Ayurvedic hacks to keep your body cool this summer.
I don’t know about you, but 90-degree days aren’t my happy place. I am a high Pitta individual. More about that in just a moment. In fact, I find hot days oppressive.
I remember when I was a little kid, New Delhi summers were all about blasting desert coolers and sipping on Roohafza while Mumbai summers included air conditioners blasting but you hardly felt a difference. Cold drinks didn’t help, and they were expensive, so you had access to limited sodas. The heat. The humidity. The dehydration. The skin burns. The nose bleeds. People recklessly eating their spicy foods and pairing pakodas with chai in the seething heat.
Understanding Summer through the Ayurvedic Lens
Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old holistic system offers natural ways to maintain inner and outer balance during hot weather. In Ayurveda, Pitta is one of the three Doshas known to govern the metabolism and the transformation that takes place in the body. Pitta is made up of the elements of fire and water. The pitta dosha controls digestion, metabolism, and energy production. Pitta discriminates between right and wrong. Because of its elemental makeup, pitta is sharp, penetrating, hot, light, intense, acidic, and pungent. There are foods and beverages that increase pitta, and there are items that decrease pitta.
Summer explained in Ayurvedic terms…
Summer – in Ayurveda speak – is Pitta Season. The gunas or qualities of pitta are hot, light, sharp, spreading, pungent, liquid, and oily. Much of Ayurveda’s wisdom is based on the philosophy that “Like increases like; opposites bring balance.” A diet or lifestyle with excessive pitta-like qualities will aggravate your pitta dosha.
For the July 4th barbecue, imagine its 90 degrees outside. Think of what happens if a fiery, temperamental person eats hot, spicy, fermented food. Think spicy wings or vegetarian bean chili layered with jalapenos and cayenne pepper or sauerkraut with their hot dog.
In addition, this person drinks beer or wine under the blazing sun or decides to go for a run in the peak heat of the afternoon during a heat wave? They will only get hotter and more irritable. Like increases like. This person might get diarrhea or nausea or heartburn or acidity. Their skin might develop rashes. An excess of this dosha can manifest in symptoms such as irritation, excessive body heat, and digestive problems. This, my friends, is what pitta imbalance could look like.
List of Signs of Pitta Imbalance
Ayurveda emphasizes that our minds and bodies are deeply connected. If you feel agitated, jealous, envious, intense, or impatient (all signs of Pitta dosha imbalance) notice what that does to your digestion. When pitta is imbalanced, it can show up as the drunk, mean uncle at a wedding who can neither hold his words nor his drink, or as follows:
- Impatience
- Acne/rashes
- Perfectionist tendencies
- Judgmental and critical of self and others
- Sudden bursts of anger
- Sarcasm in conversations
- Indigestion
- Acid reflux
- Diarrhea
- Blaming others
- Body odor
- Increased intensity
- Loose stools
- Burning or itching skin
- Red burning eyes
- Skin inflammation
Important to remember!
As summer heats up, we become prone to accumulating excess pitta. And if you are a person with pitta predominant, you have a higher tendency to go into an imbalance during summer season. But an inadequate lifestyle, family stressors, relationships pressures, stress at work, physical trauma, can all create a pitta imbalance in anyone, no matter their dominant dosha.
Simple tips to keep your pitta in check this summer:
- Avoid the midday sun.
- Reduce sour, salty, fermented, and spicy foods.
- Reduce your intake of coffee and alcohol.
- Cut down on fried and processed foods.
- Include sweet, bitter, sweet, and astringent tastes in your meals.
- Use cooling spices and herbs like fennel, coriander, rose, neem, cardamom, and licorice.
- Avoid iced drinks which shock the digestive fire (Agni)
- Spend time in nature.
- Opt for cooling activities like swimming, moonlit walks, and forest bathing.
- Dress in breathable, natural fabrics (cotton, linen, light colors)
- Make time to rest and recuperate.
- Apply coconut oil to the skin if it gets itchy.
- Introduce aromatic support from essential oils like sandalwood, rose, and geranium.
- Carve out time for daily meditation. It lowers mental and emotional temperature.
- Good cooling yoga asanas include the fish, camel, boat, cobra, cow, and tree poses.
- Practice Sheetali Pranayama/Chandra Bhedana.
- Spend some time reflecting before going to bed.
Try one Ayurvedic summer ritual this week and share your experience.
“The great thing about Ayurveda is that its treatments always yield side benefits, not side effects.” ~ Shubhra Krishan
Disclaimer: The content is purely informative and educational in nature and should not be construed as medical advice. The information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease. Please use the content only in consultation with an appropriate certified medical or healthcare professional. If you are nursing, taking medications, or have a medical condition, please consult with your health care practitioner prior to the use of any of these herbs.
