Tending the Fire: Yamas & Niyamas to Balance Pitta Dosha This Summer

Send us Fan MailThis is the summer edition of something we explored earlier this year with kapha dosha — bringing the yamas and niyamas, yoga's ethical and personal observances, into conversation with the season we're actually in. And right now, we are in pitta season. Fire and water. Heat, intensity, drive, sharpness, focus — all of it turned up.Pitta's gifts are extraordinary. The clarity, the capacity to make things happen, the warmth. But when pitta goes out of balance in the height of summer  — the fire can start to scorch the very life it's trying to build.These five practices are the medicine.What we cover:Ahimsa (non-violence) — how pitta's perfectionism and self-criticism are the most common forms of self-harm we never name, why Ayurveda recommends exercising to only 60–70% capacity in summer, and a simple practice of just noticing the moments you override your body before trying to change anythingSatya (truthfulness) — the practice of learning to hear the voice of what is actually true for you beneath the voice of obligation, habit, and expectation, and how body-led movement like Somatic Stretch and Shake creates a small safe container to begin that listeningBrahmacharya (moderation) — why pitta is drawn to intensity and how the short, brilliant Maine summer perfectly illustrates the urge to consume everything at once, and what it means to direct energy into balanced endeavors rather than burning both ends of the candleSaucha (purity) — the nervous system cost of a cluttered space, why pitta season is naturally detoxifying without any imposed cleanse, the foods that are cooling and cleansing right now (including a beloved herb sauce recipe), and movement as a lymphatic practiceSantosha (contentment) — the research on why our brains are genuinely unreliable estimators of how much big achievements will make us happy, the impact bias named by psychologists Dan Gilbert and Timothy Wilson, what the hedonic treadmill actually does to us, and why collecting small daily moments of contentment — what the Japanese call Sho-Katkou, small but certain happiness — may be one of the most powerful things a pitta person can doLinks mentioned:Somatic Stretch and Shake — free class on YouTubePitta season Somatic Stretch & Shake class coming soon — join the email list to stay in the loop: Email NewsletterResearch mentioned:Impact Bias — Gilbert, D. & Wilson, T. (1998). The tendency to overestimate how much future events will affect our emotions and for how longHedonic treadmill — Brickman, P. et al. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social PsychologySho-Katkou / micro-happiness — Small but Certain Happiness in Daily Life: Structure and Relation with Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer Nature, 2025The Big Joy Project — UC Berkeley study with 17,598 participants across 169 countries on micro-joys and wellbeingResources:Free Masterclass:  The Alchemy of the Perimenopause PortalAyurvedic Dosha Quick Reference GuideAbhyanga Self Massage GuideWeekend Nervous System ResetNourished For Resilience Workbook Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.comand @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram