Hi.
I’m Alicia.
Establishing a supportive daily routine is a crucial part of the Ayurvedic lifestyle,
and it can be especially helpful when pitta is provoked.
Today, I want to share with you why pitta benefits from having a daily routine, how
to get started in creating a routine that works for YOU, and our top 5 tips for balancing
pitta with your everyday habits.
Let’s get started!
Excess pitta tends to increase the level of fire and intensity in the system, and a daily
routine naturally introduces a calm, grounding energy that can serve to disrupt the cycles
of stress and busy-ness that have become the norm for so many of us.
If we tailor our routine to pacify pitta, the benefits become even more impactful.
If you are new to creating your own Ayurvedic daily routine, we have a couple of suggestions
right off the bat that will help you follow through on your daily intentions.
First, it’s important to note that following an Ayurvedic daily routine does not mean that
you should schedule every moment of every day.
Instead, it’s about creating consistency with a handful of habits that are repeated
each day at similar times.
This invites the body to relax into a sense of safety, normalcy, and ease.
And second, while the traditional Ayurvedic daily routine could easily require several
hours of your day, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of starting small.
Begin with just a few simple commitments that you feel confident about accomplishing every
day.
Even small actions done regularly can have incredible impacts on your health and well-being—things
like going to bed and getting up at the same times each day, eating three square meals
daily at roughly the same times, and pampering yourself with one or two quiet, nourishing
practices that calm the mind.
Narrow down your list of potential habits to focus on by being realistic and considering
your schedule, lifestyle, and preferences.
After all, this is YOUR routine, so it should reflect what works for you.
On a side note: Even though food and diet are an essential part of a daily routine,
were not going to discuss that in this video.
Click this link for our in-depth video on pitta foods and diet if that’s what you’re
looking for.
Alright.
Now that we know why pitta is balanced by a daily routine and how you can begin to create
your own, let’s move on to our top 5 tips that you’ll want to consider including in
your own daily routine.
#1 Take the Pressure Off
Excess pitta can cause a bit of an all-or-nothing mindset, fueled by a driving internal sense
of ambition.
Sound familiar?
It’s important to take the pressure off and remind yourself not to take yourself—or
your life—too seriously.
Instead, cultivate a willingness to make mistakes and laugh at yourself.
We know.
Not easy to do when pitta is in the driver’s seat!
But by bringing spaciousness into your day as much as possible, you’ll tend to be a
bit more relaxed and make better decisions, which generally supports balance for pitta
and can help prevent stress.
#2 Balance Productivity with Play Similar to taking the pressure off, it’s
important to build in time to slow down, relax, and be playful.
We highly recommend that you leave space for some down time every day—or even schedule
it in.
Give yourself full permission to step away from your to-do list and do something you
really enjoy, whatever it may be—as long as it’s playful and relaxing for you.
Ideally, it’ll help to get you out of your head and into your body.
Be mindful of pitta’s sneaky capacity to slip goal-oriented activities (like intensive
physical training) into this play-space.
The idea here is to back off of your effort and intensity, and do something fun just for
the sake of it.
Any number of activities can serve this purpose, but it’s important to be honest about your
state of mind and your true intentions.
#3 Honor the Darkness
Where pitta is concerned, prioritizing rest matters, even though it’s not usually a
first instinct when pitta is elevated.
Consider committing to a 10pm bedtime as a way of discouraging pitta’s tendency to
be productive late at night.
While the night-owl in you might enjoy the fruitfulness of night-time work sessions,
staying up late tends to be more disruptive than helpful for pitta, especially when it
comes to our circadian rhythms.
Once you do hit the hay, aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep.
In addition to your regular sleep schedule, allowing opportunities for restoration throughout
your whole day is deeply rejuvenating and pitta-balancing.
Because pitta imbalance can lead to excessive focus, a burning intensity, and a fiery hot
attitude, finding opportunities to soothe yourself with cool and dark qualities is one
of the best things you can do.
Personally, when I feel my pitta is high, I use an eye mask for complete darkness, and
I simply lay down for a few minutes.
Or, on sunny days, I make it a point to use my sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat!
#4 Love Your Bod
While skin care is usually a staple of any daily routine, it’s especially important
when excess pitta is present.
Pitta’s hot qualities can often express themselves through the skin as redness, inflammation,
rashes, acne, or other irritations.
A great first line of action is to find a time in your day for Abhyanga, or oil self-massage.
This ancient Ayurvedic practice is calming, nourishing, rejuvenating, and relaxing, especially
if you use a pitta-pacifying herbal oil, like Pitta Massage Oil.
If you want to learn more about Abhyanga and on how to do it, click here.
Another thing that I find so refreshing is to splash my eyes with cool water in the morning.
Our eyes work so hard all day and they tend to accumulate a lot of heat.
I just give a little gentle splash to each eye and take a moment to notice the cooling,
soothing, and relaxing effect.
#5 Move, but Go Easy!
When pitta is high, we want to be mindful about how we engage in physical activity.
Too much intense exercise can actually be quite pitta-aggravating.
And while exercise is certainly important, it is crucial that you follow the principles
of the Pitta-Pacifying Approach to Fitness, which is mostly about protecting the body
against excess heat and intensity, while cultivating relaxed effort and a more laid-back mental
relationship with your work-outs.
If you want to read our guide on the Pitta-Pacifying Approach to Fitness, click here.
The best forms of exercise for pitta are those that are moderately-paced and adequately challenging
without pushing too hard.
They should involve an approach to movement that’s both fluid and grounding and it’s
helpful to make a concerted effort to honor and listen to your body rather than over-riding
its needs with sheer will.
Especially supportive activities include pitta-pacifying yoga poses, any gentle stretching, brisk walking,
hiking, tai chi, swimming, jogging, cycling, skiing, and snow-shoeing.
Avoid exercising in extreme heat whenever possible.
In general, the best time of day to exercise is when kapha predominates the atmosphere,
between 6–10 a.m. and 6–10 p.m.
And those are our top 5 tips for balancing pitta with your daily routine.
We hope you find this video helpful as you begin to craft the perfect pitta-balancing
daily routine for you.
We’d love to hear what is a MUST in your pitta-balancing daily routine, so share with
us in the comments below.
Thanks for watching!