Basics of Ayurveda
Tridoshas – Vata, Pitta, Kapha
“Tri” means three and “Doshas” mean the energies or the Humors.
The three Doshas are: Vata, Pitta, Kapha
Vata, Pitta and Kapha (commonly refered to jointly as the three doshas or three humors of the body) act as the basic organizational principle in determining the physical, mental and physiological makeup of an individual. How we look, think, act and react depend on these three doshas and their balance in our bodies.
Prakruti and Vikruti These are the two key concepts in Ayurveda that help us understand the why’s’
about ourselves. Prakruti is a state of balance. Knowing our Prakruti helps us in understanding Why we look the way we do, why we react in a certain manner, why we like / dislike certain things, why we have a certain type of skin, and many such other why questions! Vikruti is a state of imbalance which is responsible for causing a disease.
Prakruti: Prakruti means the body type, which is unique to each individual. Even though all human beings have three doshas, the prominence of any one or two doshas, and the ratio of the three in the body is what determines the unique body type of an individual. Prakruti is what influences both physical characteristics like the body shape, metabolism, skin type; and the mental tendencies like the temperament, behavior, and emotional response of an individual. This body type remains constant throughout an individual’s life time and represents the person’s inherent nature.
It is rare and surprising, and also very interesting to know that the combination of the three doshas could be different physically and mentally i.e. we can have a mental body type absolutely different from our physical body type.
Vikruti: Vikruti means imbalance or a variable ratio of the three Doshas at any given moment, due to the various external and internal factors around us. Vikruti is an altered ratio of the three Doshas that keeps constantly changing, and in turn creating various dis=ease states of body and mind.
Lets delve a little into the three doshas, their qualities, biological characters and affects in our bodies.
Vata
Vata is primarily the air element in the body and represents movement, space and action. All movements from cellular to musculo‐skeletal levels are governed by Vata. The motion of our fingers, hands, acts of grasping and holding, breathing, chewing, blinking, passage of food down the alimentary canal, receiving impulses and resulting sensory responses, beating of the heart, excretion of waste from our body are the movements in the body due to Vata. Also vata is the only dosha that carries the other two doshas – pita and kapha to different places in the body as they cannot move on their own.
The attributes of Vata are: Light, Dry, Cold, Rough, Subtle, Mobile, Clear.
Pitta
Pitta is the heat energy or the fire humor in the body. Pitta is responsible for all transformation, metabolism, digestion, assimilation, absorption and nutrition. Pitta is thus the energy of transformation in the individual which helps to give the vibrancy, vivacity and cheerfulness to the individual both physically and mentally. Pitta is the fire of intelligence and understanding mentally while it’s the fire of converting the food we intake into easily digestable form and separating toxins which is undigested and harmful matter for the body for elimination.
The attributes of Pitta are: Hot, Wet, Oily, Light, Sharp, Flowing.
Kapha
Kapha is the humor that binds or holds things together. Kapha is the adhesive dosha that is responsible for growth and structural shape of an individual. Kapha lubricates all the joints, helps in smooth synchronized movement of all body parts and systems by providing the moistening fluids like synovial fluid in the joints and cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and spinal cord. Kapha is also the dosha that helps keep skin moist and smooth. It maintains immunity and makes one calm, caring and compassionate.
The attributes of Kapha are: Heavy, Slow, Cold, Oily, Dense, Static, Gross, Cloudy.
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