Cooling off the Ayurveda Way
“Summertime, and the living is easy…”
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Do you remember what it was like when you were young and the glorious days of summer stretched before you? Maharishi Ayurveda offers timeless wisdom to recapture that laid-back summer feeling.
In the evening take time to be with family or friends. You can take a stroll at twilight to watch the stars and fireflies come out, and then go to bed early so you can wake up in the cool part of the morning. Reserve your bedroom just for sleep and keep it well-ventilated, cool, dark and quiet. Before bed, massage the arches of your feet with ghee. If you wake up in the night, try drinking half a cup of warm milk with a teaspoon of rose petal preserve.
First thing in the morning drink water left overnight in a copper cup to help sweeten digestion. During the day, sip on room-temperature Pitta tea and enjoy fresh sweet fruit juices. Make a summertime lassi by blending one part yogurt with four parts pure water and a spoonful of rose petal preserve.
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Eat lighter in the summer.
The classic Ayurvedic advice to prevent heartburn is to avoid “hurry, worry and curry.” Follow a cooling diet to pacify Pitta dosha (the qualities of the physiology associated with fire and air), and avoid stress, working during or right after a meals (take five or ten minutes sitting quietly after a meal to allow proper digestion), and sour foods. Although yogurt has cooling properties when blended with water and something sweet to make a lassi drink, it is considered a sour taste in general. Icy drinks can be refreshing on their own but should not be taken with meals as they slow down the digestive process.
As the chorus of a Noel Coward song goes, only “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!” Avoid exercising when the sun is overhead. If you do go out during the middle of the day, wear a hat and seek natural shade. If you have sensitive skin that gets heat rashes easily, use coconut oil or a cooling herbalized oil for morning massage.
As heat accumulates in the physiology, people can become irritable, obsessive and controlling. If you and your spouse have lots of Pitta dosha, give each other plenty of space in the summer.
The sweet things in life cool you down: affection, playfulness, humor, moonlight, roses and…. every now and then, ice cream! On a hot summer afternoon enjoy ice cream as a treat (preferable not with meals). Savour each spoonful and let it melt in your mouth… Summer at its best!
This article was made available by Health and Wholeness
John Peterson, MD
This delicious mix helps provide all six tastes in the appropriate proportions for Pitta balancing effect. Use in cooking, add to your meal, or use according to the season of the year.
