AYURVEDA
WHAT IS AYURVEDA?
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian science, created over 2500 years ago. It consists of lifestyle practices, diet, and self-care that provides people with the knowledge about their body and what brings it into and out of balance. Some foods are helpful for some but not for all.
According to Ayurveda, everything in life is made up of these energy types/ doshas.
——
Ayurveda promotes living a healthy life and encourages people to know what works for their body type and by practicing it, our bodies become accustomed to what is good and bad for us. We are also able to detect when we start to go out of balance.
Let's learn about body types:
~In Ayurveda, it's called Tridosha or 3 doshas.
~There are three main body types and 3 combinations of them so that makes 6 altogether!
~Our body types are “assigned” to us when we were born. We are either take on our parent’s single doshas if they share the same body type or we can be a combination of our parents' doshas if they are different.
~~~
T H E D O S H A S
Vata (Consists of the Air and Space/ Ether elements)
Vata people tend to be slender and are prone to dryness such as dry skin, hair, and stools. Vata people dislike extremely hot or cold temperatures. Common imbalances are muscle twitches, constipation, anxiety/ worry, insomnia. They also can become underweight easily.
Pitta (Consists of the Fire and Water elements)
Pitta people tend to be more muscular and can be sensitive to the heat. Common imbalances are diarrhea, loose stools, skin inflammation. They are also very determined and ambitious people.
Kapha (Consists of the Earth and Water elements)
Kapha people are usually heavy set/ curvy. Can become obese/ overweight if they go out of balance and common imbalances are lethargy, allergies/ excess mucus.
~~~
T H E S U B-D O S H A S
Sub Doshas occur when someone’s primary and secondary body types are two doshas. The primary one is in bold and that dosha tends to get out of balance most of the time.
Vata - Pitta/ Pitta - Vata
Pitta - Kapha/ Kapha - Pitta
Kapha - Vata/ Vata - Kapha
Despite taking on a primary and/ or secondary dosha, our bodies have all three doshas present in our bodies.
~~~
What does that mean?
Since all 3 doshas are present, we are all still capable of experiencing other doshic imbalances as well. For example, a Vata person can become lethargic or experience diarrhea and a Kapha person can become anxious and an insomniac. We are also influenced by our external environment which includes, but is not limited to, the weather, stress, prescribed and over the counter medication, relationships and food.
How do we know what our doshas are?
The best way to know is by seeing an Ayurvedic Practitioner. Ayurvedic practitioners can read your pulse and tell you what your Prakruti (Primary Dosha) and Vikruti (Imbalances) are. We can also ask you questions and have you fill out an intake form to get a good idea of what it might be!
In conclusion:
Ayurveda is all about self-awareness and practicing good habits so when we do eat something that doesn’t agree with our body, feel anxious, or if we are dealing with allergy season, we have the tools to bring us from a state of dis-ease into a state of ease.