Dosha determines body type, temperament, and tendencies; and what kinds of ailments we are prone to - should we let our dosha govern us. Health comes in heeding the needs and liabilities of our particular body type - our dosha. Paying attention to our schedules, surroundings, habits, company, and the kinds of foods we eat gives advantage. Balance, vitality, and creativity come through a conscious, focused lifestyle that optimizes who we are.
In Ayurveda there are three main doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Foods and lifestyle habits create different energetic effects on each dosha, and the key is to adopt habits that nourish and balance your particular type.
There is no one cookie-cutter medicine or lifestyle for everyone because our constitutions are so variable, diverse, and unique. This is where modern medicine went completely wrong. But by attending to imbalances in our own body systems (or “derangements” in ayurvedic terms), we learn to act and live according to our true nature, avoid common pathologies, and self-optimize. Let’s take a brief look at doshas - peel off the top layer, so to speak - and if it gets too heady - which medical cosmology could - we’ll pause there to process what resonates for us.
Knowing our individual dosha is a good solid place to start.
Some people are always cold, nervous and jittery; some run hot and firey; others are sluggish and heavy. Imagine this continuum: the VATA people are endomorphic (thin and wiry), quick-minded (but people misinterpret creative genius for lunacy) and tend feel cold; PITTA runs hot and tend to be red-faced, excitable, and goal driven, with mesomorphic builds; then there’s KAPHA, the ectomorph, prone to fluid issues (edema, depression, water weight, sinus) yet the ultimate nurturers, settling down right in place with plentiful snacks for all.
Usually, our dosha will combine some two of the three above.
The dilemma is this: we tend to push our dosha into excess with foods and behaviors that aggravate it, usually things we crave constantly and unconscious habits we developed throughout life.
For each of us, one particular dosha will dominate, yet most of us are some combination of the three. We instinctually gravitate toward what our bodies have always known best, especially in times of stress, and perpetuate imbalance and illness ourselves by overdoing certain activities and foods.
Here’s a peek at Ayurveda’s world view for your exploration
VATA’s main element is fast moving wind. Vatas are generally smaller boned and thinner bodied, and more sensitive to cold and wind (and all fast moving energies in the universe, including other peoples’s neurotic thoughts). Vata can go so fast that it’s easy for them to spin out, but vata is the energy of creative inspiration that when grounded and channeled becomes great power. Vatas need physical exercise to get back into their bodies, but not to go so fast they burn themselves out. Slow measured movement and breath is the best and hardest medicine for them to take.
This type does best to avoid dry flaky food like popcorn and chips, stick to moist nourishing cooked meals like soups and stews, and emphasize hydration through plentiful water, herbal tea and healthy oils. Vata energy is dry, windy, erratic, and runs cool to cold. Vatas need regular schedules with down-time built in, extra layers of warm clothing, calming meditations, and no icy winds or icy cold drinks. Ghee is a restorative nerve tonic for Vata, and is highly recommended daily to help counter stress and rebuild worn tissue. Self massage with oil, or Abhyanga, is an essential restorative practice for Vatas.
PITTA’s main element is fire; these people run hot, and do best with cooling diets (no hot spices like garlic, onions, ginger, red pepper, and no nightshades) and moderate schedules (they push too hard already, and it strains their hearts leading to irritability and hypertension). Cool cucumber water and long slow deep breaths helps to balance this type: and if they are willing, cooling pranayamas like nadi shodana left nostril breathing and sitali breath. Physical exercise is good for Pitta because it helps them burn off steam, but it is recommended they avoid overworking themselves (endless marathon training with no recovery days off) or pushing their limits under the hot sun.
KAPHA’s elements are water and earth, which forms mud. Kaphas are full bodied, sedentary by nature, and prone to edema, varicosities, and weight gain. Their dietary pitfalls are heavy foods like dairy, fats, carbohydrates and sweets. These create conditions of stagnancy such as weight gain, edema in the legs and feet, constipation, mucus, and phlegm. Kaphas are gentle nurturing types. Kapha derangements (imbalances) involve fluid retention and difficulty with blood sugar regulation. They benefit greatly from stimulation: peppy exercise and movement (which is hard for their cave bear natures); and stimulating spices like black pepper, hot pepper and chili powder; plus warm lemon water and cleansing herbs to wake digestion and circulation and purify their blood.
As long as root causes remain unconscious within us, we are never free.
By tuning into our doshas and the more subtle layers of ourselves, self-awareness deepens, along with our confidence and practical knowledge of self-care. With attention to body constitutions - how we are built - we can neutralize our cravings and thrive. Ayurveda, like any branch of Yoga, fosters harmony and connection within. And since our brains are energetically interconnected, and our thoughts influence the whole of Creation, imagine an entire culture consciously creating balance, coherence, and peace by how we live. We have more to gain than we can even know from Ayurveda, India’s sacred science, and there;’s no time to waste!