The fire within: Pitta doṣa, the power of transformation

In my last blog post, you learned how your observational skills can help identify clients who have a lot of vāta (airy quality) and some of the signs that indicate vāta aggravation. In this blog post, you’ll learn the attributes of pitta doṣa and what pitta aggravation looks like so you can factor what you see into your therapeutic recommendations. 

Pitta combines the elements of fire and water. Intuitively, you can probably guess at the qualities that define these two elements. Let’s consider them by, once again taking you on another hike, this time to see the lava flow on one of Hawaii’s active volcanoes. The air is moist and warm as you begin your ascent. Almost immediately, sweat beads on your forehead, under your arms, and runs in rivulets down your back. As you emerge onto the volcanic rock, you feel a blast of hot air, as if you’d opened an oven set to 500 degrees. You catch a faint whiff of sulfur that’s sharp and penetrating. And there’s the lava–glowing bright orange and red and spreading, thick and lazy, over the black rock, devouring everything in its path.

Hot, sharp, spreading, oily, liquid, and light (as in bright)–these are the qualities of the fiery doṣa, aka pitta. Pitta is responsible for metabolism and transformation–not just of food, but of our entire lived experience, including our thoughts, emotions, and what we take in through our senses. Here’s how you’ll see pitta’s qualities show up in clients.

Let’s start with physical attributes: does your client have a ruddy complexion and tend to blush easily? Are they wearing a t-shirt when it’s near freezing outside? Do they break a sweat with very little physical effort? These are all signs of hot, spreading, liquid and oily qualities. Your pitta-dominant clients will likely report having a hearty appetite, even a tendency to get “hangry” if they don’t eat. Their digestion is strong and they often gain or lose weight easily. “Medium” is the adjective that best describes a typical pitta-dominant body. These are folks with a medium build, bone structure, and musculature–they’re athletic and often enjoy competitive, aggressive sports. You might find more than a few hints of sharpness in their features–a pointed nose, a well-defined chin, a widow’s peak, or almond-shaped eyes. And those eyes are often a bright green or a light blue, sensitive to sunlight, with a gaze that can be intense, almost piercing (there’s sharp quality again). 

Sharpness can also show up as a “no-nonsense” attitude in pitta-dominant types–these are the clients who give you precise and very clear answers to intake questions. They’re articulate, bright, clever, sometimes skeptical, and enjoy challenging authority and expertise, perhaps even yours. You rarely run the risk of an intake going long–if anything, you might feel like your pitta client has a long to-do list on which their appointment with you is just one of many things they expect to accomplish that day. They often know what they want and bring determination, passion, and focus to just about every aspect of their lives. When in balance, pitta-dominant clients are ambitious (another example of spreading quality), organized, and confident. They bring their powerful intellect and problem-solving skills into their work—think pitta when a client reports spending long hours at their jobs and seeks perfection. Pitta-dominant clients often think that their way of doing things is both the best and the right way, and they may not have a lot of interest in what others think. They make great teachers, and are natural leaders in business and government–every politician has a hefty dose of pitta in them!

But when hot and sharp qualities are aggravated, your pitta-dominant clients may report losing their tempers, or getting frustrated, angry, irritable, and feeling more than just a little impatient. They may come across as arrogant or demanding, and they’ll be quick to judge and criticize and to lay blame outside themselves. You may notice that your pitta-dominant clients often compare themselves to others and can fall prey to jealousy, envy, and dissatisfaction. Be on the lookout for these kinds of emotions–they emerge when pitta is out of balance. And those sharp cognitive abilities coupled with drive may lead pitta dominant clients to stay up late trying to get things done and make it difficult for them to fall asleep when their heads finally hit the pillow–their brains are still on fire and continuing to problem solve. 

Physiologically, too much heat and sharpness combine to create irritation and inflammation. A client who comes to you with a diagnosis ending in “itis” most likely has excess pitta on board, since “itis” means inflammation. Typical internal manifestations of aggravated pitta include ulcers, gastritis, acid reflux, colitis, IBS, heartburn–really, any kind of burning sensation inside the body or on the skin, according to the Charaka Samhitā. Excess pitta can show up as a skin rash–e.g., hives, eczema, urticaria– and as hair loss. Remember the sulfurous smell of the volcano? When a client has smelly feet and sweat, it’s a sure sign that pitta is out of balance, as is a report of frequent, loose stools that are soft and oily. 

Take a moment now and think about some of your clients. Does anyone come to mind who seems, by nature, to have a lot of fiery qualities in them? Does anyone come to mind for whom fire seems to be in excess? And then recall that we are all reflections of what is going on in the larger macrocosm: is it summertime? If it is, your clients’ pitta qualities may increase. And of course, your client may be consuming foods that feed the fire within (think fermented foods like alcohol, sharp cheeses, and chili peppers) and pursuing lifestyle choices that do the same, e.g. highly competitive sports and hot yoga.
You now have some ideas of how airy and fiery attributes (vāta and pitta doṣa) may present in your clients. In my next blog post, I’ll introduce you to the last of the three doṣas: kapha, or earthy quality. And in the final blog post of this series, we’ll look at how you might take some of what you see and hear into the recommendations you make to your clients.

Check out Lisa’s Real-Life Case Studies video series, available exclusively to Sequence Wiz members. Learn more about Case Studies at Sequence Wiz >)

---

About Lisa

---