Mind-Body Balancing Tips
It’s summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, and in Ayurveda this is the season that corresponds to the Pitta dosha, which is the principle of heat, light, and transformation. All mind-body types are vulnerable to Pitta imbalances in the summer, but if Pitta is your predominant dosha, you are even more susceptible to accumulating too much of this fiery dosha.
Some of the physical manifestations of a Pitta imbalance include skin rashes, acne, heartburn, hemorrhoids, indigestion, excessive body heat, and peptic ulcers. On the level of emotions, when your Pitta is out of balance, you are like to feel irritable, impatient, critical, short-tempered, and argumentative.
Ayurveda offers practical tools and guidance for keeping Pitta in balance and maintaining your natural state of vibrant wellbeing.
This short video offers powerful tips for balancing Pitta. Click here to watch >>
To keep Pitta in balance in your physiology, make choices that are cooling, sweet, and stabilizing:
- Follow a regular daily routine; be careful not to create unnecessary time pressures.
- Favor foods that contain sweet, bitter, or astringent tastes.
Learn more about the six tastes of
Ayurveda here >>
- Include many cooling foods in your diet, such as cucumbers, sweet fruits, and melons. Avoid food that is too hot, spicy, oily or fried.
- Favor cooler colors in your clothing and environment, such as blue, green, and silver.
- Give yourself a daily self-massage using cooling oils such as coconut or olive.
Click here for self-massage directions >>
- Choose aromas that are cooling and sweet, such as sandalwood, rose, jasmine, fennel, mint, and lavender. Sprinkle a few drops of one of these oils in a cool bath or on your sheets before you go to sleep.
Note: For readers living in the southern half of the planet, in regions where the weather at this time is cold and dry, you are in the midst of Vata season and will need to focus instead on keeping the Vata dosha in balance. Read Vata-balancing suggestions here >>
Recipe
Banana-Cocoa Frozen Mousse
Serves 8
4 whole bananas (very ripe), cut into 1-inch pieces and frozen
12 ounces low-fat silken tofu, firm or extra firm, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons organic chocolate syrup, sweetened with natural sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch ground cloves
Toasted coconut flakes
Sliced almonds
Place the bananas in a food processor or blender and pulse until almost smooth. Add the tofu and chocolate syrup. Pulse until combined, then add the maple syrup, vanilla, and cloves. Continue to blend until the mousse is completely smooth. Pour the mousse into a freezer container and place in the freezer for one hour (until firm). Take the mousse out of the freezer 15 minutes before you plan on serving. Scoop out into small bowls and garnish with toasted coconut flakes and sliced almonds. You can store the mousse in a tightly covered container in the freezer.
Nutritional Facts per ½-cup serving
Calories 129 • Total fat .9g • Saturated fat .2g • Carbohydrates 33.5g • Protein 4.3g |
