oils. Abhyanga and the practice of self-massage can help balance Pitta by calming the nervous system. Pitta types should try to use cooling oils, like Ghruta ghee, coconut, or sunflower (as opposed to heating oils like sesame or almond). If Pitta types are feeling particularly heated, they should focus their attention on the face, ears, nose, scalp and feet, and keep their massage movements small and slow. Fast massage of the larger muscles may create too much warmth.
Enjoy a Pitta Summer Diet
Eating food that helps to balance Pitta is one of the best ways to stay balanced in summer. According to the Charaka Samhita:During the summer, the sun evaporates the moisture of the earth by its rays. In that season, the intake of sweet, cold, liquid, unctuous diets and drinks are prescribed.
Luckily, nature provides! Much of the produce that is in season during summer possess the qualities that pacify Pitta.
- Summer fruit: Apricots, avocado, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, coconut, dates, grapes, limes, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon (limit unripe or sour fruits like grapefruits and green grapes).
- Summer vegetables: Artichoke, beets, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, endive, green beans, leafy greens, lettuce, okra, peas, summer squash, zucchini (limit tomatoes, onions, turnip greens, and anything pungent).
- Summer herbs and spices: Basil, cardamom, cilantro, coriander, dill, fennel, mint, parsley (limit spicy, heating and pungent spices like mustard, pepper, and ginger).
- Cooling oils: Ghruta ghee, coconut, and olive (limit heating oils like sesame and almond).
Simply visit your local farmers market to find out what's in season for you.
It's important to note that Ayurveda typically recommends cooking foods to aid digestion, but during Pitta season, raw foods can be beneficial. Raw foods tend to be naturally cooling so enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables during summer will generally be supportive.
Summer Diet Tip: During summer, our Agni (or digestive fire) disperses and is pulled to the extremities to keep the body cool. As a result, our digestion is weakened. That is why we are often less hungry and crave light foods in summer. Remember to listen to your body and eat lighter and smaller meals as needed (eat your biggest meal at lunch when the sun and your agni is highest). Mung soup with lots of fresh coriander and mint is always a great go to!
Stay Hydrated
The summer heat dries up the moisture from plants, the earth, and our bodies. That’s why it’s important to drink enough water – generally eight 8-ounce cups of water per day is sufficient, but always listen to your body to know what it needs.
Keep in mind that water alone isn't very hydrating. To hydrate properly, we need the right balance of sodium and electrolytes in the body. You can get this by adding high-quality salt, like Bamboo Salt, to your beverages.
Here are some other tips for better hydration:
- Start the day replenishing fluids with a glass of water, sprinkle of bamboo salt, and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
- Try to avoid drinking hot drinks too often. Instead, opt for cool or room temperature.
- Even though it might be tempting, avoid drinking ice water as it will dampen the digestive fire and spoil digestion.
- Limit stimulants like coffee and alcohol. Stimulants increase Pitta’s hot and fiery nature, which can cause irritability and indigestion issues.
Here are a few of our favorite Pitta drinks:
- Water with bamboo salt, lime and maple syrup
- Cooling Pitta herbal teas such as mint, chicory, dandelion, licorice, fennel, rose and hibiscus
- Cucumber milk (pureed cucumbers, milk of choice, and natural sugar)
- Milk of choice boiled with ghee, saffron, cardamom, and maple syrup
- Smoothies made from coconut and avocado
- Pureed watermelon and water
- Salt tea to balance electrolytes
Exercise to Ground and Relax
During summer, it's a good idea to engage in exercise and activities that aren't too invigorating or heating, and instead, are more grounding and relaxing, such as:
- Walking by oceans, lakes, and bodies of water
- Swimming
- Kayaking
- Paddle boarding
- Biking
- Hiking in a forest
- Strolling in the moonlight
- Practicing yoga, like yin yoga or moon salutations
These activities also help us connect with our inner child, which is very soothing to the Pitta dosha.
Schedule Downtime
An overzealous schedule can lead to stress and hot emotions. When you add in the summer heat, Pitta imbalances can easily occur. To proactively pacify Pitta, try to take time for leisure. If you're a Pitta type, it might be challenging to 'take time off,' so consider scheduling time between appointments for rest and relaxation.
Tip: The reminder to "stop and smell the roses" is never more useful than in summer! The rose scent is one of the best aromatherapy smells for calming our fire element. Other balancing scents includes ones that are sweet, relaxing, and/or cooling, like jasmine, rose, honeysuckle, mint, lavender, chamomile, geranium, and ylang-ylang. Pitta types often benefit from keeping a rose water mister handy for a quick remedy in the heat. What's also a lovely about "stopping and smelling the roses" is the reminder to slow down and take breaks.
Cool Down When Overheated
Getting overheated or too much sun is a surefire way to increase the fiery aspect of Pitta dosha. When this happens, we can get irritable, angry, competitive, and impatient. When you start to feel overheated, seek shade.
Here are some other tips for staying cool in the summer:
- Spend time by bodies of water. Water is both cooling and calming. Swimming is also wonderful to cool us down, helps us connect with nature, and has a soothing effect on our minds.
- A walk in the moonlight is especially soothing to a Pitta-aggravated mind. Moonbathing helps us connect with lunar energy which is calming and cooling. Try going barefoot in the cool grass to provide additional grounding benefits. Or spread a blanket and gaze up at the stars.
- Meditation and pranayama are highly effective tools in reducing excess Pitta. Both practices encourage grounding, reduce stress, aid in the release of emotions, and cultivate peace - all things that diffuse Pitta. For meditation practices, try focusing on the breath or So Hum Meditation. For Pranayama, try shitali (or sheetali) and chandra bhedana (chandra means “moon” and bhedana means “passing through”). This type of breathwork involves inhalation from the left nostril and exhalation through the right nostril. This stimulates your lunar energy represented by ida nadi (channel of prana) and brings in the moon's cooling energy.
- There's a reason they say "laughter is the best medicine." It's an especially helpful tool for balancing the Pitta dosha. Laughter releases stress and anger and softens Pitta’s nature. Try to enjoy at least one good belly laugh everyday in summer - and always.
- Take a siesta as needed. In general, Ayurveda does not recommend sleeping during the day. That said, summer is the one time of year that it can help. Sleeping during the day is thought to increase the kapha dosha, responsible for earth and water, which is a great antidote for the hot and fiery aspects of summer. If you indulge in a nap, be sure to do it on an empty stomach, in the afternoon, and for no more than 30 minutes.
What to Avoid in Pitta Season
The following activities can aggravate Pitta and make it easier to fall out of balance in summer.- Eating sour, salty, and pungent foods like cayenne, ginger, and garlic.
- Overexposure to the midday sun. When the sun is high in the sky, it's best to limit activity. Exercise, in particular, is very heating and, in summer, is best done in the morning, when the temperatures are coolest.
- Busy schedules. Don't over-schedule or take on too many tasks since this can lead to stress and hot emotions. Be aware that the passionate energy of Pitta may inspire you to try and accomplish more than you can handle, but the summer season is the most important time to practice leisure.
Learn more about the Pitta dosha and how to stay balanced.