Isn’t summer just the best? Sandy toes👣 and sun-kissed glows☀️. Farmers’ markets and scents of jasmine, rose and honeysuckle wafting through the air. I don’t know about you, but I CRAVE summer – it means road trips, BBQs, outdoor concerts, barefoot walks and quality time with friends and friends.
Full stop.
What I don’t crave is summer’s annoying skin rashes, hot flashes and indigestion, or feeling hangry, impatient and leave-me-alone frustrated. Sound familiar? Yeah, total hogwash!
As fiery pitta 🔥 builds and the earth gets uncomfy, humid and hot, so do we! And, I don’t mean in a cute, “lightly flushed + glowing” way… No, I’m talking full-on hot, angry face. 🥵 So how do we keep pitta at bay and actually enjoy summertime?
Easy! Ayurveda tells us how to cool our jets so we’re not walking around red-faced and moody all season – generally, stay hydrated, eat a summer diet and prioritize SELF-CARE. ((Good news! Ayurveda permits napping during the summer months! So allow yourself to take a conscious rest or siesta when the afternoon slump hits.))
Hey, speaking of self-care, summer is the perfect time to unleash your sensual goddess and get your sexy on, girl – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. More on that later…
To help you beat the heat, stay mellow and enjoy summer’s sun-drenched days, I’m sharing some essential pitta lifestyle tips (SPOILER: yummy DIY recipes + HOT hints on how to rediscover your sensual self.) Get ready to roll with the heat by priming your body and soul for the season! Onward…
Katie’s 10 Favorite Pitta-Pacifying Foods
~foods that cool your body + calm your mood~
A pitta-pacifying diet includes heaps of hydrating, fresh seasonal produce that have cooling energies. During summer, it’s best to favor sweet, bitter and astringent tastes and reduce salty and pungent tastes. Here’s what you can always find in my kitchen during the summer months.
✨ Aloe Vera
✨ blueberries
✨ cucumber
✨ coconut (coconut water with slices of lime - yum!)
✨ leafy greens: radicchio, watercress, arugula, spinach
✨ turmeric
✨ stone fruits: peaches, pears, apricots
✨ melons: cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon
✨ mint, cilantro, basil, coriander
✨ beets
Sexy, Sassy Summer
~celebrate your divine sexual energy~
Balmy nights, bare legs, sun-kissed skin – summer is an oh’ so SEXY season, isn’t it? Connecting to your physical and energetic sexual centers is key to boosting your vitality and should be an area that is nurtured and attended to regularly. This summer (heck, anytime!!), I want you to tap into the HOT sensual goddess that you are and rediscover your feminine magic.
Try a few of these tips to reconnect with your sexual prowess… or have fun with a partner.
💋 Light up your libido with a sensual photoshoot. No, really. Grab your sexy boy shorts, summery lingerie or go a la’ nude. Keep the photos to yourself to gawk at or share with another!
💋 Cultivate self-love. Stand in front of a mirror and note all of the intricate details you love about your body. Say them OUT LOUD, lady! You are special and deserve to hear it.
💋 Let loose your inner Beyoncé! Move your hips through dance to ignite your sexual energy. Your hips, located at your second chakra, are linked to your sexuality and pleasure.
💋 Go skinny dipping and relish the erotic feel and freedom of water on your bare skin.
💋 Write yourself love affirmations: I am desire. I am sexy. I am magnetic. Yes. You. Are!
💋 Try this meditation for building and healing sexual energy.
💋 Share a chilly treat with your bae – chocolate-dipped strawberries, ice cubes, whipped cream, need I say more?
💋 Incorporate intimate acts of deep connection with your partner, such as massage, talking, walking hand-in-hand, long hugs, kind words or simply gazing at one another. Pleasure is a journey, not a destination!
💋 Get busy! Wild and spontaneous or soft and sensual – sex is a magical and beautiful part of life. During summer, the body’s ojas are not up to optimal levels and sexual frequency may be reduced (but hey, you do you).
✨For more deep real-talk on sex, spirit and shakti-infused self-care,✨
subscribe to Katie’s Spirit Sessions podcast.
Skin That’s Good Enough to Eat
~homemade scrub for dewy, glowing skin~
Keep your skin cool, smooth and lickable with a DIY body scrub. Whip up this super-simple scrub using coconut oil (one of Ayurveda’s best pitta-pacifying ingredients), brown sugar and your favorite pitta-balancing essential oil. Ready to get your sexy back?
🥥Sugar Scrub for Sooth, Supple Skin
- ¼ to 1 cup coconut oil
- 2 cups brown sugar or any organic sugar
- 10-15 drops of essential oil
- Mix oil & sugar until creamy
- Add essential oil while stirring
- Add remaining sugar until you reach desired consistency
Katie’s favorite cooling oils to calm fiery pitta: Jasmine, rose, chamomile, geranium
honeysuckle and sandalwood. Choose one or mix and match!
Cooling Blends for Sultry Days
~kick back with a refreshing cuppa~
A scorching summer day = cooling off poolside with a citrusy, refreshing drink in hand, am I right? Before reaching for a margarita, cue da herbs! Our plant companions (like, mint) can help us beat the heat while supporting our constitutional balance. And, it’s yummy! Mix up this delicious, totally guilt-free Ayurvedic-inspired limeade and get outdoors to kick back.
🥒Cooling Cucumber Mint Limeade
- 1 cucumber
- 3 limes
- 1-2 sprigs of mint
- Honey or agave to taste (optional)
- Peel & cube cucumbers, removing seeds if needed
- Put cucumbers, juice of limes, mint, sweetener of your choice & 4 cups water into blender
- Blend until smooth & sip away
- Drink at room temp to allow the herbs to naturally bring down your agni
✨For more tasty recipes, visit Katie’s blog! ✨
Frayed Nerves? Try Sitali Breath!
~pacify the building heat in your body~
Sitali Pranayama, “the cooling breath,” is my absolute go-to yogic breathing exercise during summer. It helps lower our body’s temp, calm our nerves, take the edge off hunger pangs, and reduces fatigue, fevers and high blood pressure. It’s a super easy practice and will leave you feeling renewed, refreshed and energized. Here’s the deets!
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes
- Form the lips into an “o,” curl your tongue lengthwise and project it out of the mouth
- Inhale deeply through your tongue as if drinking through a straw
- Focus your attention on the cool breath across your tongue as you fill up your diaphragm
- Bring your tongue into your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose
- Start with 2-5 minutes of Sitali breath and increase to 10 minutes over time
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Not a tongue curler? 🙋No worries - lots of people aren’t! You can get the same results with Sitkari.
- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes
- Press your lower and upper teeth together, and separate your lips so your teeth are exposed
- As you inhale slowly through your teeth, focus on the sound of the breath and the sensation
of the air on your teeth
- Close your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose
- Repeat Sitkari breath for 2-5 minutes and increase to 10 minutes over time
🙏 Finish with several minutes of meditation to notice the sensations throughout your body. 🙏
I hope that my recommendations assist you on your journey this season. I wish you the most balanced summer in your being.
Love yourself. Enjoy yourself.