What is your Body Type?

 

According to Ayurveda, our body is combination of three doshas, namely, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These doshas are the backbone of our existence. Every person has these three doshas but one or two of them are dominant. While these Doshas are balanced, a person experiences healthy physical and mental state and peacefulness. But the imbalance causes one to visit hospital. Now, I have tried my best to list down the characterstics of each dosha in simple words, hope you find this helpful.

Before learning about the three doshas, we must know about what this earth is made up of. Earth is made up of five elements which are inter-related with each other. These five elements are- Bhoomi(Earth), Apaha/Jal(Water), Agni(Fire), Vayu(Air), Akash(Space). Humans too are said to have composed of these five elements. Vata is formed by interaction of Vayu with Akash, Pitta by interaction of Agni with Jal and Kapha by interaction of Jal with Bhoomi.

Vata (Air and Space)

Properties of Vata [As mentioned in Ashtanga Hrydayam(1.10)]	Dry, Light, Cold, Rough, Subtle and Mobile
Physical Appearance	l Lean Body l Thin Hands and legs l Below Average Body Structure
Bright Side	l Very Active, just like wind l Good Dreamers due to less sound sleep l Good Speaker l Thinkers l Creative Mind
Flip Side	l Bad sleep, less sleep l Poor Appetite and digestion issues l Intolerant to cold l They have dry skin mostly l They find it difficult to focus or Concentrate on one thing l Fickle minded and hence, take time to make decision l Weak Memory Power
Imbalanced Vata	When imbalanced, vata tends to cause fear, anxiety, isolation, loneliness, and exhaustion. It can lead to both physical and energetic depletion and disrupt proper communication.

Pitta ( Fire and water)

Properties of Pitta [As mentiond in Ashtanga Hrydayam(1.11)]	Oily, Absorbant, Hot, light, Mobile and Fluid
Physical Appearance	Well Proportioned Physical Appearance
Bright Side	l Good and quick digestion l Good Appetite,they get hungry soon l Very Social due to their charming personality l Good Leaders l Intelligent, dedicated, strong minded l Firm Judgement l Quick Thought process and quick decision makers l Good Memory Power l Competitive nature
Flip Side	l Intolerant to heat l Sweat too much l Oily Skin and hair l Prone to Hairfall and white hairs l Often have skin issues l Very Aggressive l Demanding l Temperamental l Might have feeling of Jealousy
Imbalanced Pitta	When imbalanced, Pitta tends to cause fiery emotions such as frustration, anger, jealousy, and criticism.

Kapha(Water and earth)

Properties of Kapha [As mentioned in Ashtanga Hrydayam(1.12)]	Oily, Cold, Heavy, Viscous, Smooth, slimy and immobile
Physical Appearance	l Overweight Body l Body feels heavy and inert l Strong bones and bigger muscles l Thicker Hairs
Bright Side	l Often Lazy, but still smart, they do their work efficiently in less time l Firm Judgement l Calm and Complacent l Caring, Loving and affectionate l Loyal and dependable l They do not get mad at anyone easily, but once they get angry, that anger stays for a longer time l Slow learners, but whatever they learn, they never forget
Flip Side	l Love to sleep and they have a deep sleep l Produces more mucus in body, hence have respiratory problems like, bad breath, cough, etc. l Slow workers l Possessive l Easily demotivated, prone to depression
Imbalanced Kapha	When imbalanced, Kapha tends to create stubbornness, lethargy and resistance to change. It triggers their emotions of attachment, person becomes more possessive and greedy.

Prakriti Dosha and Vikriti Dosha

Prakriti Dosha is something which inborn in us. One of the Dosha is dominant in us by birth, due to genetic constitution or whatever maybe the reason but its inbuilt dominant. Whereas Vikriti Dosha is adopted Dosha. A person learns new things and gets adopted to new lifestyle during course of his life. This new lifestyle and new changes make one of the dosha dominant. Thus, in this way there can be two dominant dosha in one person.

 

So what is your dominant Dosha?