You've heard the word dosha before—but knowing your prakriti can help you stay balanced and healthy.
By Colleen Fraser, RMT, CAP
Lately it seems as if the phrase "my dosha" is tossed around like an old shoe. We've all gotten pretty comfortable using dosha to indicate a person's Ayurvedic body type. But do we really understand what the word means?
The three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha—are principles. They can't be seen with the naked eye, but their effects in the body can't be missed. Thought to be condensed from different combinations of the primal elements earth, water, fire, air, and ether, the doshas are the life energies behind all of our bodily functions. Each of them commands a specific force in the body, and each is associated with certain sensory qualities.
Dosha is a Sanskrit word that means "fault," "defect," or "that which darkens." It comes from the root dush, meaning "to become corrupt or bad; to sin." A classical text of Ayurveda, the Charaka Samhita, employs it mainly to indicate excess that is capable of causing disease.
Prakriti means "nature," and it refers not only to the natural universe but also to a person's nature—to that distinct constellation of qualities native to an individual. Our prakriti is our own permanent biological blueprint, a snapshot of our combined doshas at our first moment of existence. Our prakriti is the template for our original, and therefore personally ideal, state of balance.
The ratio between the doshas shows us a self-referencing tool. Vata represents "movement or wind" - it is governed by the nervous system and all activities physically and mentally that give us movement. Pitta represents our "metabolism" so all metobolic processes in the body and mind. Kapha is "fluidity or phlegm" so all lubrication, liquid by products like water and mucous and in the mind it would be in the form of heaviness, sluggishness. These 3 humors constitute the vital functions of the body and everyone is unique in the combination of these. As we move through life these 3 humors can become excessive at times, and ayurveda teaches us tools to bring them back to a natural state. It is a 3 dimensional way to look at health and disease. You do have to think out of the box with this stuff, and of course, the best way to go is to have an ayurvedic practitioner do a pulse reading . The ayurvedic pulse has 7 layers to it. We can read a person's state of health in each organ system, all tissues components like blood, muscle, bone, nerves and reproductive.
Once we understand our personal profile we can find foods, activities and lifestyle choices that will best support our system for healthy immunity...and what measures to take when we are sick, injured, travelling, in wet, cold season or warm hot weather. We can also consider factors that influence us at different times of day or times of life. For example, as we age more Vata kicks in naturally because Vata is all about entrophy. Age increases entrophy and the skin becomes dry and wrinkled, the bones become weaker, the nervous system does not respond as optimally. Ayurveda truly understand this process of aging and teaches us ways to age gracefully ---
As the Charaka Samhita states, "The attributes of the doshas resemble those of the factors that vitiate [aggravate] them." When the qualities of our sensory experience cause any of the doshas to accumulate in us, the result is our vikriti, which means our "current state" or "manifest imbalance."
So keep an eye on your vikriti! And don't hesitate to see a qualified practitioner for dietary, herbal, and lifestyle guidance.
Colleen Fraser RMT,CAP