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Living According to the Seasons: An Ayurvedic Summer

In the last three articles I have been introducing different aspects of Ayurveda and how the wisdom of Ayurveda can benefit your yoga practice. Over the next few issues of Spectrum I want to look at how each season can influence your health and how you can adjust your practice to be appropriate for each season. Well its summer now, so stretch out and enjoy the sunshine!

Summer is usually a time of improved health; the sun is out, we have more daylight hours, we can spend more time outside. In our climate it is a healthy time of year for most of us. In fact each season carries with it certain positive attributes and certain challenges to our system. As with all Ayurvedic principles you just have to observe nature and start to notice the change in the qualities of the atmosphere, the weather, the light and the temperature so that you can ‘know’ what is right for you to do. Just watching nature can be a practice of awareness as you move from dharana (concentration) to dhyanam (pure meditation).

The Qualities of Summer

Summer is a time when the element of Fire is increased; there is more warmth, dryness and lightness. These are qualities that increase pitta and can also increase vata. We often associate summer with such problems as hayfever, prickly heat and other skin inflammations . These all have some itchy, hot pitta symptoms that come to the surface with the rising heat. Hence summer is naturally a time of calming and reducing pitta.

Summer qualities: Light, warm, dry, penetrating, sharp, transformative, subtle, ascending, expansive

Fire anatomy: Pitta can build up in the digestive system, liver, eyes, skin, heart at this time of year

Fire physiology: Sight, digestion, appetite, metabolism, assimilation, warmth, thermal conduction are all affected by the increased warmth of summer.

Psychic fire: Manipura chakra: situated behind the navel at the solar plexus. Related to ambition, gain, wealth, achievement, goals, drive, direction, power, thought and counter-thought this can be stimulated by the natural increase in the solar energy and fire element.

Fire flavour: Pitta is increased by pungent, sour, salty and so too much of these flavours in the summer may aggravate people prone to pitta inflammations.

A Yogic Summer

It is a perfect time to apply the wise teaching of Swami Satyananda Saraswati and increase your viveka and vairagya. These refer to your discrimination and non-attachment respectively. By discriminating we are choosing what is best for us and not just following the perpetual attractions and revulsions of our mind. By following the path of non-attachment we can grow to be free from the pleasures and pain of our experiences and move towards living in the present moment.

Ayurveda also prescribes that one of the main causes of illness is inappropriate attachment of our senses to their sense objects. For example, I like ice cream so I eat some, I want some more as I can remember that delicious sweet creamy flavour and so I have some more (ad infinitum in front of the TV!) and hey presto the next day my nose feels congested. Now I have nothing against ice cream but it must be used wisely so that you absorb the full pleasure and nourishment that it can offer. If it is abused it will harm you, if it is used with viveka and vairagya then it can bring you much joy!

Summer Routine

Start your day by brushing your teeth with some cooling tooth powder- a dash of neem and peppermint on your brush will help clear pitta from the mouth.

A light massage with room temperature coconut oil will nourish the skin and clear any heat. Wash this off with luke warm water.

Try and walk with bare feet on a cool dewy l