Welcome Summer! It is safe to say it has definitely reached Summer status in Miami. As we transition into any new season, it is always the perfect time to refresh our routines, diets and practices in order to connect and align with nature. This approach also supports our innate circadian rhythms. (Be sure to check out how to refresh your Summer Skincare routine too!) As we head into the Summer Pitta season, I am sharing my top Ayurvedic tips for summer to stay cool, calm and collected during this cycle.

Ayurvedic tips for summer will always be of the opposite attributes of Pitta. Whatever the elements of nature we are experiencing in the current cycle/season, we ideally want our practices of the opposite attributes in order to bring balance. Because nature is already providing us with the attributes of Pitta, warm, hot, fiery, in the summer, when then fuse in lifestyle attributes of cool for optimal harmony.

Stay Hydrated

Especially during the Pitta infused summer months, it is vital to stay well hydrated. Dehydration can cause fatigue, headaches and once we get to the point of dehydration, it can takes longer to recover vs if we stay mindful about hydrating to begin with.

If you want to kick up your hydration a notch, opt for coconut water, which is rich in potassium and minerals, especially beneficial if you are working out or participating in high activity outdoors during summer months. You can also opt for infusions of cucumber, lemon and mint to switch it up from plain water and snag some extra cooling flavors.

Eat Lighter

The most effective Ayurvedic tip for Summer and Pitta season is to eat lighter! Summer is not the time for heavy meals. You’ll feel heavier, more sluggish then ever and you’ll seriously depleate your energy, as the body will be working extra hard to digest heavy foods. Avoid heavy grains, potatoes, heavy condiments, heavy meats, stews, overeating and over indulging.

Keep the alcohol intake to a minimum. Alcohol is highly inflammatory and always increases Pitta and inflammation. When you do drink alcohol, please refer to tip number 1, hydration!

You want to opt for light herb infused salads, light leafy greens, dandelion greens, cucumbers, celery, berries, light fish, light meats, light broths, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and keep dairy choices light such as goat cheese, feta cheese and organic greek yogurt in mindful amounts.

Optimal summer foods are of sweet, bitter and astringent qualities, as these attributes cool the body and avoid hot, spicy and excess salty qualities of food, as these are of heating qualities.

Cool Down Internally

Add cooling spices and herbs to meals and tea infusions. Cooling spices include coriander, cumin, mint, lavender, dill, rose, hibiscus, turmeric, spearmint, and fennel. These spices have a cooling energetic quality.

Spices overall help to support a balanced and healthy kindling of our digestive fire or agni in order to optimally digest and assimilate what we eat. I love Mountain Rose Herbs for all of my organic cooking spices, as well as loose leaf teas. We adjust spices according to our individual needs, as well as the seasons and cycles of nature.

Cold Brew Teas

Wether it be green tea, white tea or any herbal teas, I love a good cold infusion. If we are aligning our tea and herb intake with the lighter seasons of Spring and Summer, leaves and petals are often of more consumption vs roots and barks, which are heavier and of more fall and winter quality. The cold brew infusion method is a slower and more gentle brewing process for delicate leaves and flowers. This methods extracts constituents slower and I find will yield a less bitter taste from over brewing.

I add your ratio of loose tea and/or tea bags, room temperature or cold water and steep in the fridge. Prepackaged tea bags will easily steep in the fridge from 1-3 hours and herbal, more therapeutic focused infusions use a larger amount of loose herbs and I usually steep anywhere from 4 hours to overnight in the fridge.

Rose

Rose is pitta pacifying in Ayurveda and can be used both internally and externally. Rose is one of my favorite flowers and ingredients. Rose soothes the heart, cools the mind and body, calms skin inflammations and supports the seven dhatus, or tissue layers of the body, among many of it’s beautiful attributes.

Organic Rosewater can be added to any beverage or dish for an internal cooling treat. Don’t hesitate to mist your complexion with rosewater throughout the day to cool skin down. Try cold brewing rose tea and compressing this flower into the complexion as a beautiful Ayurvedic tip for summer to keep skin cool and radiant.

There is no other satisfying summer drink than a cold brewed rose tea or a personal favorite, a rose and Hibiscus cold brew. Simply add 1/2 oz of organic dried rose petals and 1/2 oz organic dried hibiscus into a mason jar, fill with cool to room temp or cold water and steep in fridge overnight. Enjoy within 24 hours.

Cold Showers

Cold showers and cold plunges. No better way to cool the body down, support the nervous system and show some love to the vagus nerve. Cold showers and plunges are also beneficial for stimulating the lymphatic system, which is always skin supportive.

Depending on your own dosha combination, any current imbalances, and the season of nature, Ayurvedic tips for summer and Ayurvedic practices in general, always take all of these aspects into consideration with the intent on bringing harmony and balance to the body. As we get aligned with the natural cycles of nature, we naturally cultivate more balance throughout our lives.

This is also exactly what we do inside Radiant Beauty Collective! I am so excited to open the doors to this labor of love! This is the only container that I know of that dives deep into all aspects of mind, body and spirit to cultivate a life of slow, intentional beauty for radiant skin and a deeply transformative approach to living a radiant life. I can’t wait to see you inside!

With Love,
Jen xx