Balancing Your Doshas

Last newsletter I introduced you to Ayurveda and some general information about your Doshas. Continuing with this idea, I want to go a little deeper into the idea of your Doshas and how to use this knowledge to create sustained balance in your life. The climate, activities, your diet, and thoughts all contribute towards your doshic tendencies, and, as you well know, these things are constantly changing. So, the question is, how do you sustain a balanced lifestyle when everything around you is never constant?

Having awareness of the changes happening outside of you (things we cannot control) will help you determine how to shift your daily life (things we can control). The things we cannot control can change on a daily basis, like how active you are in a day, to monthly or even yearly basis, change of seasons and aging.

Knowing your inner Dosha, as well as the characteristics of all 3, will help you determine how close or far you are from balance.

To start, let us refresh our memory on the three Doshas. Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha.

The Vata Dosha consists of air and ether elements. People that are more Vata tend to be a little flighty or distract easily, creative, moving, and talkative. They might be on the thinner side, have thinner hair and weak nails, dry skin, more delicate features overall. They tend towards more lighter and bitter foods, such as salads. Vata season is fall through the middle of winter. These are all qualities of the Vata Dosha.

People that are more prone to being a Pitta Dosha have elements fire and air. Pittas are your go-getters, the motivators, the ones that are always looking for change or improvement. They are of medium build, red undertones, run hot, burn easily. They prefer spicy, acid, salty foods. Pitta season is summer. These are all characteristics of the Pitta Dosha.

For our Kapha people, they have the elements of earth and water. Characteristics of Kaphas are steadiness, forgiveness, remain calm through adversity, these are the type of people that you just get a sense of grounding from being around them. They might be stocky in frame with thick, luscious hair and big eyes, healthy joints, and oily skin. They may tend towards a more sedentary lifestyle and enjoy comfort food. Kapha season runs from mid-winter through spring.

Now that we have a picture of each Dosha, let us get to know how we stay balanced by using this knowledge.

For most people they will use their common sense and think if I am a Vata then I need to increase those Vata qualities in my life. If I'm a Pitta, I need more pita qualities, and if I'm a Kapha, I need more Kapha qualities. However, it's the opposite. If you are primarily a Vata, that means that you already have an abundance of those qualities and adding more Vata will only take you away from balance. This is all about balance, so if you are high in the Vata category then you want to focus on bringing in more of the Kapha qualities to balance out your Vata characteristics.

You inner Dosha is not the only factor that determines how to remain in balance. External factors, such as the climate that you're in, the foods that you're eating, the thoughts you are thinking all affect how you maintain balance. If you are in Minnesota in January you are in a Vata season (cold, dry, windy), so your activities, the food you eat need to counter-balance the extra Vata in the air. That means, even though you may be a Pitta, you may benefit by bringing in a bit more Pitta qualities during this time like taking Hot Yoga classes, eating heavier foods, moisturizing more. However, if you are Pitta in South Florida during summer you need to balance with more Vata characteristics.

This is a lot of information and if it’s confusing that’s ok. Learning new things tend to be. Work on keeping it simple. Determine your Dosha, observe the external factors that affect your daily life and balance with the opposite. Never fully cut out anything, balance comes from incorporating all qualities, it’s the quantity of those qualities we need to pay attention too.