Ayurveda tri dosha and balancing Vaat, kapha and Pitta

By
Dr. Asha Jyoti
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ayurveda tri dosha

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is an ancient practice which involves healing with natural herbs, breathing exercise and balancing the elements of the body. The word Ayurveda is originated from Sanskrit which means  Ayur “Life or longevity” and Veda ”Sacred knowledge”.
Ayurveda is all about the three major Doshas. These Ayurveda tri dosha are Vaat, Pitta, and Kapha and their combination (any two) in the body.

Ayurveda tri dosha or Three doshas and how to balance them?

1. What is Vaat Dosha?

 Among the ayurveda tri dosha first is the Vaat dohsa. Vaat or Vayu means wind and this dosha is the main Dosha of the body. A person having Vaat dosha feels depressed, sad, pain over entire body, thirst, the roughness of skin, coolness, lightness, and constant motion. It controls the body’s blood flow and wastes elimination and breath. There are 80 known diseases that can happen due to an imbalance in vaat.

Symptoms of persons having Vaat Dosha

  • Movement – Continuous motion, walking really fast, and always in a hurry.
  • Skin – Dry skin
  • Body Frame – Small in size
  • Eyes – Droopy eyes
  • Memory – Good short term memory but can forget things easily
  • Mental State – Full of anxiety and insecurity
  • Sleep pattern – Not able to sleep properly
  • Weight – Underweight, small frame also leads to lower weight
  • Organization – Poor, not very systematic and lacks discipline
  • Eating Pattern – Irregular, no fixed time of eating
  • Speaking skills – Talk very fast, a lot of times it really becomes difficult to follow
  • Weather – Like winters

How to Balance Vaat dosha in the body

  • Flavour (Ras) – One should eat more sweets than other things.
  • Oil  – Sesame oil is best if having vaat dosha for cooking and massaging the head, ears, and legs.
  • Enema – Should do it with weekly frequency and an enema should be of oil.
  • List of recommended food items
    • Eat lentils or Urad daal ( Never use curd)
    • Use clarified butter (Ghee) for cooking
    • Should eat Jaggery(Gur) regularly
    • Eat Sugar cane (Ganna) in winters and eat products that are made out of sugar cane like Jaggery(Gur) and Rock sugar(Misri)
    • Always drink lukewarm water
    • Should consume spicy and sour food. Spicy food should only be cooked in clarified butter.
  • Thick clothes need to be wear

2. What is Kapha Dosha?

Kapha dosha is also one of the ayurveda tri dosha. This dosha related to the sense of coldness, oiliness, feeling of sweet taste, heaviness and white coloration. Asthma, heart, and bronchitis are the main diseases related to imbalance Kapha Dosha. Besides this  20 diseases are also there in this dosha.

Symptoms of persons having Kapha dosha

  • Movement – Person having Kapha dosha walks relatively slow
  • Hair – Curly or oily hairs if have Kapha dosha
  • Skin – Oily and soft skin
  • Body Frame – Big and generally overweight body
  • Eyes – Big eyes
  • Memory – Very good short term and long term memory
  • Mental State – Tension-free and calm, no or very little stress
  • Sleep pattern – regular and they sleep like a child
  • Body Weight – Overweight or healthy body type
  • Organization – Poor, not very systematic, and lacks discipline
  • Eating Pattern – Regular and always eat what they like, also they eat less quantity of food.
  • Speaking skills – Talks very fast, a lot of times it really becomes difficult to follow
  • Weather –   Winters and Rainy season are very favorable
  • Diseases – Person with Kapha dosha suffers from fatty liver, kidney or gall bladder stones, and heart diseases
  • Behavior – Stubborn and committed in nature.

How to balance Kapha dosha in the body

  • Flavour (Ras) –Prefer bitter or spicy
  • More physical activity and exercise is recommended
  • Ubtan should be used to get them
  • Kunjal Kriya – Persons having Kapha dosha should do Kunjal kriya. It a practice in Yoga where warm saline water is ingested and then expelled out to clean the upper digestive tract and stomach.
  • Food items
    • Bitter vegetables – Fenugreek, bitter gourd, Neem, and Parwal or pointed gourd
    • Horse Gram
    • Rice flakes
    • Peanuts
    • No butter or ghee
  • Should sleep late in the night
  • Fasting is recommended for balancing Kapha Dosha.

What is pitta Dosha?

As Pitta means Heat in English. This dosha is mainly related to the digestion and metabolism of the body. Other signs of pitta dosha are burning sensation, warmth and running secretion in the body, assumption of reddish coloration. 40 Major diseases mainly stomach problems and peptic ulcers are related to Pitta Dosha.

Symptoms of persons having Pitta dosha

  • Movement – Persons having Pitta dosha walks with medium speed.
  • Hair – Fewer hairs, brown or red hairs.
  • Skin – soft and have redness.
  • Body Frame – Medium body frame
  • Eyes – small eyes and red in color
  • Memory – Normal memory
  • Mental State – Quick thinker, on feet thinking and very sharp
  • Sleep pattern – Regular but not very deep sleep
  • Weight – normal
  • Organization – Poor, not very systematic and lacks discipline
  • Eating Pattern – Always hungry and eat a large quantity of food.
  • Speaking skills – Slow talking
  • Weather –   summer is favorable
  • Diseases – Always suffer from heartburn and acidity. Blood-related problems, chances of internal or external bleeding because of low platelet count .
  • Behavior – aggressive and in case they are stressed aggressiveness will amplify. A lot of inertia and take time for a change.

How to balance Pitta dosha in the body

  • Ras – No sour food is good in case having Pitta Dosha. Only eat bitter or sweet food
  • Food items
    • Pomegranate
    • Clarified butter (Ghee) – reduces the Agni in the stomach
    • Indian gooseberry
    • Sandalwood face pack( Ubtan)
    • Bel pather
    • Sweets
    • Milk and milk products
    • Fresh butter with rock sugar
  • Wear silver
  • Spend time with kids
  • No loud music