Ep 38: Ayurvedic Summer Self-care (Pitta Season)
According to Ayurvedic wisdom, in order to thrive our self-care routines should ebb and flow with the seasons. So in this week’s podcast episode, I share summer self-care practices that you can use to keep your mind, body, and spirit in balance through the heat of the summer!
My goal for this episode is to help you bring more awareness to your environment and how it’s affecting you. I share foods, oils, herbs, and lifestyle practices that will keep your energy grounded and cool during the summer months.
Ayurvedic wisdom helps us to tap into the energetics of the season in order to create movement and growth in our lives. We can align our self-care routines, exercise, food choices, etc. with the seasons in order to cultivate balance.
Below is a brief outline of today’s podcast episode, 038: Ayurvedic Summer Self-care (Pitta Season). Please tune in wherever you get your podcasts to hear the full episode.
If you’re reading this and it’s not summer outside your window please refer to these other podcast episodes for other seasonal self-care practices:
Using Ayurvedic summer self-care practices and seasonally appropriate herbs, oils, and foods will help you keep your mind and body in balance during the hot summer months. Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash.
What is the Pitta season?
In the northern hemisphere, the Pitta season starts in early June and continues through the summer months into early fall.
Each season is dominated by certain elements. The five elements in Ayurveda are earth, water, fire, air, and either. And the dominant elements in the Pitta season are fire and water.
Our body is constantly taking in these elements through our environment, so the art of Ayurveda is balancing the qualities (or Gunas) of these elements through lifestyle practices, food, etc. We do this by bringing in the opposite qualities through our summer self-care practices.
The dominant Gunas of the summer season are sharp, light, building heat, and drying. Over the course of the season, the environment heats up and that fire begins to burn away the water. We see this in nature as the plants go from lush and green to yellow and then brown in the height of summer.
The mood of the Pitta season is transformation, intensity, passion, expansion, and mobility. To tap into the transformative power of the season you might add the following self-reflection question to your summer self-care routine: “What am I ready to transmute and transform in my life? In my career? In my relationships?”
Balancing Foods, Herbs, and Oils for Summer
Next, let’s talk oils. Some of my favorite cooling and neutral oils to use in the summer are coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, and ghee.
When it comes to essential oils and herbs we also want to think about cooling and grounding. Cooling herbs such as sandalwood, rose, jasmine, gardenia, amla (Indian gooseberry), and Indian lotus are excellent additions to your summer self-care practices. And grounding herbs such as Brahmi, lavender, and chamomile.
Summer Self-care Practices
ONE: Ground the Intensity
Our primary goal during the summer season is to keep our mind and body in balance by keeping cool, calming intensity with relaxation, and grounding our energy. You can literally ground your energy by walking barefoot on the earth whenever possible and putting your hands in the soil. This is my number one summer self-care grounding practice.
And for those days when you can’t get your bare feet on the ground, try massaging your feet with a seasonally appropriate oil (see above) to draw the energy and heat in your body downward.
TWO: Stay Cool
Certain yoga poses that focus on more lateral movement such as side angle pose (Utthita Parshvakonasana) and sitting head-to-knee pose (Janu Shirshasana) can also help your body to release heat.
Another great summer self-care practice is Sheetali Pranayama. This video gives excellent instructions for this cooling breathing technique.
THREE: Oil Up!
Cooling Homemade Face Mask for Summer Self-care
Lastly, I want to share a homemade face mask recipe with you that I originally learned from my mention, Katie Silcox (her new book is available for pre-order now!). Use this mask as a luxurious part of your summer self-care routine to calm frantic energy and stay cool!
Mix ½ cup dry rose petals (organic if possible), 1 tablespoon milk of your choice, ½ tablespoon coconut oil, and 2 tablespoons of honey with a spoon or in a blender. Slather on your face. Lean back, relax, and luxuriate for 10 – 15 minutes. Wash off with cool water.
I hope that this episode has inspired you to go outside, experience the seasons, and tap into that transformative, Pitta energy!
Have fun, and let me know which Ayurvedic summer self-care practices you try!
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Featured image: Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash
