Week 2: Pitta Dosha

Ayurveda is an ancient healing science that sets out to create a balance between the mind, body, and spirit. That balance comes when the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha—exist in harmony. Each dosha corresponds to different thought patterns, body types, and health profiles. Most of us are dominant in one or two of the doshas. Not sure which dosha you are? Take our test! https://www.ayurbeauty.us/test/dosha-test/

Pitta Dosha

Pitta Dosha is the only dosha in the body that brings warmth and heat. In Sanskrit the word pitta means “something that burns or produces heat in the body.”  The ancient text of India describes this dosha as mildly unctuous, warm, and sharp, liquid, acidic, moving like a fluid & pungent. Pitta’s unctuousness is not exactly moisturizing. It is more of petrol-like oiliness that is light, sharp, and penetrating. Pitta dosha is very special because it is the only dosha that brings warmth to the body. The other two doshas, Vata, and Kapha create coolness. Hence Pitta is the single metabolic pattern that helps to maintain warmth. Pittas are usually of medium size and weight. They sometimes have bright red hair, but baldness or thinning hair is also common in a Pitta. They have excellent digestion, which sometimes leads them to believe they can eat anything. They sleep soundly for short periods of time and have a strong sex drive. 

Qualities of Pitta:

• • Intense
• • Doesn’t mind taking responsibility
• • Sharp and intelligent
• • Quick to learn new things
• • Good memory
• • Often organized and structured in their work and life
• • Goal orientated
• • Clear-thinking
• • Eloquent, often a confident speaker
• • Hot-headed
• • Prone to judge themselves
• • Prone to judge others
• • Competitive
• • Determined

When in balance, Pittas have a lustrous complexion, perfect digestion, abundant energy, and a strong appetite. When out of balance, Pittas may suffer from skin rashes, burning sensations, peptic ulcers, excessive body heat, heartburn, and indigestion. Pittas have a powerful intellect and a strong ability to concentrate.

When they’re in balance, they are good decision-makers, teachers, and speakers. They are precise, sharp-witted, direct, and often outspoken. Out-of-balance pittas can be short-tempered and argumentative. Opposite properties can pacify pitta quickly and help to balance the energy out.

As with Vata and Kapha, Pitta is a cosmic biophysical energy that can be felt both inside and outside of the body. It breaks down the ingested food and provides nourishment to the entire body. However, an imbalanced pitta can extract vitality from the body tissues and burn them down.

Qualities of an Imbalanced Pitta:

• • Being overcritical of yourself and others
• • Overthinking and overanalyzing situations
• • Feeling restless
• • Having a short temper
• • Rashes
• • Infections
• • Headaches and Migraines
• • Pungent Body Odor
• • Soft stool and frequent hunger
• • Excessive body heat

Ways To Balance Pitta Dosha:

Keep Cool, this includes keeping cool during the day, not overheating or taking in too much sun. Any inflammation such as sunburn or heat indicates that Pitta has gone far out of balance. Cool drinks are indicated throughout the day, and a cool room temperature. Emotionally you need to keep cool, which means avoiding situations that spark anger and irritability, two signs of Pitta being out of balance.

Keep Dry, heat and humidity affect Pitta adversely, more so than with either Vata or Kapha dosha. A moderate summer climate that is also dry is beneficial. On a daily basis avoid breaking out into a heavy sweat—if you exercise outdoors, choose to jog or run in the cool of the morning and evening. Avoid wet, heavy, spicy foods.
Balance rest and activity, allowing some free time every day. Be careful not to create unnecessary time pressures for yourself.

Avoid Overexertion, even when you feel you can push yourself further. Pitta is associated with a forceful personality that is energetic, ambitious, and full of plans for how to achieve things. But this natural tendency, when driven too far, depletes Pitta energy. Emotionally, Pitta provides a spark that turns to fiery anger and resentment when out of balance. Seeking a happy medium in all things is the ideal.

Regularly spend time in nature. Take walks in the woods and along natural bodies of water. Keep plants and fresh flowers in your home and office. Walk in the moonlight.

Favor cooler colors, in your clothing and environment such as blues, greens, and silver.
Laugh, a lot, all the time, everyday!

Favor aromas that are cool and sweet. Sandalwood, rose, jasmine, mint, lavender, fennel, and chamomile are recommended.

Kapha Diet Tips:

Do not skip meals!

Intake Sweet, Bitter and Astringent! Basic tastes affect each dosha differently. Pitta increases with fatty, heavy, spicy foods. The two most beneficial tastes to pacify Pitta are sweet and bitter, the two tastes are combined in tonic water, for example, which is very effective in reducing Pitta. Alcohol, which is not recommended anyway, increases Pitta, as indicated by the flushed skin that results from drinking.

Moderately consume milk, butter, and ghee. This includes milk, butter, and ghee. Sour, fermented products such as yogurt, sour cream, and cheese should be used sparingly as sour tastes aggravate Pitta.

All sweeteners may be taken in moderation except molasses and honey.

The best oils to pacify Pitta are olive, sunflower, and coconut. Use less sesame, almond, and corn oil, which are more heating.

Choose grains like wheat, basmati rice, oats, and barley. Eat less corn, rye, millet, and brown rice.

Eat Sweet fruits like mangoes, melons, grapes, plums, and pomegranates. Reduce sour fruits such as grapefruits, apricots, and berries.

Intake vegetables like sweet potatoes, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and zucchini. The vegetables to avoid include tomatoes, hot peppers, carrots, beets, eggplant, onions, garlic, radishes, and spinach.

For protein devour chicken and turkey. Beef, seafood, and eggs increase Pitta and should be minimized.

Use mild spices, especially fennel, cumin, coriander, cilantro, cardamom and saffron. Hotter spices such as ginger, cumin, black pepper, fenugreek, clove, salt, and mustard seed should be used sparingly. Very hot seasonings such as chili peppers and cayenne are best avoided. Chew fennel seeds after meals to cool down acid in the stomach.

Pitta imbalances, like any dosha imbalance, are often related to daily habits—what we eat, how we sleep, and what kinds of physical and mental stressors we endure. Understanding the nature of the intense and fiery pitta dosha makes it easier to find steps you can take to cool and calm yourself and restore harmony to all areas of your life.