Last week I shared some tips for balancing vata dosha, this week I’m sharing tips for balancing pitta dosha. You can read more about the doshas here, and the first Ayurveda ‘short’ here.
Balancing pitta dosha
Take some time each day to slow down, relax in nature, avoid time pressures, bring the qualities of cool, sweetness and stability into your daily life. Follow a regular rhythm of meals that balance pitta dosha, favour sweet bitter and astringent tastes, give yourself a calm self-massage (abhyanga) each day with a cooling oil e.g., coconut, followed by a bath or shower. Take in coolness through all your senses, surround yourself with cool colours, laugh a lot.
Eat more foods with these qualities: cool, dry, grounding; favour bitter green salads; raw food in moderation (eaten separately from cooked foods is recommended); get your sweet taste from grains e.g., wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, fresh fruits, milk, butter, ghee; keep to regular mealtimes.
Eat less: hot spicy food, aged salty cheeses, salty food, yogurt, tomatoes (sour), fried food, greasy food.
Have more of these tastes: sweet, bitter, and astringent.
Best oils to consume: coconut, ghee, olive, sunflower, unsalted butter.
Focus on these spices: basil, a little black pepper, Cardamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, fresh ginger, mint, parsley, saffron, tarragon, turmeric.
Limit or avoid: caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, salty food, fried food.
The last thing you will feel like doing when pitta dosha is out of balance, is to slow down, but it is absolutely what you need to do.
I hope this has been useful for you. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.
If you enjoy these Ayurveda ‘shorts’ a like will let me know to carry on!
Warmest wishes,
Lucy x