The original Sanskrit meaning of Ayurveda is the ’science of life’. It dates back for more than five thousand years to ancient Indian medicine, a naturally based medical system, which can be understood as a type of map. This map informs us about what ’doshas’, or Ayurvedic figures, we own and on that basis advises us how to live, what kind of exercise we should do, in what manner we should organise our environment and, of course, it also tells us what to eat.
If we accept these innate characteristics then, with minimal effort, we can create harmony in our bodies, souls and spirits and prevent diseases. Even fluctuations in body weight can be avoided with this method!
Doshas : Vata, Pitta, Kapha
Ayurvedic philosophy is based on the five natural elements - earth, water, fire, air and aether - made up of the pairwise interaction doshas. The three types of doshas are as follows :
- Vata, air and exercise;
- Pitta, fire and transformation;
- Kapha, water, land and basics.
What kind of dosha are you?
Most people have mixed types and sometimes one person has not just two but three doshas at the same time.
Vata characteristics - thin, bony, wiry, active, dry skin and dry black hair.. Agitated and restless the people in this group have fantastic imaginations and a good short-term memory.
Recommended Nutrition - hot soups, succulent vegetables, mush.
Pitta Characteristics - medium build, light-yellow skin and light hair. They are enterprising and confident people who are accurate, intelligent and have a good memory.
Recommended nutrition - raw foods, vegetables, fruits and varied, continuous fluid intake.
Kapha Characteristics - good muscles, good bones, lean physique, mostly dark coloured, oily skin and dark, rich, curly hair. Slow-witted, lazy people tend to fall into this