How to Cool Off with Ayurveda: Summer Heat Survival

Ayurveda, the ancient system of health from India, is ripe with wisdom for all stages and times of life, including how to cool off in summer heat.

If you’ve been struggling with symptoms of inflammation this summer, have been irritable, short-tempered, or impatient, are experiencing headaches or dehydration, Ayurveda may help.

You can try these recommendations here but schedule an Initial Consultation to cut to the chase, determine your Ayurvedic imbalance and a lifestyle plan that’s personalized for you.

If you’re perimenopausal (meaning you are not yet at the age of menopause but you’ve begun to experience symptoms), or you are menopausal (meaning your menstrual cycle has stopped for 12 months in a row), you definitely should be watching the ways in which you’re heating your body up.

If you work outside during the summer, have inflammation in your body (burning sensation, redness or rashes on the body, a feeling of heat, swelling, or pain, or have lost some functioning in the body), then you should also adopt these guidelines.

To Cool Off, Avoid Heating Foods & Drinks

Foods and drinks can either cool the body or warm it up. Avoid the foods and drinks that warm it up quickly and immensely. Here’s a quick but not exhaustive list:

Hot peppers

Alcohol

Garlic

Onions

Heating spices

Yogurt

Kombucha

Fried foods

Carbonated beverages

Sea salt

Have Cooling Drinks to Cool Off

In addition to filtered water, there are many ways to cool the body with beverages. Here are some of my favorites.

These drinks are intended for the above mentioned people and for this season. They may not be suitable for everyone. To learn which foods and drinks are suitable for you, schedule an Initial Consultation. You’ll receive a care plan with food and drink recommendations, supplement suggestions to correct undigested food waste (toxins), and body treatment recommendations (at-home or on-site), all with the goal of restoring balance to the body.

Cow’s milk 

Hibiscus tea (cooled to room temperature)

Pomegranate juice

Grape juice

Cucumber juice

Rose petal tea (cooled to room temperature)

Coriander seed tea (cooled to room temperature)

Mint tea (cooled to room temperature)

Adopt a Cooling Lifestyle to Cool Off

You can eat the right foods all day but if you’re still aggravating the heat or inflammation in the body with your lifestyle choices, then balance will be hard to find.

Avoid saunas, saunas coupled simultaneously with exercise, hot yoga, intense exercise (especially outdoors), and excess sex. Any activities that produce a lot of heat in the body should be minimized, done in the mornings or evenings, or halted until it’s cooler outside.

You can swim, turn all the fans on, reduce your stress and your workload (if you can), be lazy, take a nap (not recommended for all people), wear breathable fabrics like linens and cottons, wear cooling gems like pearls and moonstones, and turn that essential oil diffuser on. Khus (vetiver), mints, and florals like rose and jasmine are all wonderful during summer.

Ayurvedic Therapeutics for Inflammation

These treatments may be beneficial for you. Schedule a consultation to create an Ayurvedic lifestyle plan that’s tailored to your body type, your health history, and your current state of imbalance. Without a proper consultation, therapies like these may or may not be enough to bring balance to the body.

Shirodhara with Milk Decoction

A warm decoction of herbs in milk, poured in a continuous gentle stream over the forehead, can cool the mind, relax the sense organs, and refresh the body.

Cooling Herbal Powder Massage

Called ‘udvartana‘, an herbal powder massage dries the body and imparts the qualities of the herbs to the tissues. Herbs like triphala, sandalwood, rose petals, and musta, may help relax body tissues that are inflamed with heat.

Milk Wash

Using cow’s milk as a body wash can help calm and cool the body. Bring a cup or two of cow’s milk into the shower and pour it over the limbs and head. Splash it over the face. Feel the refreshing and cooling effects of the milk.

Panchakarma: Ayurvedic Detox Process

Many detoxification rituals or ‘cleansing’ processes are trendy and questionable but in Ayurveda, cleansing is a necessary, ancient, and sophisticated process of restoring balance to the body and mind. When done with proper guidance and a commitment to the process, it’s an extraordinary opportunity for renewal. Schedule an Initial Consultation to get started. Call to learn more.

Other Tips to Stay Cool

In addition, follow these tips for a healthy summer.

Avoid indigestion (don’t overeat or graze)

Only eat when hungry

Shower before eating and not after

Take cooler, short showers or baths (be quick)