Increased heat in summer can bring an imbalance of pitta, the dosha that governs hormones, digestion and other metabolic processes, causing summer breakouts and rashes.
Recipe 1
Boil two quarts of water for two minutes
Take it off the heat and add ¼ teaspoon fennel seed, 2 rose buds, and 1 clove
Add to a thermos flask and drink at room temperature
Recipe 2
Skin-Nourishing Spice Mixture:
- 3 parts turmeric
- 6 parts ground coriander
- 6 parts ground fennel
- 1 part ground black pepper
Add to food at table; alternatively, dry roast or saute in ghee and add during cooking
Avoid drinks that dry the skin
Caffeinated drinks, alcohol and carbonated drinks, as well as ice cold food and drink, disrupt digestion and overload liver function creating ama. Replace with herbal teas or juice fresh summer fruits. Other cooling drinks include lassi: blend one part freshly-made yogurt with three parts water. Add rose water.
Eat foods that hydrate the skin
Ripe summer fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums and pears are beneficial in the hot season. They provide an excellent source of moisture, are cooling for pitta dosha and create more ojas.
Turmeric is the skin’s best friend, because it purifies the deeper layers and also is a potent antioxidant. Cumin, fenugreek, black pepper and turmeric purify the blood and fat tissue. Black pepper and turmeric also cleanse the nutrient fluid and the sweat (the waste product of fat tissue). Massage with cooling herbalised oils
Add either grapefruit, sweet orange or lavender essential oils to a coconut oil base for daily abhyanga. Follow your massage with a warm but not hot bath.
Shankapushpi, contained in the Maharishi Ayurveda Pitta Massage Oil settles the emotions and mind while hydrating the cells.
Sandalwood also has a cooling effect on mind and body, helps to relieve fever and burns, and stops excessive sweating. It balances the circulatory, digestive, respiratory and nervous systems. In general it relieves pitta dosha and helps balance the body after overexposure to the sun. Both the essential oil (added to a coconut oil base) and the powder (mixed to a paste with water) can be used externally to help treat sores, ulcers, acne and rashes. A paste made from sandalwood powder helps smooth and cool sensitive or ageing skin.
Sue Lincoln is a Maharishi Ayurveda Practitioner living at Maharishi Garden Village, Suffolk.
To book a consultation with Sue call: 07980 335757
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Maharishi Ayurveda Pitta Churna
