What are the Doshas?
Ayurveda describes the universe (macrocosm) and everything in it, including you (microcosm) as being made up of five elements. We are part of nature and nature is part of us. These five elements are:
Ether (Space), Air, Fire, Water, and Earth
The five elements form together in three vital energies — these are known as the doshas.
Vata: Ether + Air
Pitta: Fire + Water
Kapha: Water + Earth
These “vital energies” control all form and function of physical and nonphysical life. Vata is the controlling energy of movement and coordination, it controls your physical movements from muscles to metabolism and your mind’s coordination, intuition and sensitivity. Pitta is the transformational energy of heat and light, it controls digestion and intellect, it is your driving force of motivation and the “fire in your belly.” Kapha is the stabilizing energy of growth and form, it controls mucus membranes and joint lubrication and is responsible for your growth in all forms from muscle gains to a baby in the womb.
So, you can see how some elements show up more than others in people, foods, herbs, and even activities. Someone with more fire element (Pitta) has a quicker metabolism than someone with more earth element (Kapha) who’s tendency is to build and cling to nutrients. Sky diving is going to elevate Vata much more than sun bathing, which would elevate Pitta.
The doshas also have certain attributes or qualities about them that distinguishes them from each other and helps you identify them.
The Doshas Within:
In Ayurveda, “dosha” actually has two meanings, 1) a governing body, the force of nature that controls different aspects of physical and non-physical life, and 2) something that goes out of balance, that fluctuates and causes fluctuations in the body. These, when understanding what YOUR dosha is, which of these elements dominate in YOUR mind-body type, can be understood as prakruti and vikruti, respectively.
Prakruti — Your Fingerprint
We all have vata, pitta and kapha within us in our own unique proportions.
Your prakruti is your inherent balance of the three doshas. In Sanskrit, “pra” means original and “kruiti” means creation. It’s the physiological and psychological tendencies that are fixed within you the day you are born. It’s reflected in the thickness of your hair, the color of your eyes, how you react to stress and even in the strength of your digestion.
Vikruti — Your Imbalance
In Sanskrit, “vikruti” means “after creation.” A person’s vikruti refers to the current state of imbalance that happens in a person’s life after creation (after prakruti is established). Many things contribute to this imbalance including the season, your stage of life, diet and lifestyle. The important goal of Ayurveda is to discover your vikruti and understand what aspect of your environment is creating the disturbance. It’s possible to have a dosha imbalance completely different from your prakruti (your natural state) but our predominant dosha is likely to increase more quickly. The key is to correct the imbalance and bring your constitution to harmony again.
If this chart, for example, was your doshic balance or Prakruti, you would be considered a Vata person. So you would have a high chance of Vata Vikruti, or Vata being pushed into overflow most easily, followed by Kapha, and the least likely chance of a Pitta imbalance.
I hope this helped you get a better grasp on the doshas! Stay tuned for my next post to dive deeper into Vata, Pitta and Kapha, how to keep them in balance and get a chance to discover your own dosha!
❤︎ Drew
