A Pitta Season Primer
WHEN IS PITTA SEASON?
Pitta season includes the hottest, longest days of the year from late spring into early fall. Pitta dosha is composed of the elements fire and water. Qualities associated with pitta are oily, hot, light, spreading, and liquid. If, like me, you live in the Deep South, I have one word for you: humidity. Our summer season is ruled by pitta dosha.
During the summer, we naturally gravitate to certain types of foods—I usually crave salads, cucumbers, melon, sushi not hot soups, roast, or cream-based pastas. This makes sense when you consider the long, hot days of summer and the fact that pitta dosa is by nature fiery. My body instinctively craves foods that are the opposite of pitta., foods that tend to be astringent, bitter, cold, and even a little oily. By brining more cooling qualities into the body, I can keep pitta in balance. A balanced pitta dosa is a good thing because imbalanced pitta looks like inflammation, acne, heartburn, acid reflux, irritability, and insomnia. When pitta is in balance, life is good and you may experience energy, mental clarity, joy, vitality, and strength.
Here are a few tips I’ve found helpful for balancing pitta in our long, hot southern summers:
Keep your kitchen stocked with healthy pitta-balancing foods.
Drink cool, not iced, water with lemons, limes, mint, or cucumbers.
Visit your farmer’s market and eat what is available.
Drink coconut water or make your own electrolyte drink by adding a pinch of pink Himalayan salt and the juice of a lime/lemon to your water bottle.
If cooking, switch to coconut oil which is more cooling.
Eat more raw meals—salads, gazpacho, raw veggies.
If you practice abhyanga, make the switch from sesame oil to coconut oil for its cooling qualities.
Avoid heating foods such as alcohol, coffee, and fried food.
Avoid hot, spicy foods.
Exercise in the early morning or late evening.
Remember, the change of seasons gives us an opportunity to be in relationship with our environment, embrace these changes and make adjustments as necessary to maintain balance in the mind and body.
PS: Find my Vata Season Primer here and my Kapha Season Primer here.