An Introduction to Ayurveda

Ayurveda could be defined as one of the earliest & oldest medicines on the planet.

It was developed during Vedic times even though some say it was Pre Vedic & finds roots in the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Ayurveda literally means life knowledge or in other words knowledge of vital power/force.

Ayurveda is an intuition based system, mainly characterised by the balance of the 3 Doshas.

The 3 Doshas are :

Vata (Air)
Pitta (Fire)
Kapha (Earth)

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When balanced, it leads to good health, when out of balance it leads to disease.

We generally have a main Dosha & the 2 others follow but evidently we are composed of all the Doshas.

When the TriDoshas (3) are in balance, this leads to good health, but often times one Dosha is out of balance.

Many Characteristics defines each Dosha & again I find it a fun tool to work within yet not taking the Doshas too seriously as they can become fixed labels & radicalise our ways of thinking rather than staying flexible in the mind for expansion & impermanence.

Yet it is great to have a deeper approach in understanding our Prakriti (constitution).

Ayurveda's 3 Dosha's (Prakriti) according to my perception :

Vata people tend to be always on the move. Fast movers they can be quiet ethereal but if Kapha is in balance the tendency is a grounded ether. They are the initiators. You can always recognise a Vata person when they speak to you. They speak fast & there eyes tend to go & roll all over the place as there energy is fast like the wind. There bodies tend to be asymmetrical. They tend to be none attached & have many friends around them. With more awareness, they become more grounded. If Vata is out of Balance, it leads to being ungrounded, restless & a tendency to over-analyse. Vata therefore is one to look out for in all of us, paying careful attention & taking care of.

Pitta people are fire therfore in a constant transformation. They tend to be very good organisers. Once the Idea is initiated by Vata, Pitta brings it to next level by managing, organising & implementing the Idea. There body constitution tends to be quiet symmetric with limbs in balance. They tend to have a very close circle of friends around them ( 5 friends at most) & many admirers on outer circles who rarely get close to them. When out of balance, as fire is stored in the stomach & digestive system, it can create all sorts of digestive problems. On a psycho spiritual level, Pitta can be over competitive & manipulative.

Kapha people generally carry a lot of phlegm in the body. If too much Phlegm, this brings way to a Kapha out of balance. They tend to be balanced, strong, symmetrical & quiet stocky with a grounded pace in the feet (You tend to hear Kapha people enter a room as there feet pound the ground like solid stone. They get things done. In other words after implementation of the Idea by Pitta, Kapha will finalise the project by fully realising it into matter. Very self centred yet loyal, super social, they find it hard to say no to others. When out of balanced, can be overly attached, an extreme CARE BEAR.