Ayurvedic Skincare & Beauty Rituals for Pitta Season
Pitta season — the time of summer heat, intensity, and brilliance — can be both energizing and overwhelming, especially for the skin. In Ayurveda, this season is dominated by the fire and water elements, which can easily aggravate Pitta dosha and manifest as inflammation, breakouts, oiliness, sensitivity, and irritability in the skin and mind. Luckily, Ayurveda offers timeless and deeply nurturing rituals to cool, soothe, and restore your natural glow from the inside out.
Understanding Pitta Dosha and Summer Skin
Pitta governs transformation in the body: digestion, metabolism, and hormonal processes. In the skin, it relates to heat, redness, and inflammation. When aggravated by seasonal heat, spicy foods, and emotional intensity, Pitta can lead to: - Acne and rashes - Excess oil production - Sun sensitivity and heat-related flare-ups - Premature aging due to chronic inflammation
Balancing Pitta involves cultivating opposites: cooling, calming, hydrating, and grounding.
Cooling the Flame: Ayurvedic Tips for Pitta Season
As the summer sun reaches its peak, nature turns up the heat—and so does our inner fire. According to Ayurveda, this is Pitta season, governed by the elements of fire and water. While this season can fuel productivity, passion, and purpose, it can also lead to burnout, irritability, and inflammation if we’re not mindful. Fortunately, Ayurveda offers a time-tested roadmap to stay balanced and vibrant during the hot months.
Let’s explore the nature of Pitta dosha and how to cool and harmonize this dynamic energy with simple daily practices.
The 20 Gunas of Ayurveda
A Simple Guide to Finding Balance
Ever feel too hot, too cold, too heavy, or too restless? According to Ayurveda, everything in life has qualities—known as the 20 Gunas—that affect our body and mind. The secret to feeling great? Balance!
These Gunas come in 10 pairs of opposites, kind of like yin and yang. Understanding them can help us make better choices in food, movement, and daily life. Let’s break them down!
Quinoa-Asparagus Pilaf Recipe
A Kapha-balancing Ayurvedic diet focuses on foods that are light, warm, dry, and stimulating to counterbalance Kapha’s heavy, cold, and damp qualities. The goal is to increase digestion, reduce stagnation, and invigorate energy levels.
Kapha Pacifying Recipe: Quinoa Asparagus Pilaf
The warm quinoa and cooling asparagus balance each other to create a beneficial lunch or dinner for all constitutions. (Serves 4–6)
Sattvic Goodness Bowl
Ayruvedic Cooking for Kapha Season
Dreaming of bowls packed full of Sattvic goodness. Sometimes all you need is a bowl of steamed veggies!
Steamed carrots and spinach on top of quinoa - spiced with mustard seed, fennel, and turmeric. Hidden below is an Avocado dressing!
Ayurvedic Tips for Kapha Season
Rejuvenate your calm, loving, supportive nature this Spring!
The common translation of Kapha is “that which binds things” or “that which holds things together.” Kapha is heavy, cold, dull, oily, smooth, dense, soft, static, liquid, cloudy, hard, and gross (in the sense of dense or thick). According to Ayurveda, this is the dosha responsible for the stability, lubrication, substance, and support of our physical body.
Ayurvedic Cooking
Chapatis with a 4-Bean Hummus
It’s a late winter, snowy day and I was planning on making something tasty to share with some friends at a fun gathering but our plans got canceled due to winter road conditions. My original plan was to make an Avocado Mash to go with the Chapatis but I scratched that idea because I needed a few avocados from the grocery store and I joyfully opted to stay home in my cozy slippers.
Turmeric Facial Mask
This mask goes beyond delivering a radiant glow—it leaves your skin feeling irresistibly soft and luxurious. It even gently removes unwanted facial hair and peach fuzz, creating the ultimate smooth, polished finish. The recipe provides enough to generously cover your face, neck, and décolletage. For best results, use the mask immediately after preparation, as it naturally thickens over time.