What is Pitta Imbalance? (Lifestyle Cures)

"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine." - Dwight L. Moody

We have explored managing Pitta Imbalance with food. As a review, Pitta Dosha is comprised mainly of the energies of fire and is most predominant in the Summertime.

Fire has the capacity to be many things: destructive, inspirational, transformative, or alluring.At this point in the summer, especially if you are somewhere with intense heat in the environment, you may be seeing evidence of Pitta Imbalance. The wildfires in the Western US, France, and Greece are a perfect example of Pitta playing out in our world. The macrocosm mirrors the microcosm.

We most often see the fire energy playing out in our bodies: irritation in the stomach, liver, eyes, and/or skin. Or maybe you see it more in Pitta effects on the mind: anger, judgment, frustration, perfectionism, or excessive ambition.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Here are some basic suggestions for cooling your Pitta through lifestyle practices:

• Walk barefoot in the cool morning grass to cool the feet and connect to the earth.
• Exercise close to dawn or dusk so you avoid the heat of the day.
• Massage your body with coconut or sunflower oil. These oils are more cooling to the system.
• Keep cool during hot times of day - go swimming, take a cold shower, etc.
• Get sun on your skin early in the morning (cooler spectrum of light) to support vitamin D production.
• Cover the body with light, loose fitting cotton clothes. The skin needs to breathe. Allow air to flow through your clothes.
• Good colors to wear: grey, light blue, purple and green. These colors help cool the mind whereas warming colors aggravate the mind when it is hot in the environment.
• Avoid skipping meals and extended fasting. The pitta flame of agni needs to be fed regularly with a meal every 3-4 hours.
• If pitta is high, avoid serious or heated discussions.
• Practice Sheetali pranayama. This breath is basically inner air conditioning.
• Lay on the floor, put your legs up the wall, and put a cool washcloth or eye pillow over your eyes. Relax and breathe.

Try some of these things out this week and I will be back next week with some herbal suggestions for Pitta season.

Let your light shine as a healthy radiance, not as a raging inferno.

Love yourself enough not to let really hot (late summer) get the best of you.