Know your Ayurvedic body type (Vata, Pitta, Kapha)

An important concept in Ayurveda is the Dosha, which is nothing but the balance of the various elements of nature that resides inside our body. Let’s take a closer look at the various Doshas and how to identify your Ayurvedic body type so that you can adopt a lifestyle that suits it.

Three Fundamental Dosha

As per Ayurveda, the body of every person comprises the five elements or building blocks of nature – earth, air, water, space, and fire.

A unique balance of these five elements (in varying degrees) exists inside the human body. The balance of these elements is called Dosha.

There are three fundamental doshas – vata, pitta and kapha.

• Vata: Constituted by space and air, which is the energy of the movement.
• Pitta: Constituted by fire and water, which is the principle of digestion and metabolism.
• Kapha: Constituted by water and earth, which is the principle of structure and lubrication.

Balance of Doshas is Important

Every person has all three doshas in varying proportions. In most cases only one of them is primary, the other is secondary and the third one is the least prominent.

In order to maintain good health, there needs to be a perfect balance of these three doshas. Good health is about order and balance between these, whereas disease is about disorder and imbalance between these constituents.

So what can disturb one’s Dosha (or the balance of one’s Dosha)?

Things that can disturb your Doshic balance include an unhealthy diet, repressed emotions and insufficient exercise.

If you’re seeking ayurvedic help to lead a healthier life, you will need to increase or decrease your doshas, as the condition demands.

The Three Doshas

Vata

Vata is the leader of three Ayurvedic principles in the body. It regulates all the activities in the body – mental as well as physiological. It is responsible for breathing, blinking of our eyes, beating of our heart, and many more bodily functions. When balanced, Vata is lively and energetic. To keep Vata in balance, adequate rest and relaxation are needed. If someone has imbalanced Vata, they may face problems like dry hair, dry skin and cough.

Composed of air and space, vata is dry, light, cold, rough, subtle/pervasive, mobile, and clear. Because Vata regulates movement, when vata is out of balance, several bodily movements may be affected.

Pitta

Pitta is the fire element and is responsible for regulating body temperature. It regulates body temperature through the chemical transformation of food, governing digestion, absorption, assimilation, metabolism, and nutrition. Dosha promotes vitality and appetite. People whose pitta dosha is prominent are strong-willed, determined and tend to have leadership qualities.

Pitta brings forth the qualities of fire and water. It is sharp, penetrating, hot, light, liquid, mobile, and oily. Pitta oversees digestion, metabolism, temperature maintenance, sensory perception, and comprehension. Imbalanced pitta can lead to sharpness and inflammation in these areas in particular.

Imbalanced pitta can lead to anger and agitation and can even cause burning disorders such as ulcers and inflammation. To maintain a balance of pitta, massages, inhaling cooling scents like rose, mint, and lavender can help.

Kapha

Kapha dosha helps in maintaining the body resistance. People dominate by this dosha are said to be thoughtful, calm, and steady. To maintain a balance of this dosha, gentle exercise, stimulating activities and extra intake of fluids can help. Kapha is responsible for the body’s anabolism, the process of building the body, growth and repair and creation of new cells.

Kapha, composed of earth and water, is heavy, cold, dull, oily, smooth, dense, soft, static, liquid, cloudy, hard, and gross (in the sense of dense or thick). As kapha governs stability and structure, it forms the substance of the human body, from the skeleton to various organs to the fatty molecules (lipids) that support the body. An excess of kapha leads to an overabundance of density, heaviness, and excess in the body.

Know your prominent Dosha

Every person has various combinations of the three doshas that determine one’s physical and personality traits. However, it’s important to know that the proportions of each of these doshas may change based on one’s physical, mental, and emotional conditions.

It’s important and best to know one’s dosha so that you can adopt a lifestyle that suits it.

Human body can be divided into seven different body types – vata, pitta, kapha, vata-pitta, pitta-kapha, vata-kapha or tri-dosha.

There is no perfect dosha or body type, each category has its own advantage and disadvantages.

Here is a chart that will help you understand what’s your prominent dosha.

How to balance your Dosha

Dosha can be balanced with the help of herbal remedies, warm oil massages, yoga, and diet.

Staying active also helps to balance Dosha.

How to balance kapha

Kapha imbalance is primarily caused due to excessive consumption of food. So, to balance kapha, a light, low-fat diet of bitter, pungent and astringent tastes is recommended.

Your diet can include raw vegetables, ripe fruits, grains like rye, oats, millet, barley, honey, spices like pepper, cardamom, cloves, mustard and turmeric.

People with kapha prakarti (nature) should avoid fats, milk and rice in their daily habits but can consume them occasionally.

In order to balance Kapha you must stay active, stay warm, engage in stimulating activities. Avoid cold and damp things and get physically active.

How to Balance Vata

Vata imbalance may be caused due to high consumption of spicy foods and astringent foods (such as unripened bananas). It’s best to consume sweet, salty, sour, warm and easily digestible foods.

Avoid having very spicy food on a regular basis.

You can also consume vegetables like broccoli, leafy vegetables, cauliflower. Wheat, rice, mild spices lie cumin, ginger and cinnamon can be consumed. Moist foods like berries, melons, yogurt can also help. Oily foods like avocado, buttermilk, cheese, whole milk, eggs, coconut, nuts and seeds are also supportive.

How to Balance Pitta

Pitta imbalance may be caused due to excessive consumption of alcohol, spicy, oily, fried, salty and fermented foods. If you have pitta prakarti (nature), you should avoid spicy, acidic and hot foods.

The pitta imbalance can be corrected with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. Other foods that can help are sweet fruits, dairy products, curry leaves, barley, oats and mint. You should also avoid sour fruits, red meat, potatoes, eggplant and tomatoes.