By Adam Ruggiero
Ayurvedic medicine can lovingly be called the only truly preventative, palliative and completely individualized form of health care – particularly in our increasingly cure all-driven Western society. One of the ways in which Ayurveda works is by guiding and responding to the states of each person’s doshas.
Doshas can be understood as the unique energy signature of each individual. They are the biological energies of the Five Elements that exist within each of us and pervade our entire being, body and mind. There are three doshas; we each have a dominant dosha and some unique combination of all three to varying degrees that make us who we are – our appetite, our shape, our disposition, our qualities, our character, everything.
The three doshas are Vata (space & air), Pitta (fire & water) and Kapha (water & earth). At birth, you entered the universe in perfect balance – prakruti. At this moment your unique homeostasis was established and your ideal dosha state created. Our doshas are fluid, constantly pushed and pulled by our environment (stress, work, weather) and our choices (diet, exercise, play). Through ayurvedic practices – eating and yoga, for example – we bring ourselves more in harmony with prakruti, our natural dosha state.
Because we are each different and our needs so specific to our being, we all require something different from ayurveda. The first step to knowing what that is, is understanding our own doshas. Please visit one or both of these sites to learn more and take this free quiz to learn your doshas and this one, too! Then, we would love for you to tell us what you learned – we can tailor our in-class practice to respond to your needs and help guide you into more harmonic living outside of class.
Don’t be shy, post a reply! Show us your doshas!