Summer is Pitta Season

As temperatures outside rise, you may find yourself heating up internally, too, feeling burned out, irritable, and flushed. Summer is the season for pitta imbalance. It’s when this dosha is at risk of creating a fire in you that can lead to exhaustion, heartburn, ulcers, insomnia, rashes, and breakouts.

But don’t sweat it. We have the resources you need to stay cool, calm, and collected as it heats up.

Summer Diet

A pitta-pacifying diet includes lots of hydrating foods and drinks that help you stay fluid—physically and mentally. Avoiding heavy and fried foods in summer and eating a seasonal diet is important for keeping your doshas balanced and your body in sync with nature. Ayurvedic summer superfoods include basil, berries, cherries, cabbage, coconut oil, ghee, and green peppers. Extra servings of raw or lightly steamed veggies will help you cool down naturally.

Get John Douillard’s recommendations for what foods to eat more of and what foods to avoid in the summer.

Download LifeSpa’s summer grocery list and find the foods that work best for you.

Seasonal Summer Recipes

Nature provides the ideal harvest for each season to keep you strong, healthy, energized, and focused.

To get dosha-balancing recipes delivered to your inbox this summer, join LifeSpa’s 3-Season Diet. Every month you’ll get seasonal tips for staying in balance.

Summer Digestion

Another important aspect of a balanced summer lifestyle is dialing in your digestion to accommodate any excess pitta the season may bring. Overworking and overheating can trigger heartburn and other digestive system issues, like excess stomach acid production, unintentional weight imbalance, bloating, and constipation.

Learn strategies for addressing digestive woes this summer.

Summer Herbs

Just like your food, your herbs should be seasonal, too: Brahmi, neem, shatavari, and manjistha will help you stay cool during summer months, and they’ll keep your microbiome in sync with the seasons.

For more info, read 4 Ayurvedic Herbs to Keep Pitta Contained This Summer.

Summer Skin Care

Pitta imbalance can manifest as rashes, acne, and flushed skin. The herb Amalaki is cooling for hot, pitta skin and supports the appearance of elasticity and youthfulness. You can also try out LifeSpa’s DIY skin moisturizing recipe and DIY cleanser and mask recipes for pittas.

To find out more about your doshic constitution, take LifeSpa’s Skin Type Quiz.

Summer Activity and Exercise

• Get outside. Being in nature builds ojas, the precious fluid of vitality, according to Ayurveda.
• Do abhyanga, or Ayurvedic self-massage, with coconut oil, especially if you are a pitta-dominant person.
• Even though the days are longer and we can stay up later, remember the sun is up early as well. Try to get to bed no more than two hours after the sun sets and get up with or before the sun rise.

See also Why You Should Add Ayurvedic Sunrise and Sunset Rituals (Sandhi Prakash) to Your Daily Routine

• Get 10-15 minutes of direct midday summer sun per day for healthy vitamin D3 levels.
• Exercise in the morning or early evening-avoid exercise in the midday sun.

See also Increase Ojas & Vitality with These Potassium-Rich Foods

Summer Podcast Listening

To learn how pitta accumulates in the summer, put in your headphones, find some shade, and listen to Episode 64 of the Ayurveda + Modern Science Podcast: Cool Your Pitta This Summer.