Dosha | Know your ayurvedic body type | Common problems with dosha | How to balance them

 Introduction

Everyone wants to know about himself. In this article, we will talk about the different body types and what type of body type do you have. We will came to know on the basis of dosha that means kapha, pitta and vata. You may have heard about this.

Your body type

                                            We all are not same. We too have categorised on the basis of dosha. That is why some of us like sweet taste and some like savoury taste, some like winter and others summer. That is because we all have different dosha. Let us came to know about your body type. You just have to sit with a pen and a paper.

                                  Our body is made of three doshas, kapha, pitta and vata. You have to balance all of the dosha. Balance of all these doshas is health. I will ask you some questions and you have to give answers on the basis of your likings. I will ask you 15 questions only.

                              Everyone has these three doshas. But some has one dosha as the prominent and the others are secondary. At the end of this session, you only has to count the number of a's, b's and c's from your answers. Let's start:

 

Q1. Body frame

a) Thin, bony and small framed. Hardly gain weight.

b) Medium built. Can gain or lose weight easily.

c) Large built. Gain weight easily but difficult to lose.

 

Q2. Walk and talk

a) Fast walk and talk.

b) Moderate and determined walk.

c) Slow and steady walk.

 

Q3. Weather reaction

a) Enjoy warm climate but feel uncomfortable in cool weather.

b) Enjoy cool weather and dislike warm climate.

c) Comfortable for most of the year but prefer summer and spring. Do not like damp climate.

 

Q4. Sweating

a) Sweat little but not much. Have minimal body odour.

b) Sweat a lot. Have medium body odour.

c) Sweat moderately but sweat a lot when working hard. Have strong body odour.

 

Q5. Appetite

a) Irregular. Sometimes i feel hungry sometimes i do not.

b) Strong and sharp. Always feel hungry.

c) Decent appetite. Have tendency to eat for comfort and taste.

 

Q6. Skin

a) Normal to dry, rough, thin and cool. Skin issues like dryness, dullness and wrinkly.

b) Normal to dry, soft, reddish, sensitive and warm. Skin issues like inflammation.

c) Normal to oily, soft, thick and cool. Skin issues like excessive oily, itching, fungal infections.

 

Q7. Hair

a) Rough, dry and wavy. I get split ends easily.

b) Normal, straight, thin and brownish.

c) Thick, curly and oily. Hair colour tends to be on darker side.

 

Q8. Lips and teeth

a) Have thin lips and tend to get dry. Teeth can be somewhat uneven. Teeth may require constant attention.

b) Medium sized soft lips. Upper lip slightly darker than lower lip. Teeth are medium sized but i tend to suffer from cavities.

c) Large and smooth lips. Teeth are well formed and aligned and require less care in general.

 

Q9. Eyes

a) Small in size. Feel dry and sleepy eyes often. I blind a lot.

b) Medium in size. I often get reddish eyes.

c) Big and attractive eyes. I have thick eye lashes.

 

Q10. General signs

a) Cracking sound in joints. Small forehead. Nails crack easily.

b) Black moles on body. Medium forehead. Nails are pink and soft.

c) Disproportionate body like heavy thighs, hips etc. Large forehead. Nails are wide and whitish.

 

Q11. Memory

a) Quick to learn but quick to forget. Short term memory.

b) Average speed of learning. But once learnt, never forgets.

c) Slow to learn but remembers for a long time. Long term memory.

 

Q12. Mind

a) Mind tends to get restless easily.

b) Mind gets impatient or aggressive easily.

c) Mind remains cool and calm.

 

Q13. Mind on actions

a) Over thinking.

b) Quick implementation.

c) Lazy implementation. Has a tendency to procrastinate.

 

Q14. Sleep quality

a) Light and disturbed sleep. I wake up easily in the morning.

b) Moderate but regular. I can go back to sleep easily.

c) Deep and heavy. I can not wake up in the morning easily.

 

Q15. Emotional nature

a) I worry a lot. Often feel nervous and anxious.

b) I often get irritable, angry and impatient.

c) Loving and caring. It takes a lot to make me angry.

 

I think you gave all of the answers and now it's time to know your body type. A's are vata characteristics, B's are pitta characteristics and C's are kapha characteristics. Simply count all the a's, b's and c's. Allign them in ascending order. Largest number is your primary dosha and the second largest number is your secondary dosha. Your body type will be known by primary followed by secondary dosha.

If the number of a's, b's and c's are equal then it is tridosha. It means that your doshas are highly balanced or highly imbalanced. However, most of us have two predominant doshas.

                                    None of the dosha is superior. All have their own function.

Dosha	Elements	Functions
Vata	Air + Ether	Movement and communication
Pitta	Fire + Water	Digestion and transformation
Kapha	Water + Earth	Cohesiveness, structure and lubrication

 

There are seven body types on the basis of doshas:

1. Vata

2. Pitta

3. Kapha

4. Vata pitta

5. Pitta kapha

6. Vata kapha

7. Tridosha

In ancient times, the dosha says much about your career as well.

Vata	Sales, marketing, acting, dancing, teaching and other creative fields.
Kapha	Administration, public relations, nursing, counselling.
Pitta	Leadership, management, medicine, finance, politics, advocacy.

 

Common problems:

If your vata is not balanced then it causes dryness, gas, bloating, indigestion, body pain, fear, depression and fickle mind.

Imbalanced pitta causes excess heat in the body, bleeding gums, hair fall, skin rashes, frustration, anger and jealousy.

Imbalanced kapha causes cough, sinus, sneezing, lethargy and obesity.

How to balance the doshas ?

Vata - Avoid dry fruits, tea, coffee, kidney beans, raw vegetable salad. Consume cold pressed oils, desi ghee, fresh milk and products. Massage your body with sesame oil.

Pitta - Reduce salty and spicy food, chilli, meat, eggs. Eat sweet and bitter food, jaggery, mishri, water-melon, musk-melon, oranges.

Kapha - Reduce refined and oily food, milk and products. Eat home made spicy food, fresh fruits, raw vegetables, ginger tea.

Conclusion:

The idea of making this article is not to anxious you but to make you aware about your body. These doshas regulate each and every thing in our body. So we should try to make them balanced.