If you’re anywhere under the heat dome sitting over much of the world right now, you already know this summer is testing everyone’s cool. Record temperatures, warm nights that don’t let you recover, and heat advisories stacking up week after week.
Here’s what I want you to know as an Ayurvedic Health Coach: how you feel in this heat is predictable, and you can do something about it.
Why Heat Affects More Than Your Body
In Ayurveda, summer is Pitta season. Pitta is the energy of fire: heat, intensity, drive, sharp focus. If you’re a paddler, you have some Pitta in you, trust me. It’s what fuels your ambition on the water.
Ayurveda works on a simple principle: like increases like. When the environment is already hot, adding more heat through spicy food, midday workouts, alcohol, and packed schedules pushes Pitta out of balance. And a heat dome is Pitta overload on a national scale.
Too much heat shows up as:
- Burnout and low energy
- Skin and eye irritation
- Digestive distress
- Hot emotions like anger, frustration and irritability
If you’ve noticed a shorter fuse lately, it’s not just you. It’s the season. The good news is that the opposite principle also works: cooling inputs restore balance.
Try these tips for staying cool and calm through the heat:
1.Drink delicious infused water
When you feel overheated, drink water flavored with cooling foods like cucumber, mint, lime, watermelon and pomegranate.
This is easy to make yourself. Fill a carafe with water in the morning. Slice half a cucumber and a lime, add fresh mint leaves, and let it all sit in the water. Enjoy it throughout the day.
You can even fill a water bottle with this infusion and some ice to take on the river. Hydration matters even more when overnight temperatures stay high, because your body never gets a full break from managing heat.
2.Moon and Star Bathe
Balance your sun exposure with moon bathing. Yes, moon bathing is a real practice, and it’s deeply cooling and calming.
When the moon is half full to full, find a spot where you can sit comfortably and soak in the moonlight. In Ayurveda, moonlight is considered one of the most cooling influences available to us.
This practice settles the mind and works beautifully as a summer bedtime routine. When the heat makes sleep restless, moon bathing helps you wind down and drop into deeper, more restful sleep.
One of my personal favorite summer routines is taking a shower outside (in our outdoor shower) right before bed to gaze at the stars and the moon. It’s such a calming and cooling way to wind down the day.
3.Exercise in the morning
Ever notice that when you exercise in the heat of the day you feel depleted afterward? You may even feel grumpy, especially if you went out to blow off steam and ended up overheating instead.
Exercising in peak heat adds fire to fire. It increases inflammation in your body and hot emotions in your mind. During a heat dome, this effect is amplified because the “cool” parts of the day are warmer than usual.
Move first thing in the morning instead. A good morning session leaves you invigorated and energized, with the rest of the day to create and enjoy.
4.Cool Off Your Diet
Clients have described their summer digestive distress to me as cramping, loose stool and urgent bathroom trips. When I ask what they’ve been eating, the list almost always includes hot, spicy food.
Summer is not the season for spicy foods, excess alcohol, red meat and other heating foods. It’s already hot outside. Your body doesn’t need more fire on the inside.
To optimize your digestion, feel comfortable after you eat, and boost your energy, enjoy cooling and light foods like:
- Cucumber, cilantro and melon
- Avocado, coconut and pomegranate
- Berries and beets
- Broccoli, kale, lettuce and sprouts
- Summer squash
- Yogurt, basmati rice and chickpeas
These foods keep your body and your mind cool and refreshed all summer.
5.Rest and Replenish
Feeling hot-headed and needing to blow off steam?
Instead of reaching for a cocktail after work or pushing through a midday workout, try a relaxation practice. Take 5 minutes to meditate, belly breathe, or even nap. It cools the mind and settles the nervous system.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a busy schedule and your (over) commitments, a few minutes of intentional rest each day gives your system what it’s actually asking for.
6.Get Out and Paddle!
The perfect antidote to summer heat? Cool water. 
This is the optimal season for all things water related. Get out on your favorite waterway and have fun. Even low flows can be refreshing.
If you can’t get on the water, a cool shower or ice bath works too. Cold water strengthens the mind, lowers inflammation and cools everything down.
What Happens to All That Heat in the Fall?
Here’s something most people don’t realize: the heat you accumulate over the summer doesn’t just disappear when the temperature drops. In Ayurveda, imbalances build over a season and tend to surface in the transition to the next one. A summer of heat dome living can show up in the fall as lingering inflammation, depleted energy, scattered focus and habits that slipped while you were just trying to get through.
That’s exactly why I host the Reboot and Refuel Fall Reset October 12-16,2026.
Over 5 guided days, plus 3 weeks of integration calls, you’ll:
- Learn the foundations of Ayurveda and discover your unique constitution
- Release the accumulated heat and depletion of summer
- Reset your daily habits with practices that actually fit your life
- Cook nourishing plant-based meals with recipes and shopping lists provided
- Regulate your nervous system and reconnect with the rhythm of the season
This reset is about nourishment and support. No extreme diets, no unsustainable rules. Just you, a clear structure, and a community of paddlers and adventurers rebalancing together.
You’re navigating the heat now. Give yourself the reset on the other side of it.
Click Here to learn more, and join the Reboot and Refuel Fall Reset this October
Stay cool out there. 😎
