Vata

Vata governs movement in the body: breathing, digestive movement, the nervous system, excretion, childbirth, ejaculation and others. It comprises the elements of Ether and Air.

Qualities: cold, subtle, light, active, dry, rough

Vata-predominant people usually have slight build with fine features, prominent joints, coarse dry hair and skin, and small dark restless eyes. They are active, creative, enthusiastic. They are the artists, dancers, idealists, the spiritual and sensitive healers.

When imbalanced, they tend towards wind, constipation, dry skin, cramps, nervous and bone problems, anxiety, insomnia.

To balance, they benefit from:

• staying warm, especially in Autumn and Winter
• eating warm, nourishing, unctuous foods with sweet, sour and salty tastes
• using warming spices like ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom
• massaging with sesame oil
• having a stable, regular lifestyle
• avoiding suppression of natural urges such as sneezing, yawning, coughing, belching, urination, etc
• avoiding excess stimulation, travel, cold winds

Pitta

Pitta governs transformation in the body – digestion, metabolism, enzymes, hormones. It also governs the skin, eyes and intelligence. It comprises the elements of Fire (mainly) and Water.

Qualities: hot, light, sharp and penetrating, oily, flowing

Pitta-predominant people tend to be average in size, with a reddish, yellowish or flushed appearance. They can have green eyes with a focused gaze. The mental expressions are passion, intellligence, drive and ambition, and Pitta people are cheerful and organised. They are the managers, entrepreneurs, the life of the party.

When imbalanced, they tend towards irritability, anger, impatience; and loose stools, inflammations, skin problems, vision problems, and greying or thinning hair.

To balance, they benefit from:

• staying cool, especially in summer
• eating cooling foods with fresh, bitter, astringent and sweet tastes
• using cooling spices like cumin, coriander, fennel and mint
• avoiding excessive exposure to sun
• taking walks in nature
• scheduling time-out in their very busy activities
• doing calming activities like yoga and meditation

Kapha

Kapha governs growth, structure, lubrication and fluid metabolism in the body. The elements are Earth and Water.

Qualities: cool, heavy, slow, soft, dense, sticky

Kapha-predominant people tend to have big, strong structure and great fertility and endurance. They have rich, moist skin and hair; with large, soft, attractive eyes. They have a deep understanding of people, and are the pillars of society – caring, loving, patient, strong.

In imbalance, they tend towards slow digestion, weight problems, fluid retention, lung and head congestion; and their stickiness can tend towards jealousy, possessiveness, inability to change, and deep depression.

To balance, they benefit from:

• staying warm and dry, especially in Spring
• eating warm, light, dry foods with spicy, bitter and astringent tastes
• using hot spices like mustard, black pepper, ginger, cayenne
• regular vigorous exercise and sex!
• avoiding cold drinks, heavy dinners and day sleep

Everyone has all three doshas – in some one dosha is predominant, in some two; and rarely, all three doshas are equal. This means that keeping each dosha in balance can be a simple or complex skill, using seasonal routines. See a qualified ayurvedic practitioner for advice.

Images are from Ayurveda: A Life of Balance by Maya Tiwari, available from amazon.com

People predominantly of the Air element (called vata in ayurveda) are like the wind – flighty, erratic, gusty! They benefit from some routines and regular rituals to anchor them in time, to help them feel more settled, so their lives can be in better order, allowing them to express their creativity and love of movement.

Fire people (called pitta in ayurveda) are focused – but can also be driven and relentless, leading to burnout and health problems. They need to break their driving rhythm, have short stops to smell the roses, time-out to assess the meaning of their activity within their life goals and values.

Earth and Water people (called kapha in ayurveda) are slow, steady, patient – and sometimes grind to a halt… They can get stuck in sedentariness (think weight gain) and brooding emotions. To pierce that inertia, they need bursts of stimulation – spicy foods, hard exercise, wild nights, passionate sex!

Observe the different rhythms of the animals, from the flitting of the sparrows to the languid meanderings of cows. Which is your rhythm?

Yet people treat illness as “bad luck”, as something that has visited them from the outside – usually by means of a germ, a virus, or an allergen. Even medical doctors fall for this erroneous, illogical way of perceiving illness. They look at the symptoms of the full-blown disease, try to treat them, and move on to the next patient without seeking the root of the disease, or how it could be prevented. This is a tragic shame, because it is such a superficial approach – and it is often done too late to easily restore the body to its previous health.

For thousands of years, Ayurveda – like other traditional systems of medicine – has concerned itself with the causes of disease, right from the first state of imbalance. In fact, Ayurveda identifies six stages of disease, of which only the fifth – the full-blown disease – is currently recognised by medical doctors.

By trying to understand the initial stages of disease, we can then take steps to prevent its development. We can adjust the diet or lifestyle factors that are causing the imbalance; we can take gentle herbs or spices to steer the body back to balance; we can take responsibility and control over our health; and we then have the opportunity to strive for optimum, dynamic health.

You can only do this if you take responsibility, if you develop self-awareness, and if you have a set of tools and concepts with which to work. Ayurveda, helped by Yoga, can give you this.

It starts by identifying your predominant qualities, and classifying them into the doshas of Vata, Pitta or Kapha. Knowing about Vata, Pitta and Kapha gives you a language with which to analyse the ebb and flow of your natural qualities.

If you are Vata, you can observe the rise and fall of the Air element, and its qualities of lightness, coolness, dryness, erratic movement, and roughness. If you are Pitta, you can monitor the rise and fall of the Fire element, with its qualities of hotness and sharpness. If you are Kapha, you can watch the goings on of the Water and Earth elements, with their qualities of inertia, denseness, weight, stickiness and steadiness.

By observing yourself with your increasing self-awareness, you watch the cycles of the qualities, knowing when to balance them by applying the opposite qualities.

If Vata rises, think of increasing warm and grounding qualities, for example with warm winter foods. If Pitta rises, the keyword is “cooling” – in foods, lifestyle habits, even the colours that you wear. If Kapha increases, think of lightening and heating actions, such as the use of hot spices, vigorous exercise, or saunas.

When we sail from one port to another, we set a course to follow. It is practically impossible to always be exactly on course – all sailors continually make small adjustments, because they are continually off course. Likewise, with our health, we are continually exposed to factors that alter our balance. So, if we have the awareness, we can continually make decisions and choices that gently help restore balance.

Staying healthy is a lifelong commitment. It is not a yearly medical checkup. It is not a weekly salad or round of golf. It is the choices you make at every moment, guided by constant self-awareness. This is not an onerous chore, it is a real experience of the constant play of life. You get in touch with your vitality, the buzz that keeps you alive from moment to moment. You are your own navigator!

You will no longer ignore the discomforts that signal imbalance. You will no longer put off the natural urges of the body, such as the need to sleep, to yawn, to eat, to belch, to go to the toilet. You will no longer put up with the discomfort of overeating, or of having eaten the wrong foods. Like a wild animal, you will respond to natural instinct. As a human, you will additionally use your discernment and judgement to make clear, correct decisions that positively affect your health.

Over the next few weeks, I will share practical ways of fine-tuning your health through diet, lifestyle choices, daily routines, herbs, body therapies and Yoga.