What are Ayurvedic Doshas?

Sat, 02/13/2010

Ayurveda, the “science of life” has a basic belief that everything within the universe, including ourselves, is composed of the panchamahabhoot - five elements: ether, air, fire, water and earth.

These five elements are rarely independent of one or another and are often found in certain combinations or groups. Ayurveda calls them the three doshas (literally means impurity, as in two elements mixed together).

Ether + Air = vata dosha
Fire + Water = pitta dosha
Water + Earth = kapha dosha

Every person on this planet has some amount of each element inside of them, and therefore we all have some vata, pitta, and kapha. What makes a person unique is the amount of each element they have.

After determining one’s constitution, specific customized therapies, lifestyle regimes and products can be tailored for that individual to promote good health, balance and well being.

Characteristics	Vata (Air Element)	Pitta (Fire Element)	Kapha (Water Element)
Body Frame	Thin Irregular	Medium Well-Proportioned	Broad Well-Proportioned
Weight	Easy to Lose Hard to Gain	Easy to Lose Hard to Gain	Hard to Lose Easy to Gain
Skin	Dark Tans Easily Cold to Touch	Light Sunburns Warm to Touch	Medium Tans Cool to Touch
Sweat	Scanty	Profuse in Heat	Moderate
Hair	Dry Coarse Curly Often Dark	Fine Straight Light Goes Gray / Bald	Oily Thick Shiny Dark
Eye Color	Gray Dark Blue	Hazel Green Blue	Brown Blue
Appetite	Variable	Intense	Regular
Evacuation	Erratic Constipated	Regular Loose	Regular Slow
Climate	Prefers Warm	Prefers Cool	Enjoys Seasons
Stamina	Poor Over-Exerts	Medium Can Over-Exert	Good Under-Exerts
Sex Drive	Variable	Often Intense	Steady
Fertility	Poor	Medium	Good
Sleep	Variable Often Poor Deep if tired	Medium Sleeps Easily Rises Easily	Good Sleeps Easily Difficult to Rise
Speech	Talkative May Ramble	Speaks Purposefully	Slow Cautious
Emotion	Fear	Anger	Avoids Confrontation
Thinking	Usually Verbal	Visual	Uses Feelings & Emotions
Memory	Learns Quickly Forgets Quickly	Learns Quickly Forgets Slowly	Learns Quickly Forgets Slowly