Beginner’s Guide to Ayurveda: What Are Vata, Pitta and Kapha?
Most of us have heard of Vata, Pitta or Kapha dosha or other terms of Ayurveda.
Do you know what is behind the doshas? Not entirely? Then keep reading.
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the sister science of Yoga.
Ayur – means life or longevity and Veda means science and knowledge, hence it is widely known as the science of longevity.
Ayurveda serves three different purposes:
History
Origins are the Vedas, dated up to 6000 BC. The Vedas are said to contain first detailed information about healing plants, detailed information about healing, surgery and longevity.
Yes, you read correctly, surgery. In fact, one of the Ayurveda scriptures, the Sushruta Samhita, contains drawings of surgical instruments which are very similar to the ones used today.
The basic concept behind Ayurveda
Everything in the entire universe consists of 5 elements:
Ether, air, fire, water & earth
Ether is the space, in which the air moves, fire is transformation, water is holding everything together and earth is the substance, matter.
All Elements have their own qualities
Ether is empty, light, cold, dry, subtle
Air is moving, light, cold, dry, rough
Fire is hot, oily, sharp, light, rough
Water is cool, soft, moist, heavy, cohesive
Earth is dense, cool, heavy, stable, unctuous
Everything relates back to these elements, us, all nature, as mentioned above, the entire universe.
Same + Same = More of the Same
Ayurveda is all about finding balance.
Everything within us and around us tries to return to balance.
Our body naturally is trying to come into a state of homeostasis, a state of balance, without us being even aware of it. It is constantly adjusting, for example
releasing hormones,
regulating its temperature,
releasing enzymes for digestion.
Each cell in our body tries to be in a balanced state.
Finding balance is so natural to us, that we don’t even realise that we are doing it:
Our mouth feels dry – we drink water.
We feel cold – we put on a sweater.
We feel hot – we take it off.
So, we are naturally hardwired to balance and follow it, but sometimes it seems to be harder for us, for example when it comes to food or our activities and habits.
When we have more heat in our body and we eat chillies the result will be even more heat, just as it would be to put on another sweater when hot. When we have naturally more heat and practice hot yoga or a strong, fast paced ashtanga yoga practice, we increase the heat.
When the colder elements are dominant in our body, and we tend to cold hands and feet. If we eat a cold meal or drink a cold drink, we are getting even more cold.
When the cooler elements are dominant, and we practice in a cold environment or not adding extra layers during relaxation or breathing practices, the qualities of ether and air increase.
Hence balancing in Ayurveda is inviting the opposite qualities.
Instead of eating chillies and a hot yoga session, we practice a slow flowing practice and take a breather in between.
Instead of eating salad and resting without extra layers, we eat a soup and put on warm socks bring a blanket.
You think that this is too easy? This is right, it is that easy at least at this state. It gets more complex when we are already out of balance and need to balance back.
The three Doshas
These elements form the three doshas, constitutional types, bio-energies, the prakriti of our body:
The qualities of these bio-energies correspond to the ones of the respective elements:
Ether & Air - Vata
Fire & Water - Pitta
Water & Earth - Kapha
Vata
Cold, dry, rigid, mobile, rough, light, subtle, transparent, changing.
Physical aspects:
Tall or very small, thin, long slender fingers and toes, thin hair, tend to be underweight, dry skin, poor digestion, tendency to constipation, often cold esp. hands and feet.
Behavioural aspects:
Fast talking, changing from subject to subject very fast, indecisive, very enthusiastic, very inspiring, spiritual, like trying lots of things, not very loyal, not very reliable, can be fearful.
Pitta
Fiery, fast, hot, mobile, clear, oily, soft, little moist, sour, sharp.
Physical aspects:
Athletic, fair skin, freckles, even teeth more yellowish, clear piercing eyes, very thirsty, need to eat regularly otherwise extremely moody, tendency to inflammation and ulceration.
Behavioural aspects:
Very organised, fast thinking, decisive, clear communicators, can be bossy, love structure, can be impatient.
Figure 5 Kapha dosha with elements
Kapha
Moist, cool, soft, heavy, immobile, dense, mucousy.
Physical aspects:
Broad build, thick hair, big white even teeth, broad smile, pronounced joints, good digestion.
Behavioural aspects:
Very considerate, think things through, soft voice, talking slow.
Need to understand, slow, shy, very loyal.
Every one of us has an individual composition of the three doshas, depending on the constitution of parents, time of conception and their state at conception.
The three doshas have specific characteristics, weaknesses, strengths, and tendencies, depending on the quality of the elements.
They are naturally predominant at different times of the day, during the different seasons, and various stages of our life.
Daily patterns
Throughout the day the doshas are active during different times. With this their qualities are then dominant in the atmosphere which impacts the times when we get up in the morning, eat our meals, exercise, go to sleep.
6.00 – 10.00 am + pm Kapha
10.00 – 2.00 am + pm Pitta
2.00 – 6.00 am + pm Vata
Daily Routine
The daily routines depend again on the qualities naturally present during different times of the day. Here is a simple, how a day is laid out according to ayurvedic views. When we are in sync with the energies of the days and the seasons, we swim with the stream of nature and utilise minimum energy. If we swim against it, we need more energy which can weaken our body and mind and can result in illnesses.
6 am get up
Cleaning tongue and oil pulling
Drink a glass of hot water
3-7 soaked and peeled almonds
1 tsp Chyavanprash
Shower
Meditation & Yoga practice or exercises.
8 - 8.30 am Breakfast
12 -2 pm Lunch – Pitta time – digestive fire is highest.
Somewhen during afternoon 10 min rest, lying down, listening to music – doing nothing!!
6 pm even better 5 pm - Dinner – light, soup
10 pm Bedtime –end of Kapha time, using the heavy qualities for fall asleep easily.
Wash feet, apply oil on foot soles (coconut to draw heat out of the body, sesame/almond oil to calm mind).
After 10 pm Pitta comes back and brings activity and one get a second wind.
All food should ideally be seasonally, according to the individual constitution, and organic if possible.
As above, eating food with the same quality as the constitution will lead to an imbalance, as an example, eating plenty of spicy food with a Pitta constitution might lead to high acidity, gastritis, and ulceration of the stomach.
In Ayurveda we need to eat food that is balancing our constitution, in case of Pitta, we need to eat more cooling, nourishing food.
Seasonal patterns:
Autumn – mid-winter Vata
Summer Pitta
Mid-winter till late spring Kapha
The same principle applies to the seasons as well. When we are in the Vata dominant season, all Vata (ether & air) related qualities are naturally more present in the atmosphere. Therefore, we need to balance with the opposite qualities in our food and for our lifestyle.
I hope that this has given you a little guidance on the concept and principles of Ayurveda. As always, there is of course so much more to it, but understanding the ground rules, makes it easier to appreciate what follows, such as food guidance for the seasons and the doshas, development of diseases.
Very poignant is Patajali’s, the author of the Yoga Sutras, sutra 2.16
Heyam dukham anagatam
Future suffering can be avoided.
When we start observing the seasons, seasonal food, eating at appropriate times, basically swimming with the stream, then we start to avoid future suffering, potential future illnesses or their severity.
Both Ayurveda and Yoga have so many tools for us to keep us healthy and strong. One of Ayurveda’s aims is for us to live a long and fulfilled life, to stay healthy, strong and sharp-minded until our last breath.
