06/03/2026
2026 Spring to Summer Newsletter
Summer! Summer! Summer! YES! Spring was beautiful and early this year, so it seemed like it took a long time for the nights to warm up and plants to start to really spring to life. With all the rain we have had in May we are really set up for the warmer longer days of summer. Many of you may be reeling from all spring kapha qualities such as allergies, runny nose and eyes, or congestion so this needed rain helped to wash away the abundance of pollen coating everything. Summertime is pitta time according to the Ayurvedic principles. A time of heat, oiliness, light, liquid, sour, pungent and transformation. The short cold days transform into long warm days, the plants transform from sprouts to full grown plants, and we move from a more sedentary time of the year into a busier period with gardening, spending time outdoors, and travel. The transformation quality of pitta can help inspire us to transform aspects of ourselves into new and improved versions with consistency and patience. Let’s look at this further and how we can use the traits of the season to move into our fullest expression of Self.
Each dosha has 5 subdoshas and pitta is not an exception. The subdoshas of pitta are sadhaka, alochaka, pachaka, brajaka, and ranjaka. Funky words, right?! Each of these subdoshas is focused in various areas around the body, mind, and soul and when they are balanced, we feel at peace, when imbalanced we feel a little to a lot off. The subdosha I want to focus on is sadhaka pitta. Sadhaka pitta’s home in the brain, heart, and synaptic spaces. Each of these areas pass information or transform inputs for us to use. We often think of the brain as the thing that transforms information, but in the world of Ayurveda it is equally the heart and the gut. An important part of the transformation process that pitta is responsible for is digesting our emotions and this is where sadhaka pitta reigns supreme. We know we need to fully digest food to allow all the nutrients to be used to form a healthy body but we also need to digest our emotions to feel fully well. When the pitta mind is out of balance, we may find it difficult to process emotions or respond to things in ways that make us feel like our true Self. If our heart and mind are not digesting our emotions fully, we can feel angry, speak sharply to others, feel heat build in the body, jealousy, or feel the heart race. Each of us needs to bring in all sensations, whirl them around inside of us and transform them to allow them pass through us. With right awareness we see things as they are allowing emotions to mature into love, compassion and freedom. If our perception is off, we feel a host of other emotions, some building on stored experiences until we react in ways that are not from our true Self. Pitta being naturally high in the summer puts sadhaka pitta into full swing. This is often a great time to resolve past hurts or transform us into more loving compassionate people. The heat of summertime can also exaggerate our responses as this external heat builds on the internal heat until it boils over. For those of us that are naturally high pitta, we probably have experienced this in the past. So, what can we do to ensure we have “right perception” to guide our response to our natural human emotions?
First, we can recognize that in our human experience all emotions are acceptable. Often, we feel bad or guilty if we feel emotions such as anger, hate, or jealousy. The emotions are fine but often the action is not. When we remind ourselves of our humanness, which includes feeling emotion, we can be fully accepting of ourselves. True acceptance is not trying to ignore or suppress emotions as this can lead to stagnated unhealthy stored energy which can lead to a feeling of being unwell. Next, give this welled up emotions your full attention. If we feel anger flare up say to yourself, “I see you anger”, acknowledge it fully and breath into it. With full awareness, we bring control and flow to the emotion. Allow the emotion to be felt but then also allow it to finish its journey through the body. Allow it to pass, try not to feed it with stories of the mind or past hurts. If there is another person involved in this situation you can tell them, “I am feeling angry with this situation” and be sure to keep breathing which helps cool the body and mind. If you have lashed out, you can always apologize or start over. Keep your mind on the word cool or things that are naturally cool such as a water spring to bring awareness to the opposite quality of heat and let the mind be soothed with these thoughts. Rose water or hydrosol is wonderful to have around to spray on the body when you are feeling overheated. With time and practice your ability to stay cool in any situation will become more natural and your normal way of being. Now, if someone is acting out against you and being mean, you don’t have to respond with a like tone. You can look at the person with compassion and respond accordingly and not get sucked into their drama. It is easier than you think but we need to watch ourselves moving through the situation and ward off the response that is not coming from true awareness. Listen to them with the sadhaka pitta in the heart, say to yourself I see anger in this person, and allow them space to let it pass. If you do not respond, the anger will not build in them, the heat will subside. I do not recommend spraying rose water on them as this could backfire (LOL). Of course, if you feel unsafe it is best to leave the situation immediately.
It is important to note we are not saying that we are angry, hateful or jealous people, only that we are feeling these emotions. This is a significant difference as our true self is love, which Dr. Lad has taught us is not an emotion but our natural state of being. Imagine, not needing to go out and find love, but to look inside and feel it knowing it is always available to us if we choose to see it and to be aware of it. Love is naturally cooling and allows the mind to see clearly and remain in a cool, calm manner. These habits are not often easy to break, especially with people we have a long, volatile history with, but it is possible if you choose to use the sadhaka pitta’s power of transformation to align your mind and heart into a calm, compassionate, and aware entity.
Seven Oaks Homestead
Art is doing great and is now fully engaged with my long list of projects. So engaged he bought a tractor to work on the new meditation garden I designed. If you remember the property there is a red building to the right of the driveway as you come up the drive to park. It was just an overgrown, rocky area which did not give the energy I wanted in that area. Right now, he is removing all the rock and scraping off enough dirt for us to start to add a small seating area, a walkway, a pond, and some planting areas. If the electrician can add an outlet we may add a waterfall into the pond as well. I am so excited mostly to have Art’s health back but also my partner in making out property even more beautiful and peaceful.
We also have a guest staying with us for the summer. Kaleb is a baseball player with the new Cookeville Flyin’ Frogs baseball team. The team is made up of college-age boys who have come together for this fun summer league. If you have the chance, check them out at their website (https://www.cookevilleflyinfrogs.com/) and you may see Art and I cheering on the team during home games.
As always, I am here to work with you one-to-one for any of your wellness needs. I appreciate each one of you and look forward to seeing you soon.
Maria
