nourishing home-cooked meals.
Eating on the run or snacking instead of eating a proper meal is not a good idea for these types. If they do want to move their body, they are best to try grounding practices like yoga, tai chi or even a gentle walk. More strenuous types of exercise should be done between 6am and 10am in the morning at Kapha time.
Quiet time, listening to music, reflecting, drawing or journaling will help to calm them. Before bed they are better to read than be on their phone or computer, as any device will aggravate the Vata energy in the body.
We enter the Vata stage of our lives at around 75 years of age so it is not uncommon for these types to become more dreamy, vague or fragile as they age. The best diet for Vatas includes warming and soothing foods that are stabilising for a light, airy constitution. (See charts at the back of the book, pages 240–5.)
PITTA
Pitta individuals are dominated by the element of fire. This creates heat in the body and is responsible for metabolising, transforming, digesting and processing all of our thoughts and all we eat. Pitta is also in charge of maintaining our digestive fire (agni); if our digestive fire is low, we will have problems with digestion and suffer from heartburn, reflux and indigestion.
Pittas have quick, sharp minds and tongues, a moderate body frame and tend to be able to maintain their weight better than the other two doshas.
Elements
Time of day
10am–2pm and 10pm–2am is the time of day when Pitta will be more obvious in the body and mind.
Time of year
In summer Pitta can be more aggravated in the body. It is the season when Pitta health issues such as eczema, heartburn, reflux, headaches, hay fever, insomnia or burnout can arise. Summer is known as Pitta time (bile). Energy and heat rise up in the body in summer so it is important to keep cool. We are naturally drawn to cooling summer fruits and higher carbohydrate grains like rice. We drink more juices made from seasonal fruits and fill up on salads with cooling herbs.
More fiery Pitta types need to eat with more awareness in this season, and so too does anyone who starts to show any signs of heat in the body, such as skin issues, headaches, reflux, indigestion or insomnia.
Time of life
18 to 50–55 years is the time that Pitta will be more prominent in the body.
Pitta is responsible for regulating body heat through the metabolism of food, appetite, energy production, vitality, ambition, confidence, courage, learning and understanding.
PITTA OUT OF BALANCE
The site of Pitta in the body is the eyes, skin, stomach, small intestine, sweat glands, blood, fat – where Pitta will present more strongly when it is out of balance.
Signs that Pitta is out of balance in the body
Irritability, impatience, anger and pushy, aggressive behaviour; skin irritations and rashes; heartburn, reflux and peptic ulcers; headaches, eye problems, falling hair, early greying, hot flushes; waking in the middle of the night and unable to get back to sleep; excess sweating, acne, blood shot eyes, heavy periods, large clots; extreme hunger before menstruation; yellow urine or loose unformed stools that fall apart in water, sink or float with a strong, pungent, offensive smell; a need to use the toilet 2–3 times a day, and may be urgent; tendency to diarrhoea and urinary tract infections.
Pitta types are more likely to go out of balance in summer.
Summer/Pitta health issues: Eczema, heartburn, reflux, headaches, hay fever, insomnia, burnout.
Habits and lifestyle factors that imbalance Pitta
Eating too many hot, spicy, pungent, salty or sour foods; excess meat in the diet; too much alcohol; overanalysing or overworking; overexposure to heat and sun; intense conversations, pushing oneself too hard, emotional trauma, holding emotions in; skipping meals or fasting; exercising outside in the sun in the middle of the day in summer; not rinsing off the saltwater after swimming at the beach in summer.
Environmental effects
Determined high achievers, Pittas do well to spend time in nature connecting with the earth. Winter is the time they will feel their best if they can allow themselves to slow down and enjoy the cooler weather.
KEY Moderation, rest between work, quiet calm atmosphere, meditation, coolness, nature’s beauty
AVOID Skipping meals or overeating, artificial stimulants, too much sun and sauna
BALANCING PITTA
Heat can very easily send Pittas out of balance and although they are often drawn to hot, spicy flavours, they would do well to stay away from these flavours, especially in summer or when they are feeling angry and stressed. When out of balance, the fire rises up and out in the body and can show up as fever, impatience, ulcers, indigestion, skin rashes, headaches and reflux.
Pitta types are attracted to beautiful things and are very focused on making money and acquiring beautiful things. They are hard workers who need to learn how to relax and temper the fire within them before it overwhelms them.
Activities that will calm Pitta
Eating when you are hungry rather than when you are starving, gentle calming exercise, spending time in nature, being by the water, moonlight walks, yoga, dance, non-competitive sports, walking, swimming, gardening, writing, massage with coconut oil as it is cooling, meditation, expressing emotions, getting to bed before 10pm, staying cool, sipping cooling herbal teas.
Cooling remedies – rubbing coconut oil into the skin, chilled rose tea bags over the eyes, cooling the feet
Cooling lifestyle choices – music, meditation, yin yoga, spending time in nature out of the sun, resting by still water
So-called healthy foods that may overheat you – ferments, yoghurt, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut
Lifestyle factors to limit – running in the middle of the day, sunbaking, hot yoga, power yoga, holding in emotions, alcohol, out in the sun without a hat, smoking, saunas
HOW PITTA MANIFESTS IN THE BODY
Hot – Pittas have strong digestive fire which means they can usually eat a lot, and often, and they tend to get quite cross if they try to go without food when they are hungry. They tend to have a higher body temperature than other doshas and can become quite agitated in the heat.
Sharp –They can have pointed sharp teeth either side of their front teeth, and sharp piercing eyes. Their features are strong and distinct, and quite angular. Pittas’ minds are quick and extremely sharp, and they are blessed with a strong memory, but their speech can be cutting. They tend to work in short sharp bursts and can become