Welcome to Pitta Season. The season dominated by the element of fire. Pitta ignites our bodies and minds and encourages transformation and change. From the words of the master Bob Marley, “The sun is shining the weather is sweet yea, make you want to move your dancing feet now.”
During Pitta season we receive the energy of the sun. It feels warm, encouraging, enlightening. It calls us to get out and move, to explore, to experience. So whatever it is you have been dreaming of now is the time to make it happen.
Summer is the time to shift from the undoing to the doing, from the mundane to the ecstatic, from the status quo to the superb. The challenge is that we need to be cautious of overheating and creating an imbalance in our system.
Ayurveda teaches us that we can maintain balance by adjusting our habits to meet the qualities of the season.
Summer is pitta season. In the system of Ayurveda which is based on the 5 elements of nature. Pitta dosha is a combination of the fire and water elements.
Excess pitta can lead to an exacerbation of pitta related disorders such as stress, inflammation, and skin disorders.
Heat activates Pitta and when there is an excess of Pitta we can experience negative emotions, uncomfortable physical sensations and negative mental thoughts.
Excess Pitta can make us angry, hot and irritable. It can create too much sweat and cause headaches, rashes and digestive issues. Elevated Pitta can also make us feel impatient, short tempered and aggressive.
Pitta Season calls for us to get outdoors in the early morning and evening hours and to spend time near the water, or even just in a cool bath or shower. It is best to put 50 – 70% of our effort into exercising and to spend more time relaxing in a hammock or in longer savasana.
So as you jump into the heat of pitta season, be cautious of not over doing it and stay cool, refreshed and hydrated.
Here are some of my favorite ways from Pratima to balance Pitta:
Hydrate: Drink cooling drinks like coconut water, watermelon and cucumber juice.
Stay Cool: Walk under the moonlight. Stay out of the mid-day sun.
Soothe: Clear the eyes with Rose Water. Dip cotton pads in rose water and place over the eyelids.
Calm: Use a drop of Rose Oil on your third eye throat and navel after your Yoga practice to cool down.
Relax: Nighttime heart massage: Add 3 to 5 drops of vetiver, rose, and sandalwood essential oil to a base of coconut oil. Massage your two heart centers nightly 4th chakra, center of chest at sternum and The marma point talahrudaya (known as the heart of the foot) located on the sole of the foot straight line down from the middle toe.
For my Summer Yoga Practice you will likely find me practicing outside and in nature! A typical non –work day consists of waking to a glass of hot water & lemon, followed by a fresh organic juice, jumping on my surf or paddle board and playing in the ocean waves. My mantra practice often takes place while paddling or waiting for a wave.
My meditation practice may consist of weed pulling in my garden in the early morning or concentrating on the deep blue ocean water. Afternoons are filled with playing at the beach with my daughter, painting, surfing, and playing imaginary games of all kinds; dinner is typically from the local farms and fishermen, and nighttime activities consist of bonfires on the beach, moon bathing and stargazing.
Enjoy the fruits of summer, take it outside, stay cool, connect with the water element, balance the fire and bask in the joys of summer !
With Love,
Lauren
