
Ayurveda: determine your Dosha

DoAyurveda is the art of healthy living, supporting a person to create harmony in body, mind, emotions and spirit. The word Ayurveda comes from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, and literally means “Knowledge of Life” or “The Art of Conscious Living“. Inherent in Ayurvedic principles is the concept that you are capable of taking charge of your own life and healing. Ayurveda is a holistic system that uses a constitutional model. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy and those with health challenges can improve their health.
Determine your dosha: Vata, Pitta, Kapha?
In Ayurveda a person is seen as a unique individual made up of five primary elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Ether. These elements have an ability to combine to create various physiological functions. Ether and Air combine to form what is known in Ayurveda as the Vata Dosha. Vata governs the principle of movement and therefore can be seen as the force that directs nerve impulses, circulation, respiration and elimination. Fire and Water are the elements that combine to form the Pitta Dosha. The Pitta dosha is the process of transformation and metabolism. The transformation of food into nutrients for assimilation is example of a Pitta function. Pitta is also responsible for metabolism in the organ and tissue systems, as well as cellular metabolism. Finally, it is predominantly the Water and Earth elements that combine to form the Kapha Dosha. Kapha is what is responsible for growth and adding structure unit by unit. Another function of the Kapha dosha is to offer protection. Cerebral-spinal fluid protects the brain and spinal column and is a type of Kapha found in the spinal chord. We are each made up of unique proportions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The ratios of the doshas vary in each individual. This accounts for the enormous diversity of individuals.
Ayurveda Dosha Questionnaire
Each constitution has certain characteristics physical, emotional and mental attributes, which let us know what elements are present. The following questionnaire (see below) can assist you in getting an idea about your constitutional type (dosha) so that you can look into the specific lifestyle and nutritional suggestions given to assist in bringing that dosha back in balance.
Add up all your checks on the questionnaire. The constitution with the most checks indicates your primary dosha. If you have marked two constitutions nearly as often, you may be a dual dosha: Vata-Pitta, Pitta-Kapha etc. If you checked aspects in a dosha different from your constitution as a whole, this may indicate an imbalance in that dosha. For example, if you checked primarly Kapha aspects, but als marked off “light sleeper” and “dry hair”, this could indicate that while you are Kapha, you have an imbalance in Vata.
Lifestyle & Nutritional suggestions
Now that you have indicate your primary Dosha, you can look into the specific lifestyle and nutritional suggestions given to assist you in bringing that dosha back in balance.
Learn more about Ayurveda in our Kundalini Training Walking the Wheel ->