Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign hello and welcome to Deep in your yoga practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today's episode, we're going to talk about one of your favorites because these are some of the most listened to episodes that I have, which is Ayurveda. And we're speaking specifically to Ayurveda for summer.
[00:00:32] And in summer we are looking at cooling practices to beat the heat. So welcome. I'm so glad that you're here. It is summertime in Kansas City and it gets very hot and humid here. We are landlocked. So while there's water to enjoy, pools and lakes and rivers and things, we do have to find ways to cool ourselves off. And one of those beautiful ways is Ayurveda. And Ayurveda is an ancient Indian healing system, the sister science of yoga, also known as the science of life. And in this science, the seasons are seen as energetic cycles. And each one of these energetic cycles of the seasons needs a different approach, a different and unique approach to maintain homeostasis within the body and mind and spirit. So it's a holistic way to care for oneself seasonally. So today we're going to talk about how to stay balanced during the pitta season, which is summer known for heat intensity and transformation. I have a love hate relationship with heat. My ancestors all come from western and northern Europe, so I was not genetically blessed with much melanin in my skin. So the heat of the sun can be a bit much for me. I'm not really one to practice hot, hot yoga or intentionally make myself super hot, maybe a sauna every once in a while in the winter. But I do love the summer. I love water. I love all of the fun and excitement that comes with it. I live on a lake, so it is the best time of year where I live. And I absolutely need these Ayurvedic tools to help keep me in check, especially because I have a lot of pitta or fire in my own personal constitution.
[00:02:25] And that way I can enjoy summer in a way where I can remain calm and cool and collected. So again, I'll recap some of the basics that Ayurveda is the science of life. And within the science that there are three constitutions or what they call doshas. The first is vata, which is air or ether. The second is pitta, which is fire and a little bit of water, and kapha, which is earth and a little bit of water as well. And each season is ruled by a different dosha. And summer, like I said, is ruled by pitta P I T T A and that is associated with fire and transformation, with digestion, ambition and drive and with qualities like hot and sharp and oily and light and intense. So summer is full on. When pitta is in balance, it brings clear thinking, strong digestion, passionate and purposeful energy as well. But when it's out of balance, pitta can cause irritability and anger. So this is something I feel when I am overheated for sure.
[00:03:37] Inflammation like skin rashes, heartburn, acid reflux, joint pain, overheating and even burnout. So the fire burns too bright and we burn out. Fire is out. And perfectionism and criticism and judgment. So the goal is to mitigate some of that pitta that can occur during the summer. So so that we can feel more cool, more soothed and more steady. So we are keeping the fire lit, but just tamping it down just a little bit so that it doesn't turn into a forest fire or burn out completely. So here are a few summer lifestyle tips according to Ayurveda. We can think of this general principle in Ayurveda that like increases like so adding fuel to the fire basically and that opposites balance, which is adding a little bit of water to the fire. So since pitta is hot and intense, we can seek cooling, calming and grounding practices to bring us balance. So here are a few suggestions for daily routine. Waking up early before the heat sets in can be very good for you in the summer.
[00:04:48] And the sun is up early in the summer, so that might mean even before 6am if possible for you and your life. Ayurveda also recommends avoiding intense exercise at midday when it's the hottest. So opting for early morning movement or gentle evening movement might be the best way to go about your movement practice. It asks us to embrace calm productivity instead of a constant hustle. So that means going at a steady pace. So what is a pace that you are able to maintain rather than ramping it way up and then crashing and burning? Ayurveda recommends taking cool but not freezing showers or swims to help regulate your heat. I know when I start feeling a little angry, frustrated, irritated because of this pitta imbalance, that jumping in cool water is like the best thing for me. It pretty much instantly calms my pitta and helps me see things from a much better perspective. Also wear light, breathable and natural fabrics like cotton and linen to help keep your body cool. And spend some time in the moonlight in in the shade and the water so Definitely still connecting with nature, but making sure that it's not just full sunlight all the time. Different self care practices you might use are abhyanga or self massage. You might notice that I suggest this in every single seasonal Ayurveda episode, but it is so good for you and you could use cooling oils like coconut oil or sunflower oil. Avoid saunas, intense heat, really spicy foods and hot yoga. I know some of you love all of those things so much it doesn't mean that you have to give them up entirely, but you might just find a little more balance if you're feeling tipped over the edge pitta wise. You can also try sitali pranayama or cooling breath during hot days that is breathing in and out either through pursed lips like you're blowing out a candle or through a rolled tongue. If you're genetically able to roll your tongue, you can also use a rose water spray for your face or aloe gel post sun. So different herbs and plants that will help cool you off. Ayurveda also offers some summer diet tips to help bring in some cooling energy and these foods favor cool, hydrating, light, sweet and astringent qualities. They also recommend avoiding pungent, spicy, oily, salty and sweet sour foods. So different foods that they recommend embracing would be seasonal fruits like melons, cucumbers, berries, stone fruits, anything that is fresh growing right now, leafy greens, zucchini, asparagus, herbs like mint and cilantro and fennel, cooling grains that like barley and basmati, rice and quinoa. If you tolerate dairy, ghee, buttermilk and yogurt are all recommended. And some sweet flavors that are recommended are fresh fruit and anything with some natural, natural sweetness. So not a super heavy dessert. But things that are nice and light foods they recommend minimizing are spicy peppers, garlic and onions. Which is really hard because I know I crave Mexican food in the summer so much I want to sit outside and eat chips and salsa. You still definitely can do that. And obviously people from warm climates grow peppers and and eat them in their regular diets. But if you notice that it is aggravating your pitta, you might minimize that food a little bit.
[00:08:22] Ayurveda recommends minimizing fermented foods a bit like vinegar and pickles, tomatoes and eggplant, and also alcohol and caffeine, which are both heating and inflammatory. Some summer drinks it does recommend though are coconut water, cucumber and lime mint coolers, hibiscus tea or rose petal tea and aloe vera juice. In very small doses can because it can affect your digestion. So here are a few tips for your summer yoga and meditation pract.
[00:08:52] So these are tips to help balance pitta. One is to practice during the coolest part of the day, especially if you're practicing outside. I just let her retreat in a warm climate and we would do yoga outside around 7730 every day and it was really nice because it did get a lot hotter through the day. Perhaps favor gentle, gentle and moderate paced flows instead of power yoga and focus on softening and surrendering and opening the heart rather than hardening oneself. I'll say just on a personal note, I think strengthening all times of the year is very important, but you might find a little bit more time for softness and for cooling the body through yoga. And some postures that help cool the body are any forward folds. We love doing these at the end of a practice to help cool things down. Gentle back bends, twists and side bends, moon salutations, restorative postures like legs up the wall and maybe Shavasana with a cool cloth or an eye pillow across your eyes. Also I mentioned for breath the Sitali Pranayama which is the cooling breath. Maybe alternate nostril breathing to balance your solar and lunar energy. So likely bringing a little bit more lunar energy in and then using loving kindness meditations because this excess of pitta can bring up anger, frustration, criticism, judgment. So being able to send love to yourself and to others in a very conscious way can be so healing and balancing in this season. So as we close out, remember that summer is a season of expression, action, of heart centered expansion even. But we can easily overdo it. We can over schedule, we can over move, we can overheat. So you might ask yourself where is your inner fire burning too hot or maybe even your outer fire too? And how can you bring in more softness, sweetness and ease this season? How can you bring in more softness, sweetness and ease? And you might think about what balance looks like it's like for you this summer and how can you show up fully and truly without burning yourself out. I hope that you enjoyed this episode and that you feel prepared for a beautiful balanced summer. Thank you so much for tuning Tuning in. Ayurveda is an ancient system, but it also is a living, changing and intuitive system. So make sure in these episodes to take what works for you, leave what doesn't. We're all different so you might need some of these ideas and practices at different extents just based on what your constitution is. And I invite you to tag me or message me with your favorite summer rituals or favorite cooling practices. And I do invite you to practice with us at True Love Yoga in Kansas City. We offer so many different types of yoga practices, from restorative to vinyasa flow and advanced vinyasa flow, and I encourage you to come try them out. Our teachers love teaching seasonally, so I know you'll get just what you need. Thank you so much for joining me today. Until next time, Om Shanti, Om. Peace.
