Running a little hot lately?

What do heartburn, hurt feelings, kicking off the covers and working too much have in common?

Apparently, me. :)

I’ve been noticing all four lately, and it took the heartburn for me to put it together…

Ding ding ding! My Pitta is high.

If you’re thinking, Okay Penny, what the heck is Pitta? — here’s the quick version:

In Ayurveda, Pitta is associated with the element of fire and qualities like heat, sharpness and intensity. We all have Pitta in us, and for good reason! It helps us digest our food, focus our minds, get things done and generally have heat in our bodies.

But like anything else, we can get too much of a good thing.

And by the end of summer, there’s been a LOT of heat.

In Ayurveda, what’s happening outside of us is reflected inside of us, too. We’re part of nature, after all. So after months of hot weather and bright sun, some of those same hot, sharp qualities can start accumulating in us.

You might be noticing this in your own world too. Maybe you’re a little more impatient than usual. Maybe your feelings are getting hurt more easily. Maybe you’re finding yourself in arguments you didn’t see coming.

Or maybe it’s showing up more physically: redness or breakouts in your skin, a rash, heartburn or acid digestion, looser stools, or waking up in the middle of the night feeling hot.

You might even notice that everything just feels a little more serious. Pitta can be beautifully focused and discerning—but when there’s too much of it, that focus can become intensity, criticism or the feeling that everything needs to be handled RIGHT NOW. (Ahem, this is me a lot of the time.)

These can all be little clues that Pitta has been accumulating.

So, what to do? We just need to cool things down for a while. In Ayurveda, we balance qualities with their opposites. If there’s too much heat and intensity, we bring in a little more coolness, softness and ease.

Here are a few things to do just that:

Leave a little room in your day.
Pitta loves to get things done, and when it’s high, it can be tempting to squeeze one more thing into the day (and then maybe one more after that). See what happens if you leave a little breathing room instead. Close the computer a bit earlier. Let something wait until tomorrow. Resist the urge to fill every open spot on the calendar.

Go find some coolness.
Sit near a body of water. Bring a book to the community pool. Take an evening walk when the sun has gone down. Or try a little moon bathing—which sounds much sexier than it actually is. :) Basically, go outside in the evening and spend some time under the moon. Ayurveda considers moonlight naturally cooling and soothing to Pitta. Ooh la la!

Go have some fun.
Pitta loves a goal. A plan! A purpose! So sometimes the medicine is doing something for absolutely no productive reason at all. Host a game night with friends. Spend time with someone who makes you laugh or watch a funny movie. Do something you love just because you love it.

And if you want one deliciously Ayurvedic thing to try, make yourself a little moon milk before bed.

Illustration by my kid Vade Dullaghan
See note below.*

Warm a cup of milk (cow’s or almond) gently on the stove with a little ghee, some organic edible rose petals and a pinch of cardamom. You can also make it lighter by using half milk and half water.

Then find a comfortable spot to sip it. It’ll feel decadent while cooling your jets!

Here’s a printable recipe if you want a visual reminder:

As we move toward fall and Vata season, this is a really good time to pay attention to what summer may have left behind and give some of that accumulated heat a chance to settle.

And if you’ve been noticing heartburn, irritability, disrupted sleep, skin changes—or something else that has you wondering, What is going on with me lately?—this is the kind of thing I love helping people untangle in an Ayurvedic consultation.

We’ll look at the bigger picture, figure out what’s contributing, and find a manageable place to start.

Peace,
Penny

*We homeschool, and this is Vade’s senior year of high school. Their focus is on art portfolio development in order to get into art school. So for part of their workload, they’ve agreed to do some work to share here! If you want to see more of their art, please check out their website and brand new instagram feed! Give them a follow while you’re there! :)