Ayurveda Tips for Kids in Summer: How to Rejuvenate and Stay Healthy

 

Ayurveda Tips for Kids in Summer: How to Rejuvenate and Stay Healthy

Summer is a season of joy, fun, and abundance. Kids love to play outdoors, enjoy ice creams, and soak up the sun. But summer also brings some challenges for their health and well-being. The heat, humidity, and pollution can cause dehydration, sunburn, rashes, infections, and irritability. How can we help our kids stay cool and healthy in summer? Ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine from India, offers some practical and natural tips to balance the body and mind in this season.

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is a holistic approach to health that considers the individual’s constitution, environment, diet, lifestyle, and mental state. According to Ayurveda, there are three doshas or energies that govern our physiology and psychology: vata (air and ether), pitta (fire and water), and kapha (earth and water). Each of us has a unique combination of these doshas that determines our physical and mental characteristics.

In summer, the pitta dosha predominates in nature and in our bodies. Pitta is responsible for digestion, metabolism, intelligence, courage, and ambition. It also regulates body temperature, skin color, vision, and blood quality. When pitta is balanced, we feel energetic, enthusiastic, sharp, and confident. When pitta is aggravated by excess heat, we may experience inflammation, acidity, anger, jealousy, impatience, and frustration.

How to Balance Pitta in Summer?

To balance pitta in summer, we need to follow some simple Ayurvedic principles:

• Eat cooling foods that are sweet, bitter, and astringent in taste. These include leafy greens, coconut, cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon, yoghurt, milk, ghee (clarified butter), cilantro, parsley, alfalfa sprouts, etc. Avoid spicy foods that are sour, salty or pungent in taste. These include chillies, garlic, onion, vinegar, pickles, mustard, etc.
• Drink plenty of water and coconut water to stay hydrated and replenish electrolytes. You can also add a squeeze or several slices of lime to your water for a refreshing taste and a cooling effect. Lime helps to stimulate sadhaka pitta, an energetic principle that lifts the mood and promotes creativity.
• Avoid excessive sun exposure and wear protective clothing, a hat, and sunscreen when going outdoors. If you get sunburned, apply aloe vera gel or fresh cilantro juice on the affected area to soothe the skin.
• Practice gentle yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises to calm the mind and cool the body. Avoid vigorous exercise or sports that can increase body heat and cause dehydration or exhaustion.
• Use aromatherapy to create a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere at home or work. You can dab sandalwood essential oil on your temples, eyebrow centre, throat centre, wrists, and belly button. Sandalwood has a sweet fragrance that pacifies pitta and enhances spiritual awareness.
• Sleep on your right side to open your left nostril, which corresponds to the ida nadi, the subtle energy channel that relates to the cooling moon. You can also go to bed a little later on summer nights, around 11 p.m., when some of the sun’s heat has dissipated.

Benefits of Ayurveda for Kids

By following these ayurvedic tips for kids in summer, you can help them enjoy the season without compromising their health and happiness. Ayurveda can also offer many other benefits for kids,

such as:

• Boosting their immunity and preventing common ailments like colds, allergies, and infections.
• Improving their digestion and metabolism and preventing issues like constipation, diarrhea, or acidity.
• Enhancing their learning ability and memory by nourishing their brain cells and improving their concentration.
• Supporting their growth and development by providing them with balanced nutrition and proper sleep.
• Cultivating their emotional intelligence and resilience by teaching them how to cope with stress, anger, and anxiety.
• Fostering their creativity and joy by encouraging them to express themselves through art, music, dance, or play.

Ayurveda is not only a system of medicine but also a way of life that can help us live in harmony with ourselves, others, and nature. By introducing ayurveda to our kids at an early age, we can instill in them a lifelong habit of wellness and happiness.