What's a Dosha?
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Ayurveda is so much more that just a trending alternative medicine. This science is based on ancient writings that rely on a holistic approach to physical and mental health. Thought to be more than a 5000-year old practice, Ayurvedic medicine teaches us to view the world as it relates to the elements of all creation - or doshas - the combination of the five elements of ether, air, fire, water, and earth. The unique combination of these elements make up the doshas—our personal constitutions at birth: vata, pitta, and kapha.
Simply, Ayurveda describes the doshas as governing elements that control life. Doshas are the decision-makers that govern the creation, maintenance, and even breakdown of bodily tissue, elimination of wastes, as well as psychological aspects of who we are in the world ie. mental health. The dance of the elementals is simple: when balanced, the doshas maintain the systems of the body; when only one of the doshas increases (due to certain diet and lifestyle habits) imbalance is created.
Remember, Ayurveda focuses on holistic health as its approach to balanced well-being is not a one-size-fits all! Being aware and having knowledge of the doshas can help you to restore harmony to areas that have lost balance. Beginning with nutrition, lifestyle changes, and daily habits it is easy to insert Ayurvedic supported practices into your life. While Ayurveda is very focused on overall health, it may use specific treatments for a wide range of diseases.
Determining your primary dosha is the first step towards finding your optimal state of balanced, natural health. If you don't know your own unique Ayurvedic body type please take The Mini Dosha Quiz now.
Simply, Ayurveda describes the doshas as governing elements that control life. Doshas are the decision-makers that govern the creation, maintenance, and even breakdown of bodily tissue, elimination of wastes, as well as psychological aspects of who we are in the world ie. mental health. The dance of the elementals is simple: when balanced, the doshas maintain the systems of the body; when only one of the doshas increases (due to certain diet and lifestyle habits) imbalance is created.
Remember, Ayurveda focuses on holistic health as its approach to balanced well-being is not a one-size-fits all! Being aware and having knowledge of the doshas can help you to restore harmony to areas that have lost balance. Beginning with nutrition, lifestyle changes, and daily habits it is easy to insert Ayurvedic supported practices into your life. While Ayurveda is very focused on overall health, it may use specific treatments for a wide range of diseases.
Determining your primary dosha is the first step towards finding your optimal state of balanced, natural health. If you don't know your own unique Ayurvedic body type please take The Mini Dosha Quiz now.
Let's Play i Spy A Dosha!
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Light & Airy VataLet's identify some vata-like qualities, shall we? Hands and feet always cold. May have a hard time gaining weight. Feelings of being scattered, even spaced out. Vata's suffer from occasional sleeplessness. Digestion may be slow and/or prone to gas constipation. If some or most of these qualities sound familiar, you or someone you know may be experiencing an imbalance. Check out the resources at the bottom of this page for more details.
Vata dosha is associated with the characteristics of wind and ether elements known to be light, chilly, airy, and dry in essence. This energetic dosha is linked with flexibility, creativity, and is a free-flowing spirit. |
You Know You're a vata if...
You know you're a Vata personality if you have to passionately express yourself!
Maybe your passion is for creative professions or the ingenuity of STEM research. As a Vata, you may be entertaining, dynamic, and enthusiastic leaning towards creativity, perception, sensitivity. Vatas make great actors, improvers, agile dancers/athletes, passionate writers. Thanks to your ingenuity and creativity, Vata types maybe predestined for artistic, scientific or creative professions!
Physical qualities of a Vata dominant
Are you tall or short with a thin frame (sometimes underdeveloped muscles), and prominent cheekbones? As a Vata you appreciate the ability to be agile and flexible. Cold environments are not your friend. Your skin may appear cracked or dry especially with the change of cooler seasons. The airy vata elements are associated with bodily movements such as breathing, muscle contraction, and supervise bodily processes like blood flow, elimination, breathing, and even the movement of your mental thinking. Wait, what? Yes, people with vata traits tend to be abstract thinkers!
Food and drinks to balance the vata dosha type
Okay Vatas, listen up! Put down the chips, crackers, snacky and bready foods, even the ice cream too! Experiencing slow, irregular? Are you prone to constipation? Relief can be found consuming foods and performing practices that are opposed to the Vata characteristics. Eating seasonally, Vata types will benefit from eating protein and fat, as well as warming foods that oppose the airy, cool vata element. Cracky joints benefit from incorporating high quality oils such as ghee and sesame oil into the diet. Grounding with warm, creamy drinks, eating root vegetables, and a variety of meats nourishes the vata diet leaning towards balance. Staying hydrated is super-important since Vata types are prone towards dryness.
Vata physical lifestyle in balance
The Vata elements oversee and therefore impact many vital elements of our bodies. An imbalance or aggravation of the Vata dosha can result in a variety of mental and physical ailments. A balanced vata lifestyle incorporates a holistic approach not just one but many aspects that contribute towards the whole person. Diet and nutrition has been lightly covered in this text. Strengthening and balancing exercises, performed on a regular basis, benefits the vata-type by gradually build-up core energy levels along with warming the body. Here are some physical activities that may benefit our Vata Peeps: yoga, dance, pilates-like movement, meditation, breath work, brisk walking (jogging or running), swimming are ideal.
Ideal yoga poses for balancing vata dosha
Feet and ankle warm-up
Writst stretch
Shoulder rotation
Thunderbolt
Mountain
Warrior 1 & 2
Wide legged forward fold
Tree
Supine pigeon
Supine spinal twist
Sun Salutation (warming sequence)
*Focus on the foundation of the pose to create stability.
Maybe your passion is for creative professions or the ingenuity of STEM research. As a Vata, you may be entertaining, dynamic, and enthusiastic leaning towards creativity, perception, sensitivity. Vatas make great actors, improvers, agile dancers/athletes, passionate writers. Thanks to your ingenuity and creativity, Vata types maybe predestined for artistic, scientific or creative professions!
Physical qualities of a Vata dominant
Are you tall or short with a thin frame (sometimes underdeveloped muscles), and prominent cheekbones? As a Vata you appreciate the ability to be agile and flexible. Cold environments are not your friend. Your skin may appear cracked or dry especially with the change of cooler seasons. The airy vata elements are associated with bodily movements such as breathing, muscle contraction, and supervise bodily processes like blood flow, elimination, breathing, and even the movement of your mental thinking. Wait, what? Yes, people with vata traits tend to be abstract thinkers!
Food and drinks to balance the vata dosha type
Okay Vatas, listen up! Put down the chips, crackers, snacky and bready foods, even the ice cream too! Experiencing slow, irregular? Are you prone to constipation? Relief can be found consuming foods and performing practices that are opposed to the Vata characteristics. Eating seasonally, Vata types will benefit from eating protein and fat, as well as warming foods that oppose the airy, cool vata element. Cracky joints benefit from incorporating high quality oils such as ghee and sesame oil into the diet. Grounding with warm, creamy drinks, eating root vegetables, and a variety of meats nourishes the vata diet leaning towards balance. Staying hydrated is super-important since Vata types are prone towards dryness.
Vata physical lifestyle in balance
The Vata elements oversee and therefore impact many vital elements of our bodies. An imbalance or aggravation of the Vata dosha can result in a variety of mental and physical ailments. A balanced vata lifestyle incorporates a holistic approach not just one but many aspects that contribute towards the whole person. Diet and nutrition has been lightly covered in this text. Strengthening and balancing exercises, performed on a regular basis, benefits the vata-type by gradually build-up core energy levels along with warming the body. Here are some physical activities that may benefit our Vata Peeps: yoga, dance, pilates-like movement, meditation, breath work, brisk walking (jogging or running), swimming are ideal.
Ideal yoga poses for balancing vata dosha
Feet and ankle warm-up
Writst stretch
Shoulder rotation
Thunderbolt
Mountain
Warrior 1 & 2
Wide legged forward fold
Tree
Supine pigeon
Supine spinal twist
Sun Salutation (warming sequence)
*Focus on the foundation of the pose to create stability.
Hot & Spicy Pitta!You know you're a Pitta if....have a medium build, live your best life during cool seasons or environments. You have experienced acne-prone skin at some point in life. You tend to be busy, high-achieving, and always on the move. Pitta's crave a moderate amount of sleep -maybe 5-8 hours per night. On the other hand, Pitta's may occasionally suffer from sleeplessness during periods of high mental activity. Your digestion is fiery and/or moderately higher than your fellow doshas. And yet, when out of balance, your digestion may be prone to acid reflux, gas, or indigestion. Pitta elements are associated with the characteristics of water and fire. A known to be liquid, warm/hot, sharp, and oily in essence.This energetic dosha is linked with fluidity, mobile, energetic, and is an ambitious spirit. A pitta imbalance, in-line with the dosha elemental makeup, can also lead to anger, even over-exertion and burnout due to high ideals. |
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Got some firey Pitta traits, do you?
The Pitta Personality
Pittas are great decision makers who can be a catalyst for change! This dosha is driven, ambitious and thrive under high pressure Some pitta dominants like to plan things in detail, even to perfection, with an expectation of perfection from others. They enjoy thinking things through, can be convincing and are influenced only by well-thought arguments. Pittas may appear confident as well as highly convincing personalities. Some ideal Pitta professions may be CEOs, Leaders, Managers, Operations, Athletes, Politics, Law, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Economics, Administration, Engineering, and Medicine.
Physical qualities of a Pitta dominant
Pitta controls heat, metabolism and transformation in the mind and body. In addition to this, it also controls how to digest foods, how to metabolize sensory perceptions and how to understand the difference between right and wrong.
Food and drinks to balance the pitta dosha type
Pitta controls the essential digestive fire of the body. Pitta people have a strong metabolism, good digestion, and strong appetites. They like plenty of food and liquids. They tend to love hot spices and cold drinks. A pitta constitution is balanced by sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. To remain a balanced pitta avoid hot, spicy, or fermented, and gravitate toward more cooling foods—especially in the summer months. Pitta-pacifying foods include cooling beverages such as sweet fruits, coconut water, and plenty of grains.
Pitta physical lifestyle in balance
The key to a harmonious pitta lifestyle is counterbalance of the oppositional elements of fire and water. Pitta physical activities that cool a fiery dosha include cooling activities like swimming, cold showers, boating, hiking or walking near a body of water.
Ideal yoga poses for balancing pitta dosha
Child's pose
Cat/cow with flow sequence
Mountain
Moon Salutation (cooling sequence)
Chair or revolved chair
Revolved Side Angle
Half shoulder
Half bridge
Savasana
Full yogic breath -focus on inhalation and exhalation during asana
*Perform asana to 80% effort.
Pittas are great decision makers who can be a catalyst for change! This dosha is driven, ambitious and thrive under high pressure Some pitta dominants like to plan things in detail, even to perfection, with an expectation of perfection from others. They enjoy thinking things through, can be convincing and are influenced only by well-thought arguments. Pittas may appear confident as well as highly convincing personalities. Some ideal Pitta professions may be CEOs, Leaders, Managers, Operations, Athletes, Politics, Law, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Economics, Administration, Engineering, and Medicine.
Physical qualities of a Pitta dominant
Pitta controls heat, metabolism and transformation in the mind and body. In addition to this, it also controls how to digest foods, how to metabolize sensory perceptions and how to understand the difference between right and wrong.
Food and drinks to balance the pitta dosha type
Pitta controls the essential digestive fire of the body. Pitta people have a strong metabolism, good digestion, and strong appetites. They like plenty of food and liquids. They tend to love hot spices and cold drinks. A pitta constitution is balanced by sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. To remain a balanced pitta avoid hot, spicy, or fermented, and gravitate toward more cooling foods—especially in the summer months. Pitta-pacifying foods include cooling beverages such as sweet fruits, coconut water, and plenty of grains.
Pitta physical lifestyle in balance
The key to a harmonious pitta lifestyle is counterbalance of the oppositional elements of fire and water. Pitta physical activities that cool a fiery dosha include cooling activities like swimming, cold showers, boating, hiking or walking near a body of water.
Ideal yoga poses for balancing pitta dosha
Child's pose
Cat/cow with flow sequence
Mountain
Moon Salutation (cooling sequence)
Chair or revolved chair
Revolved Side Angle
Half shoulder
Half bridge
Savasana
Full yogic breath -focus on inhalation and exhalation during asana
*Perform asana to 80% effort.
Hey Kapha, you're Grounded!
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The EZ Going KaphaKapha blends the elements of water and earth. You recognize kapha aspects of yourself if you are naturally quiet and composed. You are able to deal with stress well due to your calm attitude and prefer routine over change. Kapha, an earth-water blend of elements, is has a slower metabolic rate, which can contribute to weight gain.
Kapha’s elemental features include lubrication, coldness, and heaviness, all of which provide the body with stability. Kapha’s key role is to lubricate bodily tissues while also ensuring healthy immunity and mental stability. Without Kapha’s lubrication, the body becomes stiff and unyielding during movement. Kapha personalities are often compassionate and grounded individuals. |
It's Kapha-Time!
The Kapha Personality
Calm and stable, Kapha's have a high ceiling for emotional stability. They are naturally gifted with empathetic qualities and listening skills. Some may be sluggish learners yet possess excellent long-term memory. Slow decision-makers, Kapha's want/need to consider all choices. Professions best suited to Kapha dominant personalities: Philanthropists, Healers, Teachers, Health Educators, Psychologists, Human Resources, Community and Childcare, Leaders, Project Managers, Factory Workers, Farmers and Laborers, Wrestling, Personal Training, and Food Chefs.
Physical qualities of a Kapha dominant
Kapha's possess a strong physique, strong bones with high density. The easily attain exceptional fitness, stamina, and endurance. And Kapha individuals’ nails are robust and do not crack or break readily. Their teeth are normally aligned. Kapha skin is moisturized and smooth, with a bright complexion. Being prone to weight gain, Kapha people should watch what they eat and exercise often to boost circulation, metabolism, and warmth. Staying active is essential for Kapha dominant people to overcome lethargy.
Food and drinks to balance the kapha type
Season nutritious grains and leafy greens with spices like ginger, black pepper, and cayenne. Avoid cold and heavy dairy products like frozen yoghurt, processed cheese, and ice cream, which can irritate a Kapha dosha.
Kapha physical lifestyle in balance
Tapping Thymus
Breath of Life
Ideal yoga poses for balancing kapha dosha
Warrior 1 & 2
Reverse Warrior
Angel Wings
Mountain
Chair
Cobra
Plow
Side plank
Spinal rolls
Savasana with support
Resources:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/ayurveda-for-beginners-how-to-balance-your-doshas
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-vata-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-vata-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-pitta-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-pitta-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-kapha-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-kapha-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://www.keralaayurveda.us/courses/blog/picking-the-right-career-for-your-doshas/
Calm and stable, Kapha's have a high ceiling for emotional stability. They are naturally gifted with empathetic qualities and listening skills. Some may be sluggish learners yet possess excellent long-term memory. Slow decision-makers, Kapha's want/need to consider all choices. Professions best suited to Kapha dominant personalities: Philanthropists, Healers, Teachers, Health Educators, Psychologists, Human Resources, Community and Childcare, Leaders, Project Managers, Factory Workers, Farmers and Laborers, Wrestling, Personal Training, and Food Chefs.
Physical qualities of a Kapha dominant
Kapha's possess a strong physique, strong bones with high density. The easily attain exceptional fitness, stamina, and endurance. And Kapha individuals’ nails are robust and do not crack or break readily. Their teeth are normally aligned. Kapha skin is moisturized and smooth, with a bright complexion. Being prone to weight gain, Kapha people should watch what they eat and exercise often to boost circulation, metabolism, and warmth. Staying active is essential for Kapha dominant people to overcome lethargy.
Food and drinks to balance the kapha type
Season nutritious grains and leafy greens with spices like ginger, black pepper, and cayenne. Avoid cold and heavy dairy products like frozen yoghurt, processed cheese, and ice cream, which can irritate a Kapha dosha.
Kapha physical lifestyle in balance
Tapping Thymus
Breath of Life
Ideal yoga poses for balancing kapha dosha
Warrior 1 & 2
Reverse Warrior
Angel Wings
Mountain
Chair
Cobra
Plow
Side plank
Spinal rolls
Savasana with support
Resources:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/ayurveda-for-beginners-how-to-balance-your-doshas
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-vata-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-vata-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-pitta-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-pitta-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://kairalicenters.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-kapha-dosha-a-comprehensive-guide/
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/pages/ayurvedic-kapha-pacifying-yoga?srsltid=AfmBOooISgCPhy47KQdUCQ8toBfXbhCbx2-Ziy1o1iziQ0ZfF_SR9tVT
https://www.keralaayurveda.us/courses/blog/picking-the-right-career-for-your-doshas/