Pitta Dosha

Pitta doshas benefit from cultivating a calm, relaxed attitude toward their practice, letting go of their competitive tendency. Resist the urge to compare yourself with others in your yoga class, and be gentle and patient with yourself.

Since Pittas have a tendency toward excess heat, avoid yoga forms that cause profuse sweating, favoring cooling, relaxing poses instead. Also avoid holding long inverted poses, which create a lot of heat in the head. You may want to schedule your yoga sessions during cooler times of day, such as dawn or dusk.

Focus on poses that help to release excess heat from the body, including those that compress the solar plexus or open the chest, especially the pigeon, camel, cobra, bow, fish and bridge poses. For standing poses, the best ones for Pitta are those that open the hips, including tree, warrior, and half moon.

When you enter Savasana, quietly focus on your breath. This will calm your mind and center you in your body and heart.