Pitta Dosha and Lifestyle in Ayurveda
Pitta Dosha and Lifestyle in Ayurveda
The energy elements of Pitta people are fire and water representing transformation. The harmonious balance between these two interplaying elements is reflected in the over all wellness and health of the Pitta people. The ancient text of Ayurveda lays great importance on the energy forces that regulate an individual’s physiological and psychological characteristics. One of the primary energy force or Dosha in the human body is known as ‘Pitta’. Pitta is a force created by the elements of fire and water. It is imperative to understand pitta dosha to ensure that the state of the body’s defense mechanism is balanced naturally, and also to understand why certain imbalances are caused due to the interplay between the fire and water elements. Pitta dosha plays an important role to ensure a strong immune system as well sound mental health. The elements fire and water regulate the body’s metabolic system by governing the functions of digestion, body temperature, absorption and assimilation.
Pitta dosha represent transformation, as the main elements of fire and water they tend to control one another to maintain a balance. An unbalanced situation occurs when one element is subjugated by the other. Physiologically Pitta dosha mainly governs the liver, gallbladder, lower part of the stomach, small intestine, spleen, pancreas, fats, sweat glands, eyes and the skin. When the elements are in perfect harmony with one another, they promote joy, internal bliss, comprehension, intelligence and understanding, whereas in an unbalanced state, they can cause restlessness, anxiety, and arouse negative feelings of anger, hate and jealousy.
Ancient Ayurvedic text lays great stress on Pitta balancing herbal tea. This herbal tea blends the cooling and calming goodness of chrysanthemum, saffron, marigolds, green cardamom, hibiscus, peppermint, sarsaparilla, raspberry leaves, tulsi, lemon and peach flavor. Each of these herbs lend highly effective means of balancing the Pitta Dosha by detoxifying the system and cooling the stomach and the mind.
People with prominent Pitta dosha are usually of medium height, with a delicate bone structure and moderately sized muscles. Pitta dosha complexion is usually coppery, fair or slightly reddish and the skin is warm, soft and oily. The hair is fine textured and prone to premature graying or thinning. People with Pitta dosha have a strong metabolism and good digestion, and are capable of consuming large quantities of food. Elimination of bodily waste is usually smooth and in large quantities. They have natural craving for sweets, as well as bitter foods. As they have strong appetites, missing meals makes them extremely irritable. They tend to perspire a lot, which again increases their craving for liquids. They cannot tolerate heat and are uncomfortable in hot weather.
Pitta individuals are strong-willed, passionate, very assertive, ambitious and entrepreneurial in nature making them natural leaders in the society. As they have sharp minds with focused concentration powers, they make good, but opinionated public speakers. They usually rise high in life and love a life of luxuries. As their key qualities are light, liquid, hot and slightly oily, they do have a disposition to manifest various imbalances due to wrong diet and lifestyle leading to pitta accumulation which can cause imbalances in their physiological and psychological characteristics. They become prone to anemia, skin inflammations, and stomach related conditions such as ulcers, acid accumulation, and intestinal problems. They also experience vision disorders. Psychologically, pitta people under stress tend to throw unreasonable tantrums, display anger, impatience and sometimes get excessively stubborn and pushy.
The hot summer season is when the pitta people become more susceptible to imbalances in their elements. Yoga, meditation, cooling body massages, and consuming a combination cooling and calming herbal teas and foods can help Pitta dosha people to keep their life in balance and reduce stress.