Beat the Heat with these Ayurvedic Tips!

Let’s face it, August is the hottest month of the year on the Outer Banks. ☀ Beat the H E A T with some of our favorite Ayurveda tips to keep cool in the summer!

Ayurvedically speaking, the year can be divided into three seasons: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.  These are also associated with the five great elements, or panchamahabhutas: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space.  Summer time is the Pitta Season, which consists of the Fire and Water Element.  Pitta season can bring lots of heat, and if we experience too much heat, it can lead to burnout, anger, indigestion, jealousy, and more.  In Ayurveda, we use opposite qualities to bring balance into the body and mind; here, let’s think of ways to cool that fire!

Some of our favorite ways to stay cool in the summer are:

  •  Eat Pitta pacifying foods with cooling properties: Watermelon, Celery, Apples, Figs, Cilantro, Mung
    Beans, Coconuts, Kale and Cabbage just to name a few!
  • Use Coconut oil to moisturize or massage the body. Self massage is not only calming and a great act of self
    care, coconut oil is considered cooling and healing for the body. Using 5-6oz of Coconut oil, rub in the hands to melt then begin to rub the oil on the body.
  • Exercise in the morning to beat the heat of the midday sun, take advantage of the coolest part of the day! Try practicing yoga, going for a jog or interval training. Try to avoid vigorous exercises after the morning as they may cause extra heat in the body.
  • Go for a swim, jump in the ocean or lake!
  • Use cooling Essential oils like Sandalwood or Jasmine. There are many ways you can use oils, diffusing them, adding them to coconut oil for self or head massage, adding them to a bath or shower, or simply
    inhaling them from the bottle. Please note that if you place oils on the skin to make sure they are quality oils as well as testing them on a small portion of the skin.

What are some ways you like to cool off in the summer?

Written by Kennedy Long & Charlee Ulmer