Ayurveda Tips for Summer: Cleanse Your Body and Mind

Summer is here!!

Summer (Pitta) season brings the much-needed sunny days after Spring. The days become longer and brighter, and all of nature can become a bit drier just like us humans. According to Ayurveda Summer is considered to be where the solar force and energetic principles of fire & water are strong.

Although Summer can be full of fun in the sun, it can be a difficult time for the Pitta dosha and one may accumulate to much Pitta causing a Pitta imbalance.

This could physically look like excessive body heat, skin rashes, hyperacidity, heartburn and emotionally one may experience more anger, impatience and irritability.

The heat can tend to be a little rough on our digestive system and the high temperatures can also cause us to feel a bit more frustrated in general. That’s why during the Summer season, it is best to add more cooling foods and lighter portions of meals.

Pitta is characterized by the qualities of hot, sharp, oily, light, liquid, mobile, clear & subtle. The qualities or characteristics that balance Pitta include: cool, dry, slow, and grounding. This means that one should create exercises of more restorative, slow & less heating practices and having a nutritional diet consisting of cooling foods, not the hot and spicy. Consider cooking with foods and spices that are; sweet, bitter and astringent as these are Pitta reducing.

Coconut oil is also a wonderful oil to place at the bottom of the feet to add additional cooling to the body and lets not forget cooling pranayama/breathing practices such as alternate nostril breathing and slowing down the breath with a 4 count inhale; 5-6 count exhale ( or whichever count works for you). Let’s cool down with gentle restorative yoga asana practices and I hope you enjoyed these Ayurvedic tips for Summer.