Heal Yourself With Ayurveda by Lissa Coffey

Ayurveda Explained: What It Is and How It Can Help

The ancient Indian “science of life” called Ayurveda explains that human beings, like the Universe, are made up of each of the five elements (air, space, fire, water and earth) and the Soul. Therefore, our bodies are a microcosm of the Universe within itself.

How are these elements expressed in our bodies? Air is inhaled during breathing; it pumps the blood through our system to keep us alive. Space is in the hollow cavities of the body, and we require space to move around. Fire is a part of our digestive system that helps to break down the food we eat and burn calories to give us energy. Water composes about two-thirds of our body, and we need water to survive. Earth is in our bones and our vital minerals that keep us healthy.

These elements, in their biological form, are known as doshas:

Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

• Vata is made up of a combination of Air and Space.
  
• Pitta is a combination of Fire and Water.
  
• Kapha is made up of a combination of Earth and Water.
  

Every activity and function of our mind and body is dependent upon the balanced or unbalanced state of our doshas.

Because we all have all of the elements in our bodies, we all have each of the doshas as well. But every one of us is born with a unique, individual balance of these doshas. So, no two of us are alike! The idea is to find what our own special combination of doshas is, and to work to keep in balance so that we stay in radiant health, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Just about everything could be classified by its dominant dosha. Here are a few examples of the ways Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are expressed in the world around us. See if you can begin to guess which dosha you are:

VATA     PITTA     KAPHA

Gazelle     Tiger     Elephant

Hummingbird     Eagle     Swan

Stars     sun     moon

Bamboo     pine     oak

Violin     cello     bass

Sand     clay     mud

Orchid     rose     chrysanthemum

Emu     Kangaroo     Koala

Hurricane     volcano     avalanche

Even film and literary characters could be described by their dominant Doshas. Here are a few to get you thinking!

VATA     PITTA     KAPHA

Scarlett    Rhett    Melanie

Peter Pan     Captain Hook     Wendy

Olive Oyl     Popeye     Bluto

Tigger     Rabbit     Winnie-the-Pooh

Ace Ventura     Erin Brockovich     The Godfather

Snoopy     Lucy     Charlie Brown

By now you may have an idea of your own dominant dosha, but I’ve devised a little quiz to help. There are two sections, one for body and one for mind. This will help you better define your dosha when you finish. None of the statements are too personal, so you should be able to answer for someone you know fairly well, too. Obviously, there are many more attributes to each dosha (and you will read about some as we go on), but the traits on this list are a good representation. While all three doshas express themselves in some way in everyone in both body and personality, in most cases one or two are dominant.

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