Welcome back to the Harmony Health Notes dosha series. If you’re new here, a very special welcome to you! This is my newsletter where I write on integrative approaches to wellness for high performers and leaders in their fields. Feel free to subscribe and share with like minds.❤️
In our last post, we explored Vata energy — the airy, fast-moving force that, when imbalanced, leaves many of us feeling scattered and wired. This time, we’re turning our attention to Pitta, the fiery engine behind your focus, your hustle… and possibly your headache.
If you wish to learn about dohsas, start here. And if you would like to know your dosha type, use this questionnaire. Even if you didn’t score highest on Pitta, this post is still for you. Because in today’s world, Pitta imbalance is everywhere.
🔥 What Is Pitta?
In Ayurveda, Pitta, one of the three doshas (i.e. mind/body constitutions) governs transformation — from the fire of digestion to the fire of insight.
It’s made of the elements fire and water, and its qualities are hot, sharp, intense, penetrating, and focused.
In a balanced state, Pitta is your power source that makes you:
✅ Decisive and organized
✅ Strategic and intelligent
✅ Motivated and confident
✅ Passionate and courageous
But when Pitta slips out of balance (usually from overwork, overstimulation, competitiveness, or even the summer heat) you start to burn from the inside out.
🔥 How to Recognize Pitta Imbalance
Some common symptoms of imbalance in pitta are:
Irritability or quick temper (do you get hangry?😅)
Acid reflux, heartburn, or loose stools
Skin rashes or inflammation (eczema, anyone?)
Headaches or eye strain
Perfectionism, impatience, or burnout
Feeling overheated physically or emotionally
“I’ll rest when I’m done” mindset that never stops
This pattern of intensity and reactivity often reflects an out-of-balance Pitta. It is not a personal flaw, but an expression of your innate constitution needing recalibration.
💡 Why Balancing Pitta Matters (Even If You're Not The "Fiery" Energy Body Type)
Even if Pitta isn’t your dominant dohsa, you’re likely living in a Pitta-dominant culture — one that rewards productivity over pause, speed over stillness, and intensity over intuition.
When left unchecked, high Pitta leads to:
🧠 Mental Overdrive
You overanalyze, overwork, and can’t stop until it’s “perfect.”
🩺 Inflammation + Burnout
Your gut, skin, joints — even your mood — can become inflamed under persistent pressure.
👤 Disconnection from Self
You mistake performance for purpose. Achievement becomes your identity. You beat yourself so hard when you miss your high bar whilst others around you think you’re doing just great! (I cringe so hard writing this line because this was my issue for so many years!)
✨ The Spiritual Cost of Overdoing
Your Higher Self, the inner wisdom that guides with clarity, doesn’t yell: it whispers.
But in a mind fueled by urgency, perfectionism, and internal heat, those whispers are hard to hear.
Balancing Pitta creates the cool in which clarity can arise. It helps you discern what truly matters, so you can direct your fire and not be consumed by it.
🧯 Practical Ways to Cool and Soothe Pitta
This is not about quitting your job or taming your ambition. (Ask me who’s done this, lol!😅) Rather it’s about learning how to cool your fire without dimming your light.
❄️ Try these Pitta-balancing strategies:
🕓 Protect your pause: Block out 15–20 minutes midday for a calming meal. Avoid eating at your desk. Schedule it like any other meeting.
🧊 Cool your plate: Favor cooling, hydrating foods like cucumbers, coconut, mint, sweet fruits, and well-cooked grains. Avoid spicy, greasy, or sour foods when overheated.
☕ Swap the afternoon coffee: Try cool fennel or rose tea instead.
🌿 Use herbs that soothe: Aloe vera, coriander, fennel, and chamomile all help cool internal fire.
🧘🏾♀️ Prioritize mindfulness: Breathwork, meditation, journaling or slow walking after meals calms Pitta’s intensity. I started mindful walking during the pandemic. I just blocked off the lunch hour so no one could slide a meeting in there and took a 10-15 minute walk after meals most days. So freeing!
🪻 Lower the lights: Harsh light and blue screens aggravate Pitta. Dim the lights in the evening to help wind down.
📱 Digital detox: Try a tech curfew by 9 PM for a few days. Notice how quickly your mind softens.
Want a cooling tea recipe or spice blend for Pitta season? Let me know — I’ll share one next.
🧭 The Wisdom of Knowing When to Cool Down
Just as too little fire leaves us cold and stuck, too much fire burns what we’re building.
When we balance Pitta, we don’t just avoid burnout — we become masterful directors of our inner power.
We stop reacting, and start responding.
We create from clarity, not compulsion.
That’s the wisdom your Higher Self holds.
💌 What’s Coming Next
In the final post of this series, hopefully tomorrow – if the hospital census permits – we’ll meet the steady, earthy energy of Kapha — the dosha that teaches us how to anchor, nourish, and sustain.
Until then, take what resonates, leave the rest, and keep tending your flame wisely. Remember, it’s not about perfection. It’s about consistent, conscious care. So pick one small shift that spoke to you today and try it out for a week or two. See how it feels. Let it land.
To your healing,
Dr. Tokunbo Akande
PS: Is there a fiery, driven, sometimes-burnt-out Pitta in your life? Feel free to forward this their way — a little insight (and a lot of cooling) might be just what they need right now.
