Ayurveda believes that every thing in the universe is made up of five elements; ether, air, fire, water and earth. These elements are energies finer than molecules and particles, together they are the building blocks of all we see – trees, plants, animals, humans and even the seasons. These energies vary from one another only by their consistency and vibration. The most subtle element is ether, which condenses to become air. As air moves, it causes friction which causes heat or fire. This fire produces moisture which condenses to become water, which ultimately compresses to become earth, the densest element.

The earth element represents all visible solid matter and imparts stability, permanence and rigidity. In our bodies this translates to our tissues, bones, teeth and cell structure. Water can be seen in anything with moisture. A large part of our body is water; our blood and fluids inside and around each cell. Fire shows itself in anything that is hot, acidic or combusting. In the body it is represented by the digestive enzymes and body temperature. Air is the wind, it is mobile and dynamic, and in the body, it governs all movements and actions, internal and external. Either is the space in which every thing happens.

To maintain health, we need to be able to identify these elemental energies but, as they are invisible, will look instead to their inherent qualities. Each element has a handful of defining qualities, obvious ones being ‘heat’ or fire, ‘dry’ for air, ‘moist’ for water and ‘stable’ for the earth, but there are many more. These qualities are constant and can be perceived in ourselves, our diet, atmosphere and activities, and in the telltale impressions of the elements.

The Doshas :

In the body, the five elements (either, air, fire, water & earth) become biological elements and are grouped into three energies known as doshas.

The Vata dosha is made of air & ether
The Pitta Dosha is made of fire & a little water
The Kapha Dosha is made of earth & water

 

Our body is made up of all three doshas and together they are responsible for everything that happens within our bodies. However, like the individuality of a snowflake, we are all made up of the same element but we are not all the same. This is because the doshas are rarely present in equal proportions, we are born with a unique ratio of the doshas. This unique combination makes us who we are and gives us our natural Constitution, or prakruti. Your prakruti is like you are DNA and comes from your parents’ own prakruti and your mother’s lifestyle and diet when pregnant. It determines what we look like, our temperament, our character, how we sleep and how we approach and deal with situations.

As it is rare for us to have equal amount amounts of all three doshas, one or two will dominate. This dominant dosha becomes known as your own dosha and is there to remind you which element is naturally high in your body and therefore which element to be particularly careful of. If you have more Pitta in your body, you will be a Pitta dosha or Pitta mind/body type, so this is the element you need to monitor in your diet and actions. So you might avoid spending too much time in the sun or eating hot, spicy meals. Most of us have two dominant doshas, for example, you could be Vata/Kapha or Pitta/Kapha (most dominant dosha goes first). You can also have all three doshas balanced and be tri-doshic, but it is rare.

Which dosha are you?

The table attached will help you to clarify which dosha dominate in your body. We have all three doshas within us so you will find yourself ticking boxes in all three columns, but ultimately one or two will dominate. To find out what your natural constitution (prakriti) is, answer the questions so that the reflective in you are most natural state. I answer them by looking back at how I was when I was young, when outside pressure did not influence my natural habits and patterns. Then answer the questions again according to who you are now. This will show any current imbalance. Always tackle this imbalance first when choosing food. You may use pencil so that you can keep coming back to check your current state.

	VATA	PITTA	KAPHA
Frame	Tall or short, low body fat, thin muscles	Medium built,moderately developed physique,good muscles	Curvy, big boned,big build or stocky, well developed muscles
Weight	Light and thin	Moderate weight, remains or less constant	A tendancy to gain weight
Hair	Course,dry,slightly wavy or fizzy	Fine,soft hair,prematurely grey or bald	Thick, oily, lustrous or wavy
Head and face	Small, thin,long	Moderate,ruddy,sharp contours	Large and pleasant
Eyes	Small,dry,attractive, shifting and unfocussed	Medium and penetrating	Large and pleasant
Neck	Thin,long	Medium	Large, thick
Skin	Thin,dry,cool,dull complexion	Warm, moist,pink,prone to skin rashes	Thick,smooth,moist,oily,soft
Mouth	Gappy teeth,cracked gums, grind teeth	Prone to bleeding gums,yellow teeth, can have bad breath	Strong,round,healthy teeth and gums
Features	Small,thin,dry(eg lips)	Medium	Large,firm,soft
Hands and feet	Small,thin,dry,unsteady	Medium, warm,healthy	Large,thick,cool,firm
Nails	Brittle,narrow, Ridged	Medium,soft, yellowish	Large,white,hard
Voice	Low,weak,hoarse	High pitched,moderate,sharp,good	Pleasant,deep voice
Body strengh	Low,poor endurance	Medium	Strong with good stamina
Speech	Erratic, over enthusiastic, fast talking, might missout words	Clear,sharp & measured,logical	Slow,resonant,clear,rhythmic
Personality	Enthusiastic,lively,creative,imaginative	Efficient &disciplined, analytical, driven, perfectionist, orderly	Loving,calm,patient,happy,supportive,ho me-loving
Sociability	Sometimes feels shy in social situation but can be very chatty	Outgoing and assertive	Sociable and make friends easy
Character	Active and busy	Organised and focused	Slow and methodical
Ability to forgive	Forgive and forget easily	Finds it hard to forgive	Forgives easily, but may not forget
Activity	Quick,unsteady and distracted	Medium,motivated,competitive, focused	Slow,measured,deliberate,enjoys repetitive tasks
Sexual nature and fertility	Variable,low stamina,low fertility	Moderate,passionate,domineering	Low but constant desire,good energy and fertility
Immunity	Variable,poor and weak	Medium, prone to infection	Strong
Disease tendancy	Nervous system,arthritis,stress,weakness,aches and pains	Skin rashes, inflammation, infections,fevers, acidity, heartburn	Bronchitis,asthma and allergies,congestion, obesity, high cholesterol
Sweat	Light and no smell	Profuse and strong smell	Moderate, cold and mild smell
Bowel movement	Dry, constipation tendancy,gas	Regular & loose, yellowish,tendancy towards constipation and diarrhoea	Regular,solid &well formed
Appetite	Variable,erratic,moderate thirst	Strong &sharp, needs lots of foods, rarely misses a meal,strong thirst	Constant, doesn't need much food but often craves it, not very thirsty
Memory and learning	Wuick to grasp,short term memory, inability to focus	Quick to grasp, very good memory, rarely forgets, stubborn	Takes time to grasp things but then never forgets
Sleep	Light,fitful sleep,wakes up early, lots of impressionable sleep, frequent dreams	Moderate but good sleeper	Deep sleeper,finds it hard to get up in the morning
Excitability	Quick to rise but also fall, fearful, anxiety	Quick to get excited but endures	Slow
Emotions when stressed	Tendancy towards anxiety,worry,fear,nervousness	Tendancy towards anger and irritation,jealousy	Tendency towards depression, and attachment, lack of motivation, self pity, greed
Money	Impulsive spender	Considered spender,enjoys luxuries & gourmet meals	Reluctant spender,likes to save but spends on food, entertainment and property
Walking	Fast,erratic	Fast but steady	Slow & steady
Professions	Artist,philosopher,communicators,organis ers,models,actors	Leaders,brokers, self employed, analysis,politics,education	Nurture,cares,nurses, cooks, self employed business people
Mental nature	Quick, adaptable but indecisive, unstable	Intelligent, critical, decisive,loves logic & structure, highly analytical	Slow, steady, sensitive
Religion	Erratic, changeable	Focused, fanatic	Constant,loyal,conservative
Recreation	Likes speed, travelling,dancing, plays,perks,artistic endeavours	Likes competitive sports, politics,debates, research,hunting	Likes flowers, sailing,eating out or cooking, watching movies, reading

The Doshas : Qualities & Imbalances

Quality of Vata When Balanced –

Happy, energetic, vibrant, enthusiastic, clear and active mind, creative, adaptive, imaginative, innovative, sensitive, talkative.

Quality of Vata When Imbalanced –

Weight loss, over active and restless, disturbed sleep, physically tired and weak, anxious, lots of nervous energy, bad memory.

Aggravating Factors for Vata Dosha –

Being over active, not sleeping enough, stress, too many bitter, astringent and pungent foods, under eating or irregular meals, a regular routine, too much exercise, travelling or stimulation, autumn weather can also cause a minor Vata imbalance.

Explore Ayurvedic cooking for Vata Dosha balancing diet

Quality of Pitta When Balanced –

Content, happy, enjoys challenges and debates, sharp mind and able to focus easily, good orator, bold, witty, intellectual, strong digestion, glowing complexion.

Quality of Pitta When Imbalanced –

Aggressive, competitive, critical, demanding, perfectionist, angry, irritable and impatient, prematurely greying hair or hair loss.

Aggravating Factors for Pitta Dosha –

Stress, being in the heat for too long, drinking too much, smoking, missing meals, eating too much spicy, sour or salty food, hot and summery weather or being in a hot environment can cause a minor Pitta imbalance.

Explore Ayurvedic cooking for Pitta Dosha balancing diet

Qualities of Kapha When Balanced –

Family oriented, affectionate, loving, loyal, compassionate, forgiving, stable, relaxed, slow and methodical, good memory, good stamina.

Qualities of Kapha, When Imbalanced –

Lazy and inactive, dull, oily skin, slow digestion, lethargic, possessive, over attached, tendency to oversleep, overweight.

Aggravating Factors for Kapha Dosha –

Oversleeping and being inactive, overeating, emotional eating, being stuck in a rut with few new experiences, eating too many sweet, sour or salty foods or cold, wet, chilled weather can cause a minor Kapha imbalance.

Explore Ayurvedic cooking for Kapha Dosha balancing diet

Understanding our doshic constitution is critical but once understood, it will help us to make an appropriate choice for food, sleep patterns, and even our compatibility with other people. The food, climate, immediate environment, work are the factors that can have a deep impact on our prakriti