Ayurveda’s ancient wisdom can help you thrive through even the toughest days of our favourite Aussie season.
We all know the scene: sunset on the verandah after a long, hot day with tantalising hints of a cool breeze, living in a summer so iconic we even have theme songs, like Gangajang’s ‘This is Australia’. But summer, while beloved, can be brutal. Heat builds, tempers flare, gardens desiccate, and sometimes we’re left feeling as frayed as the landscape.
I mostly love summer — the ocean is my happy place, and snorkelling is my favourite exercise. But tar bubbles in the road and childhood seatbelt-buckle burns are forever seared into my memory. These days, I struggle watching precious water sprayed over plants too stressed to survive, and I worry for the future of our planet. Last year, my hometown endured multiple days of 50, 55, and even 57°C. In these heat waves, the power shuts off and wildlife, even elders, perish under the pressure of the heat. It’s the season when Paul Kelly’s ‘Melting’ feels less like a song title and more like lived reality.
The Nature of Pitta
In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of longevity, summer is ruled by Pitta dosha — the energy of fire and water. Doshas are categories of characteristics, and we all have all three (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) within us. Similarly, the three doshic energies cycle throughout the day. Pitta time is when the sun is highest — 10am to 2pm — and the mirror time at night when our liver does most of its processing and our brain should be in deep sleep, cleansing mode.
Pitta is dynamic, sharp, and transformative, like lava: flowing, hot, and penetrating. It governs digestion, metabolism, and the intelligence of every cell — our ability to process food, emotions, information, and life experience.
In balance, Pitta brings clarity, ambition, leadership, and glowing vitality. Pitta-dominant people are often articulate, organised, and motivated — natural leaders who thrive in competitive environments and somehow make logistics look effortless. Physically, they tend toward lean, muscular builds with warm bodies and skin as sensitive as it is radiant.
Pitta is dominant in our blood and liver. The liver, in particular, processes nutrients, hormones, moods, and emotions, and is closely linked to anger. According to Ayurveda, when liver heat rises, it drives the internal fire, which can manifest as hot flashes, irritability, and skin redness.
When Pitta Tips Out of Balance
Like fire, Pitta can burn too brightly. Excess heat may show up as irritability, anger, perfectionism, or burnout. The sharp mind that usually cuts through confusion can turn critical, judgmental, or perpetually dissatisfied.
Physically, Pitta imbalance may bring reflux, acidity, headaches, skin rashes, right-sided pain, or difficulty tolerating alcohol. Digestion may rebel, causing unpredictable bowel movements or nutrient loss.
Emotionally, things swing fast — short fuses and intensity that can surprise even ourselves. Understanding your dosha can help prevent those massive bridge-burning emotional explosions and support calmer, more balanced reactions.
Ayurveda and Seasonal Balance (Ritucharya)
One of Ayurveda’s gems is ritucharya — the practice of adjusting our lifestyle and routines with the seasons. Just as we wouldn’t wear woollen jumpers in summer, our internal care should shift too.
In Pitta season, Ayurveda invites us to live in harmony with the heat rather than fighting it. That means enjoying the longer daylight hours with a little more energy and supporting that with lighter routines, cooling foods, gentler exercise (think swimming, walking at sunrise, or yoga instead of hot workouts), and prioritising rest.
Aligning with the rhythms of nature softens strain on body and mind, leaving us better prepared to handle life’s intensity.
Cooling and Calming Pitta
Ayurveda offers practical wisdom for soothing summer heat. The beauty lies in its elegant simplicity: opposites balance. To soothe excess fire, we invite coolness, sweetness, and grounding practices that help settle that internal fire.
Seasonal Eating for Summer
Ayurveda encourages us to eat in harmony with the season. In summer, cooling and hydrating foods abound — lettuce, cucumber, coconut water, watermelon, and leafy greens all thrive. Herbs like basil, coriander, and mint grow prolifically and are naturally cooling, helping to soothe excess Pitta internally and offering natural first aid for bites and stings on the skin.
Stone fruits, especially heavier, sweet varieties like peaches, plums, and nectarines, also bring the grounding, sweet energy that balances fire.
Choosing local, seasonal produce adds another layer of benefit: foods grown for your environment naturally contain enzymes, prebiotics, and nutrients aligned with the season, supporting digestion, metabolism, and overall vitality. By eating what grows abundantly around you, you nourish your body, stay cool from the inside out, and honour the rhythms of nature.
Mindfulness and Relationships
Pitta doesn’t just rule digestion; it flavours our communication and relationships. In balance, it gives honesty, discernment, and passionate connection. Out of balance, it can sharpen into criticism, impatience, or “truth bombs” that land without kindness.
Ayurveda reminds us that softening edges is part of health too. Practising compassion — toward ourselves and others — keeps Pitta’s fire welcoming and warm rather than wildfire. A pause, a breath, or even laughter can cool intensity and bring us back to connection.
Everyday Actions to Settle and Soothe Pitta
Pause before reacting: A few conscious breaths or a short mindfulness practice can settle heat before it rises. The magic happens in the pause.
Try cooling breathwork: Curl your tongue into a tube and gently sip air through it, then exhale through the nose. If your tongue doesn’t curl, make a small “o” with your lips and draw the air in. Notice the immediate coolness — like nature’s air-conditioning.
Seek joy daily: Joy is heavy and sweet, made from the elements of water and earth — both of which soothe excess fire.
Reduce the to-do: Pitta-dominant minds love to achieve but can forget their humanness, leaving them perpetually dissatisfied. Shortening the list, honouring “enough,” and claiming joyful pauses all help the nervous system settle.
Sip, don’t shock: Skip iced water, especially with meals. Your body must first heat cold water before absorbing it, which slows and exhausts digestion, dampening your inner fire. Instead, take cool or room-temperature water infused with mint, coriander, fennel, or basil — the seasonal herbs of summer — to cool you from the inside and support the kidneys in clearing out old fluids.
Gentle cleansing: Swap lemon for lime in summer, and remember — just a small squeeze is enough.
Ease off stimulants: Coffee and alcohol fan Pitta’s flames, often showing up as short fuses, flushed skin, or overheating.
Body therapies and rest practices: Enjoy yoga nidra — deep rest for the body and nervous system — or a coconut oil massage (only in summer, when coconut oil is liquid). And never rub red skin — increased friction increases heat and inflammation in that inflamed area.
Cool rituals like moon-gazing: Let the cool glow of the moon be your medicine. Sitting quietly under moonlight, or even gazing at it for a few minutes, invites calm, softens intensity, and cools inner fire.
And here’s an Ayurvedic cornerstone — ride the digestion wave: Aim to take in the bulk of your nutrition earlier in the day, especially before the end of Pitta time (10am–2pm). This aligns with peak digestion around midday and makes it easier to wind down toward sleep in the evening, without a heavy meal taking energy from recovery and cleansing processes.
Quick Tips for Cooling Pitta
A little Ayurvedic first-aid for summer heat 
- Pause before reacting — cool the fire with awareness
- Practice cooling breathwork (tongue curl or soft “o” breath)
- Seek daily joy — heavy and sweet, made of water + earth, joy cools excess fire
- Reduce the to-do list — less striving, more ease
- Sip room-temp or herb-infused water; avoid iced water with meals
- Eat your largest meal at midday (10am–2pm, peak digestion)
- Choose cooling foods: cucumber, coconut water, watermelon, leafy greens
- Try yoga nidra for deep rest
- Use coconut oil for summer massage or soothing rashes
- Enjoy seasonal food and herbs
- Gaze at the moon for natural cooling
- Limit stimulants like coffee and alcohol
- Embrace shade, light clothing, and gentler routines
Bringing Balance to Your Health Journey
Whether you’re navigating perimenopause, digestive upsets, stress, or simply longing for more ease, Ayurveda offers tools to support you.
Because when balance is restored, life doesn’t just feel lighter — it feels more reco gnisably, authentically you.
Ready to explore your own balance?
Download the free Svastha Mini Guide — a simple self-assessment to help you understand your unique constitution and where you might be out of balance.
For deeper exploration, the Svastha Journal offers a guided pathway to coming home to yourself — because true health isn’t about optimisation. It’s about homecoming.
