Summer is Pitta Energy: Learn How to Balance Your Inner Fire This Summer
Enter, Pitta Season
Summer has arrived and the world is beginning to heat up. A noticeable shift from spring to summer as spring provides more moisture, with a slight chill in the air, while in summer, the humidity subsides and the sweet, thick smell of heat fills the air.
As we feel this shift externally, there is also a notable shift internally. The quick burst of energy experienced in spring shifts into a slow, burning drive.
While the heat may ask us to begin to slow our pace physically, we are still filled with the energy and determination to take action where it's needed.
In Ayurveda, this transition in seasons also happens internally for us all, as we are all cyclical beings. The summer months are ruled by Pitta in Ayurveda, and while we all possess qualities of all three doshas, we each typically have two doshas that are slightly more dominant.
The goal in Ayurveda is to connect with nature in various ways to bring our internal cycles in sync with the external cycles of the Earth.
Through this balancing, we, in turn, experience improved health and well-being in all areas of life.
Pitta is the Summer Season
Pitta, in Ayurveda, is associated with the elements of fire and water and is, therefore, associated with the summer months.
When you think of the characteristics of the summer months, you can typically draw a parallel to the Pitta dosha as well.
Pitta characteristics in individuals include someone who is athletic in body type, has an inner warmth in skin and body temperature, digests quickly and fluctuates weight quickly, enjoys sweet and bitter foods, is competitive, confident, sometimes restless, and enjoys mental challenges.
Depending on your personal constitution, you may find that you either thrive in the summer months… or end up feeling agitated.
This is determined by whether you are balanced or imbalanced in Pitta.
An Excess of Pitta Affects the Mind and Body
So how do you know if you have an excess of Pitta?
An excess of Pitta in the mind looks like increased agitation, unhealthy competitiveness, experiencing an excess of envy toward others, and bursts of anger and aggression.
An excess of Pitta in the body manifests itself as increased inflammation – particularly in the skin, such as psoriasis, and alopecia, inflammation and agitation in the liver and gallbladder, frequent heartburn, excessive sweating, acne, and lethargy.
If you notice any of these symptoms within the warm summer months, don’t worry – Ayurveda provides simple ways you can work toward balancing this.
Balance Your Inner Fire (Agni)
Ayurveda is a whole-istic system… meaning, all aspects of the self are taken into account when creating overall health and well-being… a.k.a., balancing the doshas.
Let’s take a look at a few.
Pitta Balancing Diet
Probably one of the most obvious aspects to consider is diet. According to Ayurveda, the Pitta dosha favors sweet, bitter, and astringent foods.
Although they are the luckier dosha when it comes to diet as they can tolerate most foods more than the other doshas.
Even still, during the summer months, you can first start by only eating when hungry, as metabolism does have a tendency to slow down in the summer months with the heat. And, to calm that inner fire (agni), it’s best to avoid pungent, salty, and sour foods, as well as reduce the amount of meat and cheeses consumed.
Pitta-Pacifying Foods
Instead, lean more toward the foods that are sweet, bitter, and astringent.
In vegetables, this looks like eating more green, leafy vegetables, green beans, broccoli, cucumbers, cabbage, squash, mushrooms, lettuce, and asparagus.
Fruits can include, bananas, melons that are high in water, mangoes, cherries, grapes, figs, and pomegranates. Fruits should be consumed on their own, 1-2 hours before and after meals. According to Ayurveda, fruits should be avoided completely during the evening hours.
Pitta-pacifying grains include barley, oat, rice, and wheat. While herbs and spices include mint, dill, coriander, turmeric, and fennel.
You may notice that these are foods you naturally gravitate towards – and avoid – during the summer months anyway.
This is because our bodies are naturally intelligent and sentient. Ayurveda simply reminds you of your body’s own innate wisdom.
Pitta-Complementing Lifestyle
Ayurveda encourages you to live by the seasons and the natural world around you. In the summer months and Pitta season, start and end your day with the sun.
This may look like waking up earlier than in the winter and spring months as the sun begins to rise in the sky earlier. And, going to bed with the sunset, which is naturally around 9 or 10 in the evening.
Additionally, when going to bed sleeping on your right side naturally activated your lunar pathway in the left nostril, which provides a cooling and calming effect on the body.
You may even notice that with the increased heat, you begin to feel lethargic in the afternoons. Naps are encouraged in Ayurveda to soothe this Pitta heat.
In your waking hours, light clothing that is breathable is recommended, and if you feel inclined to use essential oils on your body, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, and tulsi are recommended.
Optimal Exercise for Pitta
Pitta loves to move. With that fire energy, how could it not? However, because Pitta already has heat burning within, you want to be careful not to stoke that fire too much with high-intensity exercises.
But that doesn’t mean you still can’t get in a great workout and sweat!
Rather, try altering when you exercise, avoiding the midday hours when it’s hottest. Instead, get in your workout in the early morning or early evening hours. And if your only option is a midday workout, choose to do it indoors rather than under the hot sun.
Yoga to Soothe the Pitta Fire
If you’re a yoga enthusiast like us, balancing Pitta looks like choosing poses that incorporate forward folds and spinal twists. Because Pitta is an expansive energy, these poses encourage you to bring some energy inward so as not to expel too much of your energy outward.
The following poses are Pitta-Soothing options you can incorporate into your summer practice:
Child’s Pose
Cat-Cow
Chair Pose
Revolved Chair
Standing forward fold
Seated forward fold
Side angle pose
Revolved side angle pose
Cobra pose
Locust pose
Half boat pose
Supine twist
Seated supine twist
Pitta-Pacifying Pranayama
The same is encouraged with breathwork (pranayama). During the summer months, reduce the use of heat-building pranayama practices such as strong uujayi and kapalabhati breath. Rather, choose a gentle uujayi breath, alternate nostril breathing, and shitali and shitakari breath.
Your Body Already Knows
Ayurveda reminds you of your body’s own innate wisdom, but the key to remember here is – you already know.
Your body knows the rhythms, ebbs, flows, and shifts. Whether you are consciously aware of it or not. Your only job is to quietly listen to whatever your body is communicating to you.
Your body already knows the changes it needs to make during the summer months, and it knows how to pacify excessive Pitta.
Just listen.
