“I feel like calling my mother to let her know that she gave birth to a raging Pitta,” was the first thought through my head at the end of our third session yoga class oriented toward balancing pittas. Every single describing detail,  comment or piece of advice that Jackie offered, I was like “oh my, that’s me.” At the end, it was hard to keep from laughing. It was one of those moments when “I” make sense. God, it was beautiful. The advice about moderation, balance, even “look at the horizons” for balance has all come out of my poor mother’s mouth who is not about yoga at all. She was just trying to raise a Pitta daughter.

We talked about how Pitta’s, in balance, are the leading, headstrong types that enjoy challenges and constantly push themselves to the next level. They love to learn. They are extremely focused and determined. They are the strongest dosha, but the one with the worst reputation. If a Pitta is not balanced, her head is all over the place unless there is something to focus on, and she has a tendency toward frustration and anger. Suddenly, the practice we had Friday with the Yin all makes sense. I was raging! Everyone else was placidly calm, and I felt like exploding. Jackie says that is the moving out of it. I felt better at the second and third Yin practices. An out of balance Pitta also tends toward perfectionism, which was a struggle all throughout high school and my early years of college. Pittas can also be demanding, pushy, and controlling….oops…

I hate when people push me because I am already pushing myself more than they probably would imagine; their pushing threatens to tip me over the edge and cause frustration and, well, rage. Yikes! She says that the saying goes to make “Kaphas your enemy” as they tend to be unmotivated and contented, and can really use a good push (making militant style Bikram great for them). The saying ends “and to make Pittas your friend” because they need no push at all.

I really appreciated when she explained what aggravated a Pitta. Pittas are incredibly sensitive to toxic substances like alcohol and medication. Given that one beer means drunk for Lia and two means crazy person and three..well, I imagine you get it. I have always shied away from medication and pharmaceuticals realizing how strongly my body reacts to them and coming to understand that often I can take half the dosage of the average does and feel the same or more affected!

Pittas become aggravated by excessive heat. Pittas are supposed to be “hot”. Well, I feel like my limbs are always cold in cold weather; I am not very self heating. However, when I am cold, it is just uncomfortable, something to complain about. However, when I am too hot, as I have experience here in Costa Rica during mid dry season, I am raging. I am angry! It’s insane. Cold is uncomfortable but heat ellicits this incredibly emotional response. I cool down, and I feel like a completely different person!

I sincerely appreciated the chance to discover myself and realize that if people thousands of years ago categorized human beings this way between Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, there is no way that I am the only one like this. There have been people around me dealing with all of this for thousands of years! I found this comforting and hopeful as I hope to cultivate the positive, focused, and determined energy of being a Pitta while at the same time keeping moderation, balance, and gentleness top priorities as well.