How to Keep Cool, Healthy & Happy During the Summer Season
Ayurveda’s Guideline to Summer

In Ayurveda, hot summer is associated with the qualities of Pitta – hot, light, penetrating, oily and mobile, therefore in Ayurveda we consider summer season as Pitta season.

If you are Pitta or if you’re experiencing Pitta imbalances, pay attention as we transition into summer.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing tips and tools that will help prevent accumulation of heat in the body and keep your mind & body cool and calm. And all you to ultimately enjoy the summer season.

Firstly, let’s go through the list of Pitta imbalances:

• Overheating, hot flushes
• Inflammation in the body and in the joints
• Loose stools, diarrhea or acid indigestion
• Skin irritations, rashes, acne, hives, psoriasis, dermatitis
• Heartburn, acid reflux, mouth ulcers or cold sores
• Excessive thirst or hunger

Mentally, you might get easily irritable, short tempered, be judgemental to others or to yourself, become overly competitive, jealous and have a tendency towards perfectionism.

If you are experiencing any of these things, you might be experiencing imbalances of Pitta Dosha.

You can experience these imbalances throughout the year if you are not following the recommended diet and lifestyle routines for Pitta Dosha, but you might also experience these imbalances as we transition into a Pitta season due to the energy in the environment.

Ayurveda encourages us to live in harmony with nature and adjust our diet and lifestyle according to the season we are in.

So how can we adjust our diet and lifestyle in summer season?

Here are the general guidelines for diet & lifestyle during hot summer season:

The most important thing to remember when it comes to food is that choosing the foods, herbs & spices that have a cooling effect on the body to prevent accumulation of heat in the body.

These are:

• Leafy greens
• Asparagus
• Courgettes (Zucchini)
• Cucumber
• Coriander (Cilantro)
• Rice
• Bran
• Melons
• Coconut
• Pomegranate
• Grapes
• Milk
• Fresh yoghurt
• Mint
• Fennel

Pitta Pacifying Tastes

It’s also advisable to include more of sweet, bitter and astringent tastes and avoid or have less of sour, salty and pungent tastes.

Examples of sweet tastes are sugar, honey, rice, milk, cream, butter, bread and grains.

Examples of bitter tastes are green leafy vegetables, endives, chicory, lemon peel, turmeric.

Astringent foods are anything that make dry sensation in the mouth – so for example, dry beans, lentils, apples, pears, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and potato.

Food to avoid

Pitta aggravating foods are spicy food, oily food, caffeine, alcohol, red meat, garlic and ginger. And also some of the nightshade family such as tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers and white potatoes.

Of course, you can still have these foods from time to time – but consume them in moderation! And you might want to avoid them completely if you are experiencing high Pitta imbalances and see if that makes a difference in how you feel in your mind and body.

Lifestyle

During the summer season, you want to keep your mind & body calm and cool so do your ‘busy’ work in the morning when it’s cooler and then slow down in the afternoon.

Also exercise early in the morning is recommended and avoid any vigorous exercise at noon or in the afternoon when it’s the hottest.

Try to avoid direct sun in the middle of the day and enjoy the sun early in the morning or in the evening by going for a walk or enjoy the garden.

Wear cooling fibers

Wearing cooling fibers such as hemp, linen, organic cotton and silk and wear cooling colors such as greens, blues, pastels, silver or white and avoid synthetics.

Keep your skin cool

It’s important to keep your skin cool – and using coconut oil on your skin is great for summer as coconut oil is cooling. You can apply coconut oil on your body for about 20 minutes before a shower and then rinse it off in the shower.

You can also spray a rosewater spritz on your face throughout the day to keep your body cool. Rosewater is hydrating and refreshing!

Practicing Yoga during summer

I don’t recommend dynamic Yoga during a hot summer and I definitely don’t recommend Hot Yoga! If you are going to practice a more dynamic style of Yoga, go a little slower and practice early in the morning.

Recommended Yoga Poses:

Forward bend (seated and standing): cooling pose

Legs up the wall and Shoulderstand: cooling pose

Gentle spinal twist: calming

Side stretches: liver and bile cleansing

Want to find out more? Check out my  Top 5 Recommended Yoga Poses for the Summer!

Recommended Pranayama (breathing exercises)

Shitari or Sitkari: Cooling Pranayama

Chandra Bhedi (Lunar Breathing): Calms high blood pressure and excess heat in the body