Finding Balance in Our Everyday Lives (an Ayurvedic perspective)
Ayurveda emphasizes the principle that every individual has the capability to “self-heal”. It is a system of holistic medicine that’s been around for thousands of years (first recorded in the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scriptures). Ayurveda is born of the theory that when the universe was created, every part of it and in it can be broken down into five elements: Ether – Air – Fire – Water – Earth. From these elements, we have the three doshas:
Vata – Ether/Air (Associated with movement, it governs breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement <ie. Beating of the heart> and all movements in the cytoplasm and cell membranes)
Pitta – Fire/Water (Expresses as the body’s metabolic system, it governs digestion, absorption and metabolism)
Kapha – Water/Earth (This energy forms the body’s structure. It’s the bones, muscles, tendons, etc. It provides the “glue” that holds cells together. Kapha supplies the water for all bodily parts and systems. It lubricates the joints and maintains immunity)
These elements help us direct our energy toward health (or toward dis-ease). The three doshas are seen as the vitalizing forces of life; when they’re in balance, health and clarity are the natural outcome (sattva). When out of balance, the doshas cause disease and decay (making us tamasic or rajasic). It’s important to understand these principles and balance our lifestyle to minimize the negative effects of imbalanced doshas.
Every one of us possesses these elements in our bodies, affecting our daily lives. However, the combination of the three doshas varies widely from person to person. Despite the differences, it’s typical to see a predominance of one over the others (for example: Vata/Pitta, Pitta/Kapha, Kapha/Vata, etc.). Occasionally you’ll see two doshas split almost evenly. In rare instances, someone will be an equal balance of all three, called tri-doshic.
So what’s your unique combination of doshas? Maybe you identify with some of the following…
Speaking in generalities, Vata-type people are highly creative and highly sociable. Because Vata is governed by air and movement, predominantly Vata people tend to move around a lot. For example; at the party, they know how to work the room. They want to meet all the people. However, because of the highly mobile nature of their personalities, they may quickly forget people’s names. Things come, things go. They are full of wonderful ideas and highly expressive. When under stress they may feel anxious and have trouble sleeping.
Pitta-dominant people tend to get “fired up” easily. When they find a cause they’re passionate about, they’ll stand up for it no matter the cost. Their level of focus makes them highly intelligent, dedicated and loyal – though also really intense. At the party, they find someone interesting to talk to and they stay focused, getting to know all of the things about the one person, or the one topic, etc. This level of intensity however, can lead to burn out if they’re not careful. Burnt-out Pittas typically suffer from heartburn and other stomach ailments and anger quickly.
Individuals who are Kapha-dominant are everybody’s friend. They’re laid back, easy to get along with and they like to laugh a lot. Kapha-types are also the ones with the beautiful (and large) blue eyes, lustrous hair and luminescent skin. They’re generally well-grounded people and wonderful listeners. At the party, they’re the ones everyone seeks out to spend time with and laugh with. Not typically “morning people”, Kapha folks take some time to get moving. When they’re out of balance they can feel stuck, depressed and suffer from sinus issues/congestion.
It’s helpful to know what characteristics we lean toward, so we can keep ourselves in balance and feeling well. How do we know when we’re out of balance? Stand back and take a peek at yourself. Are you experiencing insomnia? Nervousness? These are Vata-related issues. Physically, Vata imbalances tend to cause bloating, dry skin and poor circulation.
Looking at how we live our lives, everything is fast. A lot of looking at screens – a lot of things our minds take in through our eyes, our experiences. Remember, Vata is associated with movement. When it becomes too much we have problems.
Pitta stress shows as heat. Anger, self-criticism and irritability are all Pitta-related. Physically and mentally, Pitta gets “burned out” when they’ve overdone it. Sore throats and eczema are Pitta-related imbalances.
When Kapha people get stressed others will rarely know it; they metaphorically sweep things under the carpet. They keep it to themselves. Physically, Kapha imbalances show up as sinus congestion (mucous) or excess weight. Too much water/earth getting “stuck”; becoming immobile.
How do we bring back balance? How do we find better health?
For starters, if you gravitate towards your dosha’s characteristics, you can find yourself out of balance more quickly. I’ll give you an example:
I have a Vata-dominant friend who’s also a runner. Without exaggeration, she runs close to 300 miles a month (a MONTH!!!). She lives in the Pacific Northwest and in wintertime, she runs in 20+mph winds that tend to gust higher. As Vata-dominant, too much cold weather and wind is aggravating to her. So it was no surprise that she complained of developing deep cuts in her hands and feet because her skin got so dry! If that wasn’t bad enough, she also suffered from Reynaud’s phenomenon and chilblains. All of these things were caused by cold weather, and an overabundance of air and movement (too much air can cause inflammation – think of how brush fires start).
What I recommended to her (after I suggested she should see a doctor if the issues didn’t resolve) was that she needed to find some balance to counter the ill-effects of the cold and the wind. Lavender is soothing. I advised her to put lavender essential oil in a carrier like sunflower oil – and to use it on her hands and skin every time she bathed/showered and even washed her hands. To help lock-in moisture.
I asked about her diet. Her eating habits were what most would consider very healthy: plentiful salads and dried fruit as snacks. I recommended she cut back on the salads (especially in winter, too much raw food is irritating on the digestion, causing gas for Vata: AIR!). But dried fruits – once again, more air. She’s better served by adding bananas, cherries and fresh figs to her diet. Those types of fruits tend to be tart, adding more heat (increasing Pitta).
The amazing thing is, after she made some adjustments, she saw marked improvement in her symptoms. These little tweaks helped her restore and recover. Is running in winter still going to aggravate her? Probably, yeah…but she now knows some ways to fortify her body against things she knows will result in imbalance. She can protect herself better.
The point of all that is, when we understand the elements we better understand our doshas. The food we eat all have attributes related to the five elements. Certain aromas have the same effect (which is why aromatherapy can be highly effective). Heck, even the time of day and season impacts the balance of elements in our dosha(s). This is why our yoga practice becomes important; how we exercise, meditate and think can impact the right balance of elements for our unique dosha combination.
In an effort to avoid these posts getting too long, I’ve decided to make this topic a 3-part series. In the next two editions we’ll focus more on Pitta and Kapha.
Wanna learn some more? Reach out if you’re curious about Ayurveda and the doshas. If you’d like a questionnaire helping you determine your unique dosha (entirely for your own information), let me know! I’ve compiled a pretty good one in an Excel file. (see “Contact Gail” below).
Ready for a deep dive? Join me via Zoom on Sunday, June 6 for an Ayurveda workshop that gets into dietary and lifestyle choices (unique to you), etc. to further understand the importance of balance. We’ll cover how to recognize when you’re imbalanced and first steps to take to feel better!
Email me with questions or if you’re ready to sign up for the 6/6 workshop. Class is 75-minutes long, starting at 12noon. Workshop cost: $15.
