As the seasons shift, it's essential that we adjust our lifestyle choices as well. What we eat, our daily routines, and how we move all effects the balance of our Doshas. During the summer, Pitta runs high, and if we don't shift our lifestyle to keep cool and calm, we risk Pitta becoming imbalanced and developing excess heat in our system. 

In Ayurveda, the Doshas are balanced by incorporating opposite qualities of the prominent or imbalanced Dosha into our lifestyle choices. During Pitta season, incorporating cooling, slow, and heavy qualities into our daily practices and routines can help maintain a balanced system. Try this Pitta season flow for a movement practice that will keep your mind and body calm all season long.

Sheetali 

Sheetali is a style of Pranayama that is cooling and calming for the mind. It involves rolling the lateral edges of your tongue inwards, creating a taco-like shape. If you can't make this shape with your tongue, practice Sheetkari breath, which involves gently touching the teeth together, inhaling through this space, and exhaling through the nose. 

Find a comfortable seat on your mat or a block. Take a few deep and centering breaths as you relax your mind and body. Set a timer for five minutes, and begin Sheetali breathing, in through the mouth and out through the nose. Continue like this for the remainder of the five minutes, directing your awareness to the sensation of the breath. When the timer goes off, let go of the breath control and return to a regular breathing pattern for a few moments. 

Child's pose

Make your way into a child's pose, pressing your hips back into your heels as you extend your arms long in front of you. Plant your forehead on the mat, and take slow, deep belly breaths through your nose. Relax deeply and stay in this position for up to 20 breaths.

Cat-Cow

Shift forward onto your hands and knees, coming into a tabletop position. Stack your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. On an inhale, drop your belly and gaze toward the ceiling. On an exhale, press the mat away and arch your spine, directing your gaze toward your navel. Continue in this pattern, linking breath to movement for fifteen rounds, coming back to a tabletop position when you are complete.

Puppy pose

While in tabletop, take a deep breath in. On your exhale, slowly walk your palms out in front of you, dropping your chest toward the ground and planting your forehead on the mat. Engage your arms so your biceps lift off the mat and sink your chest deeper with every exhale. Stay here for five breaths before slowly coming back up to tabletop. 

Supine Twist

Come to lie down on your back. Take a few moments to allow your spine to neutralize and root down on the mat. Then scoot your hips a few inches to the right, and drop your knees at hip height over to the left. Extend your arms in a "T" shape at shoulder height and gaze over your right shoulder. Hold for ten breaths, softening with every exhale, then bring your knees through the center and transition to the other side.

Synching your yoga practice to the seasons can help you feel balanced all summer long. To enhance your practice this season, roll out our Madder Root, Turmeric, and Harda yoga mat before your flow. Take a long and juicy savasana to absorb all of the detoxifying, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects of this herbal dyed and infused Ayurvedic yoga mat.