Live As Nature Made You

The secret to balancing the whole mind-body system is to make your doshas happy. To respect your body type you have to trust that its needs are good for you. No one can be happy or healthy in an unbalanced state, because it is just not natural.

Like the doshas, your prakruti is double edged. You can see yourself as trapped by it, or you can learn from it and benefit from what your system is trying to tell you. A pitta nature may predispose you to hostility and a Vata nature to irritable bowels, but nothing forces you to embrace the stressful lifestyle that fans Pitta to a flame, or drives Vata to exhaustion, bringing out such problems. Living with your doshas is a perfect example of how to find freedom within your nature’s limits.

Because you were born with it, your body type does not change. On the other hand, the doshas are constantly in a flux. Every time your doshas shift with actions and thoughts. A person whose heart is pounding is having a strong Vata reaction, no matter what his basic nature is. Whatever your prakruti happens to be, try to live all three doshas fully. To be the best that can be derived from each of the doshas – that is what it means to be a complete person.

The positive psychological traits of each dosha include the following:

Vata: Imaginative, sensitive, spontaneous, resilient, exhilarated
Pitta: Intellectual, confident, enterprising, joyous
Kapha: Calm, sympathetic, courageous, forgiving, loving.

Whenever you meet someone who lives up to all of these qualities, naturally you are impressed. Such a person has accepted the greatest gift of nature – perfect balance. Rare as it is, perfect balance is not abnormal; it is possible for everyone to achieve. Everybody type contains a wide range of possibilities. Unfortunately we all have a tendency to compare ourselves to a norm, which generates feelings of inadequacy when we cannot live up to the standards we feel everyone must meet.

Pitta Dosha And Subdoshas

Here we will discuss Pitta dosha. It is responsible for metabolism and is equated with the body’s heat, as well as with digestion in general. Acuteness of sight and sharp thinking are also Pitta functions. There are five Pitta subdoshas, situated in various locations in the body.

Pachaka Pitta: Located in stomach and small intestine. Pitta’s seat is the small intestine, making this an important subdosha. Pachaka Pitta is vital in its function of digesting food and separating nutrients from waste products. It also regulates the “heat” of digestion, making it fast or slow, efficient or weak. The appearance of foul smell during elimination or an inability to properly extract nourishment from your diet may be due to imbalance here.

Its imbalance is linked to heartburn, acid, stomach ulcers irregular digestion (either too weak or too hyperactive).

Ranjaka Pitta: Located in the red blood cells, liver and spleen. The complex process involved in producing healthy red blood cells, balancing blood chemistry and distributing nutrients through the bloodstream are governed by this subdosha.

The presence of toxicity in the body, from impure food, air, water, alcohol, or cigarettes, is considered a primary cause of Pitta imbalance, acting through Ranjaka Pitta. Imbalance is linked to jaundice, anemia, various blood disorders, skin inflammation anger and hostility.

Sadhaka Pitta: Located in the heart. Besides controlling the heart’s physical function, Sadhaka Pitta creates contentment that comes from the heart, as we say; it is also associated with good memory. If you lack the heart to face challenges and make important decisions, this subdosha may be weak. Imbalance is linked to heart disease, memory loss, emotional disturbances (sadness, anger, heartache) and indecisiveness.

Alochaka Pitta: Located in the skin. Along with Vata dosha, our sensitivity to the world through our skin depends on Pitta, acting through this subdosha. It is very Pitta to have irritable, red or inflamed skin. Pitta types blush easily and show their emotions through the skin, developing rashes, boils and acne under conditions of stress. In balance, Bhrajaka Pitta gives a glowing complexion that radiates happiness and vitality.
Imbalance is linked to rashes, acne, boils, skin cancers and skin disorders of all types.

Understanding of Tridoshas Functions

The three elements - vata,pitta, kapha - govern all the biological, psychological and physiopathological functions of the body, mind and consciousness. They act a s basic constituents and protective barriers for the body in its normal physological condition, when out of balance, they contribute to disease processes.

In general, there are seven types of constitutions - vata, pitta, kapha, vata-pitta, pitta-kapha, vata-kapha and vata-pitta-kapha. Among these seven general types, there are innumerable subtle variations that depend upon the percentage of vata-pitta-kapha elements in the constitution.

Functions of Tri-dosha

Vata is a principle of movement. Therefore, vata may be translated as the bodily air principle. Bodily air, or vata may be characterized as the subtle energy that governs biological movement. This biological principle of movement enegenders all subtle changes in the metabolism. Vata is formed from the two elements Ether and Air.

Vata governs breathing, blinking of the eyelids, movements in the muscles and tissues, pulsations in the heart: all expansion and contraction, the movements of cytoplasm and the cell membranes, and the movement of the single impulses in nerve cells. Vata also governs such feelings and emotions as freshness, nervousness, fear, anxiety, pain, tremors and spasms. The large intestine, pelvic cavity, bones, skin, ears and thighs are the seats of vata. If the body develops an excess of vata, it will accumulate in these areas.

Pitta is translated as fire. The term 'fire' does not literally mean fire. The bodily heat-energy, the pitta-dosha manifests as metabolism, is not visible in this way. Pitta governs digestion, absorption, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism, body temperature, skin coloration, the luster of the eyes and also intelligence and unserstanding. Psychologically, pitta arouses anger, hate and jealousy. The small intestine, stomach, sweat glands, blood, fat, eyes and skin are the seats of pitta. Pitta is formed from the two elements Fire and Water.

The translation of kapha is biological water and his bodily principle is formed from the two elements. Earth and Water. Kapha cements the elements in the body, providing the material for physical structure. This dosha maintains body resistance. Water is the main constitutent of kapha, and this bodily water is responsible physiologically for biological strength and natural tissue resistance in the body. Kapha lubricates the joints, provides moisture to the skin, helps to heal wounds, fills the spaces in the body, gives biological strength, vigor and stability, supports memory retention, gives energy to the heart and lungs and maintains immunity. Kapha is present in the chest, throat, head, sinuses, nose, mouth, stomach, joints, cytoplasm, plasma and liquid secretions of the body such as mucus. Psychologically kapha is responsible for emotions of attachment,greed and long-standing envy, it is also expressed in tendencies toward calmness, forgiveness and love. The chest is the seat of kapha.

Therefore a balance among the tridosha is necessary for health.

The Elements of Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy and people with health problems can improve their health.

Its recommendations will often be different for each person regarding which foods and which lifestyle they should follow in order to be completely healthy. This is due to its use of a constitutional model. It understands that there are energetic forces that influence nature and human beings. These forces are called the Tridoshas. It sees a strong connection between the mind and the body.

Ayurveda is a science of life it helps maintain health by using the inherent principles of nature to bring the individual backs into equilibrium with their true self.

Ayurveda looks at each individual as a unique structure of the three doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha and five primary elements- ether (space), air, fire, water and earth. These elements present in the environment have great influence on us. Ether and air combine to form Vata dosha. Fire and water combine to form the Pitta dosha and water and earth combine to form Kupha dosha.

Vata Dosha- Vata governs the principle of movement and therefore can be seen as the force which directs nerve impulses, circulation, respiration, and elimination.
Pitta Dosha- The Pitta dosha is the process of transformation or metabolism. The transformation of foods into nutrients that our bodies can assimilate is a pitta function. Pitta is also responsible for metabolism in the organ and tissue systems as well as cellular metabolism.
Kapha Dosha- Kapha is responsible for growth, 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 body. Also, the mucosal lining of the stomach is another example of the Kapha dosha protecting the tissues. We are all made up of unique proportions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

These ratios of the doshas vary in each individual; and because of this, Ayurveda sees each person as unique composition that accounts for our diversity.

Ayurveda suggest specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing the dosha that has become excessive. It also suggests certain herbal supplements to hasten the healing process. If toxins in the body are abundant, then a cleansing process known as Pancha Karma is recommended to eliminate these unwanted toxins.