Rooted in the Seasons
Rooted in the Seasons is a weekly podcast for anyone wanting to feel more balanced, calm, and connected, without overhauling their life.
Hosted by Katja Patel, yoga teacher, Ayurvedic guide, and mum, each episode offers simple ways to support your wellbeing through the seasons. You’ll hear practical tips from Ayurveda, real-life reflections, and small seasonal shifts that make a big difference.
If you’re juggling work, family, and the feeling that life moves too fast, this podcast will help you find steadiness in the middle of it all — with a little more rhythm, ease, and nourishment.
Rooted in the Seasons
Soothing Pitta — Natural Summer Skin Remedies
Episode Notes:
Summary
Summer heat can be tough on your skin — redness, rashes, or irritation often flare when Pitta dosha runs high. In this episode of Rooted in the Seasons, Katja Patel shares simple Ayurvedic ways to keep your skin calm, cool, and radiant. From hydrating foods and gentle yoga to herbal remedies and soothing self-care rituals, you’ll learn how to balance Pitta from the inside out so your skin — and your whole system — can feel clearer and more at ease.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why Pitta dosha is the root of many summer skin issues
- The best cooling foods to keep inflammation down
- Foods to enjoy in moderation (and why they aggravate skin)
- Yoga and pranayama practices that cool the body and calm the mind
- Herbal supports like turmeric and aloe vera for glowing skin
- Simple lifestyle rituals that soothe heat and restore balance
Takeaway:
Your skin reflects your inner balance. Cool Pitta within, and it will show on the outside.
Sound bites
"Coconut water is a true summer friend."
"Spicy foods also aggravate Pitta dosha."
“Yoga can help in the summer."
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Ayurveda and Summer Skin Care
01:43 Understanding Pitta Dosha and Its Effects
03:12 Cooling Foods for Summer Skin
07:44 Yoga and Pranayama Practices for Pitta
11:27 Herbal Remedies for Skin Health
16:49 Lifestyle Tips for Summer Skin Care
20:42 Recap and Resources for Further Learning
Resources & Links:
- Download my free guide: 5 Ayurvedic Shifts to Feel Less Overwhelmed in a Week
- Blog post: Soothing Pitta — Natural Summer Skin Remedies
- Course waitlist: Stress Less - Live More
🎁 Get my free guide: 5 Ayurvedic Shifts to Feel Less Overwhelmed in a Week
Practical tips to feel calmer, clearer, and more like yourself — without overhauling your life.
👉 GET THE FREE GUIDE HERE
🎙️ Rooted in the Seasons is created by Katja Patel at Zest for Yoga & Ayurveda.
Explore more episodes at zestforyoga.com/podcast
Transcript: Soothing Pitta — Natural Summer Skin Remedies
Katja Patel (00:14)
Hello and welcome back to Rooted in the Seasons, where we explore how ancient wisdom meets modern life with a strong cup of tea and practical tools for real, busy women.
I’m Katja Patel — Ayurvedic lifestyle and diet consultant, yoga teacher, teacher mentor, and someone who helps you find calm and clarity through small rituals, seasonal rhythms, and timeless wisdom.
Have you noticed that your skin feels more sensitive in the summer? Maybe you get rashes, redness, or irritation that seem to flare when the heat is on. I’ve experienced the same, and Ayurveda has really helped me understand why. More importantly, it offers natural ways to keep your skin calm, cool, and radiant during the summer months.
In this episode, we’ll explore why Pitta dosha plays such a big role in summer skin issues, which foods can soothe the skin and which ones can make it worse, plus a few yoga, herbal, and lifestyle remedies you can use right away. So let’s dive in.
Understanding Pitta and Skin
In Ayurveda, health is seen through the three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each has certain qualities, and each season tends to aggravate one dosha more than the others. Summer is Pitta time.
Pitta is made of fire and water. It’s hot, sharp, penetrating, and slightly oily. In balance, Pitta gives us drive, sharpness, and good digestion. But in summer, it can easily tip over.
Here’s the link to the skin: Ayurveda teaches that the skin is connected to the blood tissues — rasa and rakta dhatus. Both are sensitive to heat. So when Pitta runs high, your skin often shows it first through redness, rashes, eczema, or general irritation.
If that sounds familiar, Ayurveda would say: Pitta needs cooling and balance.
Cooling Foods for Summer Skin
Food is the easiest place to start, because each bite either adds fuel to the fire or cools it down.
In summer, choose cooling, hydrating, and sweet tastes, along with astringent foods. Think cucumbers, leafy greens, summer squashes like zucchini, and green beans. Melons, berries, peaches, plums, and pears all bring hydration and sweetness that soothe Pitta.
Coconut water is a true summer friend — it hydrates, cools instantly, and replenishes electrolytes lost when sweating.
If you eat meat, stick with lighter options like chicken, turkey, and freshwater fish.
Take a moment and think: which foods have been on your plate recently, and which of these cooling foods could you add into your meals this week?
Foods to Limit or Avoid
On the other side, some foods aggravate Pitta. Sour and salty foods — tomatoes, hard cheeses, citrus fruits, vinegar, pickles, sauerkraut, and wine — all push Pitta higher.
Alcohol is another big one, and yes, coffee too, with its drying and heating qualities. This is one of my own weak spots — I love coffee, but I notice straight away that it doesn’t do my skin any favours in summer.
If you must have it, add milk or even ghee or coconut oil to soften its effect. Or better yet, switch to chai.
Spicy foods also aggravate Pitta: chillies, black pepper, garlic, onions, even ginger in excess. Ayurveda doesn’t say never eat these — it’s all about proportion. Keep these tastes small, more like condiments, and let cooling foods take centre stage.
Exceptions: fresh soft cheeses and mild homemade yoghurt are generally fine in moderation. Buttermilk — made with one-third yoghurt and two-thirds water, whisked with fresh coriander leaves and tempered with ghee, cumin, coriander seeds, and curry leaves — is excellent after lunch to cool the system and support digestion.
Yoga and Pranayama
When Pitta is high, our instinct might be to go for a sweaty vinyasa flow or a run. But intensity feeds Pitta.
Instead, try cooling practices. Swap Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) for Chandra Namaskar (Moon Salutation). Pause after each round and let your body settle.
Forward bends, gentle twists, and simple cat-cow with the breath are all cooling and grounding.
Two pranayamas are especially helpful:
- Shitali Pranayama (Cooling Breath): Inhale through a rolled or folded tongue, exhale through the nose. Instantly cooling.
- Bhramari Pranayama (Bee Breath): Humming on the exhale, which calms the mind, soothes the nerves, and reduces stress.
Even two or three minutes of these can make a real difference.
Herbal Remedies
Herbs are powerful in Ayurveda, so consult a practitioner when needed, but here are a few classics:
- Turmeric: Anti-inflammatory, healing, and great both internally and externally. Try turmeric in cooking, golden milk, or as a weekend skin mask.
- Aloe Vera (Kumari): Soothes burns, irritation, and inflammation. Apply the gel directly from the plant or use juice internally to cool from the inside out.
- Manjistha: A blood purifier that balances Pitta in the blood and skin. Excellent for chronic skin issues like eczema.
- Neem: Extremely bitter but very effective for rashes and heat. Clears Pitta from the blood and supports a clear complexion.
Which of these feels most approachable for you right now? Many people find aloe vera the easiest to start with, because it’s so accessible.
Lifestyle Tips
Daily abhyanga, or oil massage, with cooling oils like coconut, kumari (aloe), jasmine, or sandalwood, can calm both the skin and the mind. Warm the oil lightly before applying so it feels comfortable and absorbs well.
Stay out of the midday sun, when Pitta is at its peak. Protecting your skin from direct heat makes a huge difference. Sunglasses are also helpful, since the eyes are a Pitta organ and very sensitive to heat.
At night, try rosewater pads over your eyes for instant cooling of the eyes, brain, and head. Apply a few drops of coconut oil or specialised hair oil to the crown of the head, and massage the soles of your feet with coconut oil before bed. These rituals draw heat out and support restful sleep.
Pair this with calming breathwork, journaling, and an early bedtime — ideally before 10 pm — and you’ll feel your whole system cool down and reset.
Recap & Closing
Summer skin issues are often a sign of Pitta running too hot. The best remedies are simple: eat cooling foods, avoid fiery ones, practise gentler yoga and pranayama, use herbs like aloe and turmeric, and keep up with soothing self-care rituals.
Remember: in Ayurveda, the skin reflects your inner balance. Cool Pitta on the inside, and it will show on the outside.
Before you go: if you’d like more ways to calm not just your skin but your whole system, my free guide 5 Ayurvedic Shifts to Feel Less Overwhelmed in a Week is a great place to start. You’ll find the link in the show notes.
Thank you so much for listening to Rooted in the Seasons. You can also read the full blog post linked in the description. And if you’d like to go deeper into Ayurveda and seasonal living, check out my course Stress Less, Live More, starting this September.
Until next time, stay cool, stay balanced, and take care of your beautiful skin.