Explaining Greeshma Ritu as per Ayurveda

Like we explained, the cold and wet Winters are followed by the refreshing Vasanta Ritu. But after this come the hot and sultry days of Greeshma Ritu or the Summer season. Greeshma Ritu occurs during the Aadaan Kaal, where the Sun sucks out the energy from one’s body.

As we already know, our body is made up of three principal energies or Doshas – Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Pitta reflects the characteristics of the Fire Element and hence Summer or Greeshma is also known as the Pitta season.

During Greeshma Ritu, the Kapha in the body starts to melt, but the Pitta gets aggravated. The dryness and lightness in the weather also gives rise to excessive Vata. Hence, the transformational power of Pitta is affected during the Summers, leading to poor digestion and causing acidity, constipation, stomach ulcers and diarrhoea. Meanwhile, the Vata aggravation causes fatigue and lethargy.

Diet to follow:

• Drink plenty of water throughout the day, as it helps in flushing out all the toxic matter from the body.

• Drinks like buttermilk, fruit juices, coconut water and traditional drinks like Sherbet prepared from Indian gooseberry, kokum, and raw mangoes are recommended. Also, sipping on herbal tea helps in maintaining the Pitta and Vata balance in the body,

• Eat light and fresh foods like salads and freshly cut fruits.

• Vegetables like asparagus, cucumber, cabbage, sweet potato, celery, green leafy vegetables etc should be included in the diet.

• Fruits like watermelon, peaches, plums, mangoes, grapes, pears, avocado and berries are good to beat the Summer heat.

• Avoid caffeine and carbonated drinks.

• Spices like cardamom, coriander and fenugreek are good for this season.

• Boiled rice, corn flour, curd can be taken.

• Avoid red meat.

Lifestyle to follow:

• Avoid going out in the daytime when the Sun is shining bright.

• Avoid sleeping in the afternoon.

• Wear light and cotton dresses and shirts.

• Applying sandalwood paste on the face and body helps keep the body and mind cool.

• Light workouts like Pranayamas, early morning walks etc are good too for this season.

So, by following the above-mentioned diet and lifestyle one can easily beat the Summer heat and maintain good health and agility. After the Greeshma Ritu comes the Varsha Ritu or the Monsoon, but which Dosha gets aggravated during this time? What are the effects of this season on us? All this and more will be discussed in our next post… keep following this space!