The Dosha, body and mind profiles, originate from arguably the worlds most well known holistic medical practice in the world, Ayurveda and the Doshas. Discover Your Ayurvedic Dosha Type. So what are the Doshas?
Records show that the Indian Ayurvedic medical system has been practised for over 4,000 years. The term Ayurveda comes from Sanskrit, one of the world’s oldest languages.
Ayus – meaning life
Vid – meaning knowledge
When put Ayus and Vid together we get
Ayurveda – the knowledge of life
Based upon Ayurvedic teachings it is believed that there are 4 aspects of life
- Physical
- Emotional
- Mental
- Spiritual
When combined these 4 aspects contribute to our overall heath and well-being.
Ayurvedic practice teaches us how to keep these aspects in balance and how to maintain a healthy equilibrium through restoring energies if we become ill. More importantly Ayurveda helps to keep our body’s immune and defense systems strong and our physical body in optimal health.
Ayurveda is based on ancient holistic principles – the belief that holistic therapies work as prevention rather than cure.
What Are The Doshas And How Do They Link With Ayurveda?
Allopathic, or Western medicine, is typically “cure” based and treats the symptoms of illness and disease. It is a practice that is applied after the onset of disease and it’s treatments are used after you become ill.
Ayurvedic medicine, and the founding principles of all holistic medicine, is “preventative”. This means the practitioner works with the patient before any ill health and its practices are applied to prevent illness occurring.
As with all holistic treatments Ayurveda is applied as a preventative measure and after monitoring the patient’s lifestyle:
- diet
- emotional state
- level of activity
- sex life
- home and work conditions
- spirituality
- etc
Combined with this lifestyle referencing Ayurvedic practitioners encourage the use of natural organic foods and herbal remedies. Most would also recommend the patient participates in meditation or yoga.
And it is Ayurveda where we find the term Dosha.
What Is The Dosha? – Basic Ayurvedic Beliefs And Principles:
- Ayurveda believes our body, like everything in nature, is composed of the five elements
- Space
- Air
- Fire
- Water
- Earth.
- The five elements when combined in certain patterns form three Body and Mind Profiles.
- These 3 body and mind profiles govern our physical composition and also how we tend to react and interact with others, the environment and everything around us.
- This then determines your Dosha.
- The Dosha (or doshas) are the 3 body and mind profiles.
- The Dosha are:
- Vata
- Pitta
- Kapha.
While we all tend to belong to just one Dosha, we should be aiming to achieve a unique balance of all three, comparative to the balance at the time of our birth.
Ayurvedic practitioners believe that once the correct balance is achieved we remain in good health and maintain excellent wellbeing.
Because each of you are a unique individual you are unable to balance the Dosha types (and achieve physical health and wellbeing) until you determine your unique individual proportions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
This needs to be done with an Ayurvedic practitioner. However it is relatively easy to self assess your dominant dosha.
Key Characteristics Of Dosha Types.
Read all 3 of the dosha types characteristics below. Keep in mind that while it is common for you to have attributes within each of the 3 the vast amount of people naturally align to one, and this is their dominant Dosha.
ELEMENTS:
AIR & SPACE
CHARACTERISTICS:
COLD, ROUGH, LIGHT, SWIFT, MOBILE, DRY
Vata Dosha Type.
- Thin light and wiry framed body
- long tapered fingers and toes
- small dark eyes, small mouth, thin lips
- dry skin and can be rough
- hair is regular to dry
- extreme sensitivity to cold, wind and dry weather
- cold extremities – hands, feet, nose
- erratic appetites, irregular digestion
- highly imaginative but often with disjointed thoughts
- open and tolerant of others
- energetic but sporadic
- light restless sleep
PACE
Balanced Vata promotes creativity and flexibility.
Unbalanced Vata produces fear and anxiety.
Physical Ailments: emphysema, pneumonia and arthritis
GUIDANCE FOR BALANCING VATA
KEEP WARM – MAINTAIN CALMNESS – AVOID RAW OR COLD FOODS STAY OUT OF COLD WEATHER – KEEP A REGULAR ROUTINE
ELEMENTS:
FIRE & WATER
CHARACTERISTICS:
HOT, SHARP, LIGHT, LIQUID, MOBILE, OILY
Pitta Dosha Type.
- Body Types are medium to heavy, strong, well-built
- skin is fair, warm, reddish, soft and moist.
- many freckles and moles.
- Skin may have rashes and acne.
- Hair is normally fine, straight with a tendency for thinning
- Burn easily in sun, sensitive to humidity adn heat
- Robust appetite, irritable when meals skipped
- Have a very sharp mind
- Good powers of concentration
- Normally seek to avoid and dislike hot weather
- Benefits from daily meditation after 6 p.m.
- Overheat duruing sleep
- Burn candle both ends
PACE
Balanced Pitta promotes intelligence and understanding.
Unbalanced Pitta produces anger and jealousy.
Physical Ailments: fevers, inflammatory diseases and jaundice.
GUIDE FOR BALANCING PITTA
avoid excessive heat or steam – avoid excess oil – LIMIT SALT INTAKE – EXERCISE ONLY WHEN ABLE TO KEEP COOL
ELEMENTS:
WATER EARTH
CHARACTERISTICS:
HEAVY, SLOW, COLD, OILY, SMOOTH, SOFT
Kapha Dosha Type.
- Body type is a larger sturdy build
- Stocky, gain weight easily
- Regardless of size they are usually physically strong
- Skin is oily and moist, usually pale
- Soft, thick, oily hair that is wavy and plentiful
- Usually very white teeth
- Deliberate thought patterns; Reflective and Calm
- Dislike of damp and/or cold weather
- Cool extremities that may be clammy
- Heavy sleepers with a tenency to over sleep
- Early to bed and early to rise is best for the Kapha
PACE
Balanced Kapha promotes calmness and forgiveness.
Unbalanced Kapha produces greed and envy.
Physical Ailments: Flu, Sinus, Congestion and Excess mucous.
GUIDE FOR BALANCING KAPHA
staying active – ensuring plenty of exercise – avoiding heavy oily foods – limit dairy and iced drinks- vary your daily routine.
I hope this guide has explained the Dosha and you have been able to identify your Dosha Type.
I would love to hear your feedback so please leave me a comment in the thread below or contact me directly by clicking here.
Wishing you great health
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Hey Jason, this post got me interested, I like how Ayurvedic medicine is preventive rather than focusing on curing. I also like the organic food and herbal remedies use, as I see there are a lot of benefits with this, I could maybe call it a lifestyle.
Hi Milos,
Thanks for your comments.
I’m glad the article on Ayurveda and the Dosha interested you? Did you determine which Dosha was your dominant? You are correct when you combine the Ayurveda with organics and herbal remedies you are well on your way to leading a holistic and healthy lifestyle.
I wish you all the best with it and if I can ever help or offer advice just ask.
Wishing you best health
Jason
Hey Jason!
Great article! I am very interested to find out more about Ayeurvedic Medicine. Do you know much about Transcendental Meditation? It would be great to read a post about this.
Cheers!
David
Hey David,
Thanks for your comments. Ayurvedic Medicine is awesome and very relevant for our modern times. It provides total holistic balance for our modern times rather than just pill popping.
I practice Transcendental Meditation, which is also amazing, so I shall get a post up here for you ASAP.
To your best health
Jason
Jason,
If what you’ve said is true, tropical or warm climates suit me best. I never use ice in my drinks. And my experience as an asthma sufferer is what I blog about.
Can you determine which might be my dominant dosha?
Just food for thought. Ive already figured it out myself and working toward natural healing solutions.
Thank you for shedding light on other alternative health perspectives.
Here’s to health and healing,
LinaB
Hi Lina,
Thanks for your comments. If I had to hazard a guess I’d say likely Kapha – mainly as Asthma is a water element related condition and Kapha tend to enjoy warmth and heat and have a dislike for iced drinks. However for a full and certain analysis I’d need a consultation with you!
Always great to hear from someone else in the health and well-being sector.
Wishing you much luck and the best of health.
Jason