Summer is a season of joy and holidays.
Beaches and mountains…
Picnics and outdoor games…
Sunshine and rain…
We would love for you to make the most of the summer months
and avoid the pitfalls that lead to a less than blissful summer experience.
Ayurveda – an ancient science that offers a deep understanding of how changing seasons affect our bodies. It also presents efficient ways to deal with these changes and maintain perfect physical and mental health.
As per Ayurveda, Pitta Dosha flares up during summer. (To know more about doshas, read our blog.
What is Pitta Dosha and why does it flare up during Summer?
Pitta is a Sanskrit word that can be loosely translated to mean “Fire” – it relates to the digestive fire energy in our body along with a small element of water energy.
“The seven qualities of Pitta are described in Ashtanga Hrdayam: Sutrasthana as ‘pittaṃ sasneha tīkṣṇoṣṇaṃ laghu visraṃ saraṃ dravam’. Pitta is slightly oily, penetrating, hot, light, odorous, free-flowing, and liquid.” Source
In Ayurveda, Pitta is considered one of the three doshas, or constitutional types. Pitta is responsible for metabolism and the transformation of food into energy. It also governs digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients.
A balanced pitta ensures that the body’s metabolic fires are burning brightly, resulting in good digestion, strong appetite, healthy skin, and an overall feeling of vitality and well-being. When pitta becomes imbalanced, however, it can lead to problems such as inflammation, indigestion, heartburn, skin eruptions, and a general sense of irritability and anxiety.
Summer season is about the rising wave of Pitta energy and excessive fire energy that can cause imbalances in the body. Rising temperatures, excessive alcohol, fried food, meat, white flour, sugar, and emotional strain – all of these can cause Pitta to flare up and throw it out of balance.
Pitta dosha imbalance can cause the following problems:
- Inflammation
- Nausea
- Diarrohea
- Heartburn, acidity
- Insomnia
- Body/mouth odour
- Emotional stress
- Anger
- Headaches
How do you pacify Pitta in summer?
Ayurveda suggests a number of ways to pacify Pitta during summer.
Pitta balancing/cooling foods
A mix of sweet, bitter, and astringent foods is recommended for balancing Pitta energy in the body. Here are some options to choose from-
- Fresh fruits like pears, melons, oranges, berries, green apples
- Root vegetables like beets, sweet potatoes, carrots
- Green Vegetables like cucumbers, zucchini, squash, broccoli, spinach
- Grains like rice and barley
- Coconut water
- Herbal infusions made with mint, cinnamon, rose petals, fennel, cardamom
Meditation
Sit in a cool and quiet place to relax and focus within. You can start by focusing on your breath. Bringing all your attention to the breath can help you to calm down and get some respite from the busy and anxious monkey mind. Emotional energies aggravated by fiery hormones calm down after a meditation session.
Bask in the Moonlight
Full moon nights are especially beautiful during the summer months. Whether alone or with a group of like-minded friends have a date with the Full Moon. Gaze at the full moon and absorb its cooling energy. Allow the soothing moonlight to wash your Being with its gentle sweetness. Breathe in the fresh cool summer breeze and allow your cellular body to release pent-up heat.
Yoga
The Yoga Sutras offer many yogic postures that are helpful in calming down aggravated Pitta. Some of these cooling poses include-
- Cobra posture (Bhujangasana)
- Child’s pose (Shishu asana)
- Moon salutation (Chandra namaskara)
- Superman posture (Vipareeta Shalabhasana)
- Seated forward bend (Pashchimottasana)
- Half boat posture (Ardha naukasana)
- Half shoulder stand (Ardha sarvangasana)
- Bridge posture (Setubandhasana)
- Corpse posture (Shavasana)
Sound Meditation
Heightened activity levels during summer often carry over into the evening, making it hard to relax and fall asleep. One way to help facilitate this process is by incorporating sound meditation into your pre-bed routine.
There are a variety of ways to do this. You can simply sit in a meditative posture or lie down in Savasana and allow yourself to be surrounded by soothing sounds. This could involve listening to calming music, or nature sounds. Alternatively, you could try binaural beats that help to put your brain into a theta brainwave state of meditative relaxation. Whatever method you choose, make sure you find one that feels calming and relaxing for you.
Vinyasa Fluidity flows to balance Pitta during summer
We checked with our in-house Yoga teacher – Hetal Pandya about Yoga for summer, and her answer surprised us. She suggested Vinyasa Fluidity Flows to transition from one season to the next with ease. We watched mesmerized as she flowed from one standing posture to the next in a fluid manner gracefully. It was like watching a moving meditation that was “flowing yet still” at the same time. (Sign up for a sample session here).
What are Vinyasa Fluidity Flows
Vinyasa fluidity flows are a type of yoga that incorporates the practice of Vinyasa (a form of flow) with standing poses. The result is a flowing, graceful sequence of postures that leads to an awareness and connection to your body.
The thing to keep in mind here is that – you get into a pose with gentle movements, and gracefully ease into the next pose without staying in it for long. It feels like an elegant and meditative dance where you are aware of your breath and the pranic energy swirling within your body from one movement to the next.
To balance Pitta during summer Hetal suggests asanas that will help you ground your mind and body and provide gentle stretches without putting a lot of effort into the practice physically.
Sample series of Yoga postures for Vinyasa fluid Flows-
Balasana (Child’s Pose)
Benefits:
It improves blood circulation. Helps to reduce stress in the neck, shoulders, and spine and has a calming effect on the body. It also reduces anxiety.
Parivrtta Janu Sirsasan (Revolved head to knee pose)
Benefits:
Not only is this spinal twist rejuvenating, but it also relieves stress. It is good for the digestive system and brings relief to insomnia and headaches caused by excessive Pitta.
Janu Sirsasan (Head to knee Pose)
Benefits:
As you gently move into the opposite flow of Parivrtta Janu Sirsasan, your digestive system gets the benefit of liver and kidney massage. This asana also helps to get rid of belly fat and relieves mild depression.
Supt Ardhamatsyendrasana (Supine Spinal Twist)
Benefits:
Want a detox for your internal organs? – try Supine Spinal Twist. This asana also massages abdominal tissues. While bringing relief to the lower back, it also lengthens, strengthens, and realigns the spine.
Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
Benefits:
This asana helps to reduce gastritis, heartburn, and flatulence. It brings more flexibility to the spine and relieves backache.
Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend)
Benefits:
The main physical benefit of this pose is that it acts as a hip opener. The hidden benefit is that this pose helps to go within and stills the mind. This results in reduced anxiety, stress, and depression.
Sheetali Pranayama (Hissing breath)
Benefits:
Sheetali, also called Seetkari pranayama has a cooling effect on the body and therefore is recommended to be practiced during the summer months only. This pranayama establishes harmony in the endocrine system and regulates the hormonal secretions of the reproductive organs. (Source: Hath Yoga Pradeepika)
Guidelines for Vinyasa Fluid Flows:
- Practice only 50-60 % of the body capacity, this is a gentle and calming flow of Yoga postures
- Don’t force yourself to stretch more than your body easily allows
- Take slow but deep breaths
- Pause before moving from one asana to the other
- Movements should be slow and gentle
- Focus on breathing and one pose at a time.
Conclusion: Pitta Dosha during Summer
Pitta Dosha is at its peak during the summer months. It is important to be aware of how it affects our bodies. Dietary measures are a key factor in dealing with this – avoid Pitta aggravating foods like hot pepper, oily foods, soya sauce, salted butter, eggs, and chocolate. Have cooling food items like millets, green vegetables, fresh fruits, and calming infusions made with fennel, rose petals, etc.
Vinyasa Fluid Yoga Flows are helpful in releasing tension from the body, releasing pent-up stress, massaging internal organs, and improving digestion.
What are some of the ways that you prepare yourself for the Summer season?
We would love to hear about how you deal with the summer heat.
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
#endocrinesystem #energeticintersection #manipura #solarplexuschakra #pitta #doshas #mindbody #chakras #InternationalDayOfYoga #selfcare #yoga #ayurveda #vinyasa #vinyasayoga #vinyasafluidflows #vinyasaflows #pittadosha #summercare #blissify.ca
