Zoa and Christine Gordon, Clinical Herbalist at Bloom Herbal Clinic, dive into the fiery world of the Pitta Dosha in Ayurveda, where we learn that Pitta is all about that spark of life! Picture this: a blend of fire and water, not just cooking up a storm but also transforming our lives. Pitta folks are the go-getters, the ones who get things done with their sharp minds and fiery spirits. But hold on, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows! With that fire comes a tendency towards anger and jealousy if not balanced. Our hosts share some fun insights on how to identify a Pitta personality, from their moderate frame to that rosy glow of their skin. We even get to chuckle about the 'pain in the ass' side of being a Pitta—trust me, they’re the ones who’ll call you out and motivate you to reach for the stars! So, grab your cool cucumber drink, sit back, and enjoy this vibrant chat about harnessing that fiery energy for good!

Let’s take a trip into the balancing act of life with Pitta dosha! Zoa and Christine explore how this fiery energy, while motivating, can lead to some emotional rollercoasters. They discuss the importance of balance between fire and water in a Pitta person’s life, emphasizing that too much fire can lead to feelings of anger and irritation. The duo shares how to recognize these traits in ourselves and others, and the importance of cooling down both physically and emotionally. Christine, with her herbalist background, shares tips on how to calm that Pitta fire with foods and practices that promote balance. It’s a delightful mix of humor and wisdom as they discuss the fun quirks of Pitta personalities and how we can all appreciate our fiery friends a little more. So, if you’ve ever felt that spark ignite inside you or in someone else, this episode is a must-listen for navigating that fiery journey!

In this enlightening episode, Zoa and Christine unpack the intricacies of the Pitta dosha, focusing on how it manifests in our daily lives. Pitta, often seen as the driving force behind ambition and leadership, can also bring challenges like digestive issues and emotional imbalances. The conversation flows from personality traits to physical characteristics, painting a vivid picture of a Pitta individual—think sharp, determined, and at times, a little too fiery! Christine highlights the importance of understanding these traits, not only for self-awareness but also for better relationships with those who embody the Pitta energy. With humorous anecdotes and relatable insights, they remind us to appreciate the Pitta’s sharp tongue and keen intellect, while also encouraging balance with calming practices. Whether you’re a Pitta yourself or just know one, this episode is packed with laughter and valuable advice on how to harness that fiery energy in a positive way!

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Find Christine Gordon:

Bloom Herbal Clinic (bloomherbalclinic.com)

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/christineinbloom/

Find Zoa:

Zen and Vitality with Zoa (zenandvitality.com)

Intentional Vitality Retreats (intentional-vitality.com)

Music Credit goes to Lemon Music Studio at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4XWZhZ32YrVV5lvpF7cr1E?si=tnbSklR7SJyPNKiHP4MbHA

Welcome to Sustain youn Vitality, the podcast that gives you a nurturing kick in the ass so you can take action every day to feel better, not older.

Your lifestyle holds the power to change how you feel.

And no matter your age or health issues, you are in the driver's seat.

I'm your host, Zoa Connor, functional wellness guide at Zen and Vitality with Zoa and retreat leader at Intentional Vitality Retreats.

I'm here to help you figure out how to lower your stress, increase your energy, put yourself into a healing state, boost your drive and pleasure in life, prevent disease, and feel the best that you ever have with no regrets later.

Let's go.

And I'm delighted to share Christine Gordon with you for these conversations.

Christine, would you like to introduce yourself?

Hello and thank you, SOA for having me today.

I am a clinical herbalist by training with a focus on ayurvedic medicine and traditional wise woman and Western herbalism.

I have a clinical practice here in La Plate in Maryland, and I've been practicing herbalism for about professionally on my own, in my own business for a couple of years, but in general for about 20 years.

Fabulous.

Well, let's get to our conversation then.

So today Christine and I are talking about the pitta dosha, also known as a spark of life.

Right.

Fire.

Fire.

And also sometimes the other definition of pitta.

Right.

Pain in the ass.

Because they're so fiery and energetic and speak their mind.

I don't know anyone like that at all.

All.

By the way.

I have a very dear pitta friend, I would say.

Do you now?

Excellent.

Everyone needs a good pitta friend.

It's the one that gives you a kick in the ass if they're willing to share their energy with you.

It's so true.

And not just fire, but water.

And when I think about pitta, water doesn't always come up right, because we associate it with this fire, but water.

And why is water important, especially in relationship with a pitta friend or a closer relationship with a pitta person, is because that water is movement, just like fire is transformative.

We tend to burn things up and start over and make room for new regrowth.

Water in the same way, washes over us, allows us a clean slate.

So I don't want to forget about the water element in pitta as well.

Yeah.

And sometimes you think about water and fire as being opposites.

And I think within a pitta strong person, it's really important that they make use of both of those elements.

Yes.

In order to feel like they're balanced and whole.

Because if they're too fiery and not watery enough, they're not going to feel good.

No.

Then we get into those emotions that we'll talk about.

Well, let's just start with emotions then.

Yeah.

So pitta imbalance, I should say, has emotional tendencies of anger and jealousy and sometimes even hatred.

You know, they are pretty intense.

The upside of that is they're usually pretty smart, usually very smart, very sharp.

They can be good orators.

They like to.

They can lead a conversation.

They're really good, often ambitious leaders.

Right.

Because they've got that fire, they've got that energy to get things done.

In relation to.

We talked about the vata dosha being the creative person with the ideas.

The best person to execute those ideas are the pitta dosha person.

They are going to get things done.

They've got a strong, strong desire to get things done.

High amount of energy, and they're ready to do the job.

So they've got the energy and the drive to make it happen.

And they have enough stamina to make it happen.

Usually.

Usually.

And they're pretty smart.

Right.

But they're not as creative and inspired, shall we say, as someone who is stronger with their vata dosha.

No, they.

They definitely tend to lean toward the movement piece, you know, moving things, making things happen.

Making things happen, yes.

Yeah.

And so when you look at a person at the store or walking down the street, can you tell that they are strong in their pitta dosha?

How would I determine that?

I probably would look at their frame, their body.

Typically, their frame and body weight are moderate.

Right.

They're not one to say there's a magic word here.

Right.

They're kind of in the middle of everything.

Exactly.

They are in the middle.

Right.

They usually are more oily people than dry people.

Right.

You're going to see that they're not super dry.

They typically have, you know, not.

Not oily in the yucky way.

But their hair is not dry for sure.

Right.

They're.

They've got oily, usually soft, nice hair and skin.

Pink and pink and rosy skin.

Right.

Pink and rosy skin.

Yes.

Which means if they're too fiery, that pink kind of becomes red.

Kind of becomes red.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right.

But just walking on the street, that's how I would probably guess.

Like a.

In the middle, moderate kind of person has the tendency to get red.

Their skin is not dry.

It's usually really pretty skin.

Nice skin in terms of an encounter, a conversation, right off the bat.

Intense.

Yeah.

Typically you will find that the pitta dosha is a little aggressive.

Aggressive and intelligent.

Easily irritated.

Right.

Very sharp mind and memory.

And they could be kind of cutting, you know, with their speech.

Yeah.

They don't tend to think about things before they speak.

Again, don't know anyone like that at all.

However, angular and pointy is another word, another way.

I think about people who are strong with their pitta.

Right.

And it could be features.

Features as angular and pointy.

Even the shape of their tongue a little more on the pointy side.

Definitely.

But also their words and their actions.

Yeah.

And their gaze, their.

Their physical gaze with their eyes sometimes is.

You can tell it's a sharp, penetrating gaze as opposed to vata dosha was looking all over the place, you know.

Right.

So if we wanted to kind of think about this in terms of like an animal that is strong in pitta.

Right.

If you could think about like a hawk.

Right.

Like pointy beak.

Yes.

Right.

Fast.

Fast.

Yeah.

Right.

Sharp eyes.

Right.

Those are all very pitta associated behaviors.

Yeah.

Sharp is a really good adjective to use when describing pitta all the way around.

Yeah.

And sharp can be good.

Oh, definitely.

Yeah.

Who wants to cut a butternut squash with a dull knife?

Exactly.

No one.

Right.

But too sharp and it.

And it hurts.

Yeah, exactly.

And this is where we work to create balance as wellness practitioners.

Right.

We share the knowledge and then we work with people to help create balance.

Right.

And oftentimes people with pitta have digestive troubles.

Yeah.

Well, there's lots of heat, and that sometimes means inflammation.

Right.

So then you get into the gerd, acid reflux digestive disorder, which can be balanced with cooling, calming foods and herbs.

But yeah, typically if someone is suffering from heartburn, there's a pitta imbalance there.

Right.

And it might just be that the heartburn is a symptom, which is easy to explain as this is suboptimal.

Whereas, you know.

No, I had lots of justification for being easy to anger.

Exactly.

Right.

That can't possibly be my fault.

That must be everyone that I spoke to today.

Right.

Well, it's a balance.

Right.

It's a balance of activity, stagnation and harmony.

Right.

And it's also a balance between the emotional and the physical.

Yes.

Mind in the body.

And so if somebody felt like they were too watery as a pitta, is that possible?

I think so.

I.

I think that's when you see a pitta looking like, I know what I'm supposed to do, but I really want to do something else.

What else could that look like?

Probably would look like too much heat and too much fluid in the digestive tract.

So we're talking about diarrhea, right?

Something like that.

That's hot water.

Heat in the body, Too much water in the body.

So there are ways that water does show up.

And pitta with water, not as much as fire, I don't think, but there you can definitely see it.

You can see it in the pitta.

They tend to have eyes.

When you look at a person who's primarily pitta dosha, in addition to their sharp, penetrating eyes, you might see a little bit of yellow and their eyes are sometimes watery when there's a little bit of off balance.

And like you said, the tongue, when the tongue is pointy like that, when it's pointy and dry, you know, there's way, way, way too much heat in the body.

Pointy and wet.

That shows a little bit more balance.

Excess saliva, too much water in the pitta dosha.

And it could also go back to whether or not they can apply their energy, a drive.

Exactly right.

So what else do you think we should know about pittas right now?

I think I would like to change the narrative and appreciate pitta people more.

I think this is another good takeaway from this conversation.

Right.

If you have that friend or lover or family member who is quick to anger or quick to speak with a sharp tongue, you have an understanding of why these people may be the way they are and maybe think about the good things about this intelligence and sharp tongue.

Right.

I mean, they typically have something really useful to say.

There might be times in your life when you want to hear them more than others.

Exactly right.

But I would say to value the pitta person and their knowledge and their willingness to share it.

And also, let's be part of the balancing, right?

You can always let your pitta friend know, hey, this is great information.

Your delivery stinks, but this is great information, right?

Absolutely.

Let's have some cucumbers together to cool your jets.

Let's sit under a tree.

Exactly right.

Well, I really enjoyed our conversation, Christine.

Do you want to let people know how they can find you and learn about all of the wonderful things that you help people with?

That would be great.

Thank you so much, Zoa.

You can find me online at my website, bloomherbalclinic.com b l o o m bloomeherbalclinic.com you can check out my musings on Instagram at christineinbloom and you can find me on Facebook at christineandbloom as well.

Great.

Thanks, Christine.

Thank you Zoa.

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All the podcast things planning, recording, editing, producing have all been done by me, Zoa Khan, PhD.

Even though you can call me doctor, I'm not a medical professional and your safety is your responsibility.

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Zen and Vitality with Zoa are not responsible for any injuries or issues that may occur.

This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical, wellness, nutrition, lifestyle or movement and fitness advice.

Always practice any fitness or movement related activities in a safe environment.

I make no claims about the effectiveness of the techniques or protocols discussed for you or any specific results that you may achieve.

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