Cooling Rituals I Return to Every Summer

A little Ayurvedic support for when the heat (outside or inside) gets to be too much.

What I love about Ayurveda is how it offers soft, steady support—without asking me to overhaul my life or escape the seasons. Summer is fire season. Pitta season. It brings light, vitality, clarity… and also intensity. And if I’m not careful, I start to feel it: hot, impatient, overstimulated, restless in my body and skin.

So each year—without fail—I come back to a few rituals that feel like my personal version of shade on a hot day. They don’t require much. Just a little awareness, a little love, and a few ingredients from nature that speak to the body in a language older than words.

🌿 Fresh Mint Room-Temp WaterI keep a mason jar or pitcher of water with fresh mint leaves on the counter. Not chilled. Just room temp. I sip it throughout the day as a quiet way to cool from within. Mint isn’t just refreshing—it actually helps calm excess Pitta in the digestive tract and mind. For me, it’s like an herbal exhale. Simple, but effective.

🌹 Rose Hydrosol on My Face + CrownI carry a little bottle of rose water with me almost everywhere in the summer. When the heat rises—internally or externally—I mist my face, the top of my head, the back of my neck. Rose is known in Ayurveda for its cooling, soothing effect on both the skin and the heart. Sometimes it’s less about the temperature outside, and more about the emotional heat we carry. Rose reminds me to soften.

🧴 Post-Shower Cooling OilsAfter my shower, I apply one of three oils, depending on what my body needs:

1000x Churned Ghee – deeply nourishing and cooling on a cellular level; especially lovely if my skin feels dry but hot.

Aloe Vera Oil – this is what I reach for when my skin feels irritated or sensitive. Aloe is naturally soothing and anti-inflammatory.

Coconut Oil – light, cooling, and calming for both Pitta skin and Pitta moods. I especially like it when applied after an early evening shower, before I unwind for the night.

Each of these oils has its own personality, its own relationship to the skin and the nervous system. Some days I choose intuitively. Some days I mix them. What matters is the ritual itself—touching the body with care, offering it what it needs to stay cool, calm, and held.

These are small things. But they add up.I don’t believe we need to push ourselves through summer or pretend we don’t feel the effects of the sun, the schedule, the overstimulation. Instead, I offer my body a little peace. A little softness. A little shade.

If you're feeling the heat too—on your skin, in your belly, in your heart—maybe one of these will support you. Or maybe it will remind you to slow down and find your own version of cool.

With warmth (but not too much 😉),

Amy