An elegantly simple herbal remedy for Pitta excess is Rose. Rose is cooling and relaxing; just think of your feelings when smelling a deep red rose on a late June night under the moon. If you have never had that experience, its not too late to start.
Walk into any middle eastern market, whether Arab, Afghani, or Iranian, and you will find clear bottles of various waters, always Rose and Orange Blossom, and in the Iranian case others like Fenugreek, Cumin, Peppermint, and Dill.
They are the distilled by-product of the essential oil extraction process, in which, by a process of steam distillery, the essential oil is separated from the flowers, leaving as its by-product, scented water.
Why pay the body care dept. of your health food store high sums, when you can have a bottle of this stuff for 2-3 dollars?
In the summer, when its hot, and Pitta naturally elevates, particularly in San Diego’s hot dry Santa Ana conditions, when the air is in from the desert, and people’s become irritable, I like to splash rosewater about my face and neck. Sometimes I soak a cotton ball with it and cleanse my eyes. Agni comes to the surface in the eyes, so cooling them with water or rose water, brings down Pitta.
But another nice thing is just to pour a couple of tablespoons of rosewater in 24oz of H20, and drink. In Chinese medicine, Rose is an herb for the Liver, which equates to Pitta in Ayurveda. Try a bottle, and see how you feel…
copyright eyton j. shalom, august 2010, all rights reserved, use with permission
Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diegohttps://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com