So, it is summer time.
Yes! Warm water, balmy nights, frangipani’s flowering, mangoes, papaya’s, stone fruits, berries… all the tropical goodies we love about summer!
Summer is a time of year where the ‘fire’ element, known in Ayurvedic medicine as the ‘Pitta’ dosha, is predominant. In Ayurveda, like increases like, so when the outside environment is high in the fire element, the internal environment of our body, mind and spirit can tend to feel rather fiery also. It is a wonderful thing, the way nature looks after us and the way our bodies naturally adapt to external seasonal changes.
The fire element, when out of balance can show up in our physical body through experiencing symptoms such as; indigestion, reflux, ulcers, acidity, anxiety, anger, frustration, short-temperedness, obsessiveness and a ravenous insatiable appetite.
When the fire element is in balance, we can experience the following; a good healthy appetite (agni, digestive fire), creative sparks of genius, ability to have a clear and steady focus, humorous and witty, cracking very good jokes, energy to run, swim, surf, dance, go for long walks and being one of the greatest people people could come to for advice on important personal matters.
Balancing your beautiful fire is easy and will keep you creatively dancing in the sunshine all summer long!
Here is my Summer Survival Pack for you:
1. Be cool, get earthed: Wake up in the morning, go outside, take your shoes off and allow the souls of your feet to walk on a patch of fresh dewy cool green grass. Do this for 10 minutes, standing/earthing on the grass and walking on the grass. Why? The souls of our feet are a key area where excess ‘heat’ in the body has an opportunity to leave. The coolness of fresh morning grass under the feet has a very balancing effect on Pitta, the fire element and is known to cool the body as well as heal eyesight issues – as an excess of heat in the body can cause early deterioration of the eyes, as the eyes are governed by the fire element. Walking barefoot on the grass feels amazing plus the benefits of earthing the body through simply being barefoot is wonderful for releasing electromagnetic radiation from the body, grounding the nervous system and tapping back into natures healing wisdom!
2. Drink plenty of (warm) water: This probably sounds contradictory to most theories on how to ‘stay cool’ in warm weather. For most, drinking chilled drinks and cold water from the fridge, is a common tactic to try and cool the body down. Drinking cold drinks, and eating cold foods, however does the exact opposite to what you may think. Why? When we drink a cold drink, the body has to work harder – using more energy (that it could otherwise be using to keep you cool) in order to heat up the drink to your body temperature. When you drink a warm drink or room temperature drink (which is body temperature), your body doesn’t need to work on heating the it up – it doesn’t need to exert hardly any energy in order to transport the fluid to your cells, where it needs to go. This doesn’t mean you need to be sipping on a scorching herbal tea all day long in summer. Simply opt for room temperature water or warmed water, and yes, drinking herbal teas will be great – if you can get your head around it. When we are hot, the body cools down by sweating. This is where our bodies energy goes too – making us sweat. Through drinking a hot cuppa, herbal tea or simply warm water, the heat from the drink, naturally helps us to sweat, once again, allowing the body to ‘chill’ out – which is what we want! Try this, it really is yummy to drink warm things in hot weather. The ancient’s have known this and been doing this for years!
3. Keep your skin well ‘oiled’: Cold pressed black sesame oil, pure shea butter, almond oil, coconut oil even olive oil. The point here is to make sure your skin is being nourished and fed during the whole year – and specifcally, to protect and look after your skin in the summer months. (Note* winter time it is just as important to keep well oiled as the air is dry.) One of the best ways to keep well oiled is to moisturise and re-hydrate your skin in the evening before bed. Doing this before bed is great as the oils will have a chance to absorb into the skin while you sleep, creating protection for the next day. Using sunscreens, if they are 100% certified organic and contain no nasties such as titanium dioxide, can be great and a very smart move if spending an extended amount of time in the sun and out in the elements. Protecting the skin with sunscreen is one thing. Protecting the skin, through nourishing the skin from the inside out – is another complimentary approach, which makes so much sense to me. Why? The skin is the largest organ in the body. It is sensitive, even if you have olive or tanned skin naturally, your skin is still sensitive and needs loving care. When we nourish the skin by massaging good oils into it such as those mentioned above, we are feeding the skin with nutrients and a barrier that it can then have on a deep level under the surface. This means that when we do expose our skin to the sun, the goodness of the shea butter or sesame oil for example is there as a layer of protection from the inside, against skin damage and burn. Many surfers do this – they use shea butter as a natural sunscreen and condition their skin regularly with nourishing oils as mentioned, in order to keep their skin hydrated and resilient agains the elements. The secret here, is to nourish/oil your skin regularly so that your skin already has the oils in it for when you do go outside and bask in the sunlight.
So, now that your cool, hydrated and glowing from the inside – out, you are ready for a blissful summer of adequate rest, proper nourishment, deep peace and wild creativity!
If you start to feel a little ‘fiery’, it simply means your fire needs some balancing. Walk on some grass, drink some warm water, give your body a massage, sip on a coconut, take 3 deep breaths, swim in some fresh water and remember this… “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” Our bodies will do what they do and we will feel what we feel. That is nature and it has its own divine intelligence. We can learn how to balance and align ourselves, however, through simple daily routines and lifestyle habits that may seem small, yet really do make a big difference!
With oodles of summer – blissful – tropical love!
x Lorien
