Svastha Health

Step 1: Find out your constitution (Prakruti)

Holistic online has an easy and simple online test to determine your doshic constitution (prakruti). Click here to take it and find out what your natural balance of primal energies (doshas) is. The more in depth the questions are, the more accurate your doshic analysis is. This is why when you have an intake session with an ayurvedic healer (vaidhya), you would have a three hour discussion on every aspect of your life to determine your constitution and your imbalances. They also offer a second version that is a bit longer, which you can click here for.

Remember, when you are answering these questions, you should answer them from the perspective of the happiest you have been. This is because we are happiest when we are in our ideal balance of the doshas, and so to determine this ideal ratio, we should answer these questions from that viewpoint.

When you answer these surveys from the standpoint of where you are today, now, you are determining your vikruti (current state) instead of your prakruti. To access the survey for determining your vikruti, see the post "Step 2: what does a doshic imbalance mean?" in this category.

Step 2: Determining your imbalances

To determine which doshas may be out of balance for you, you must compare your vikruti (ratio of primal energies NOW) to your prakruti (ideal ratio of primal energies). Click here to take the holistic online vikruti survey, and compare it to the results of your prakruti survey (Please see post on "finding out your doshic constitution" in this category.)

Immediately, you will be able to see which doshas are in excess. Keep in mind that these online surveys are a proxy for a real intake by an ayurvedic practitioner and the numbers may be a little off. That's ok. The main purpose is to see which doshas are higher in your vikruti analysis than your prakruti. Then you can focus on getting these doshas in balance.

In this category, look for posts to guide you to bringing yourself back to balance (toward your prakruti)!

Step 3: Understanding what a doshic imbalance means

Everyone is born with a certain constitution (prakruti). This is essentially a ratio of the three primal energies (doshas) that is determined at conception and does not change in this lifetime. I like to think about this as three gas tanks that we have and we all have a certain combination of what levels we like our gas tanks to be filled at. For example, I happen to have a prakruti that is approximately of 60:20:30 pitta, kapha, vata. Notice that these do not have to add up to 100%! Each gas tank has it's own 100% to reach. Everyone has ALL THREE doshas within them, so no one is 100% of just one.

Being in balance means that you are at your ideal combo of doshic energy levels. It does NOT mean that your levels of pitta, kapha and vata are equal.

We become "imbalanced" when our levels of the doshas EXCEED our prakruti, or ideal ratio. For example, if my vata gas tank happens to rise to 50%, I am in vata imbalance. The ratio of the three doshas NOW, in my present state, is not matched with my birth-determined ideal (prakruti). This current state, which happens to be vata imbalance in this example, is called our vikruti.

Thus by comparing our present state (vikruti) with our ideal (prakruti), we can see which doshas are out of balance (in excess). We can never be below the levels we were born with, imbalance is only in excess.

Step 4: Adressing a Kapha Imbalance

If your vikruti levels of kapha are much greater than your prakruti levels, you are in a state of kapha excess. This is sometimes referred to as kapha "imbalance" or "vitiation".

Remember that kapha is a dense dosha, composed of earth and water; its qualities include cold, moist, heavy, static, dull, and cloudy. Those with predominantly kapha energy in their constitution (prakruti) may identify with some of these characteristics, as may those in kaphic imbalance. Some of the physical, emotional, and mental symptoms of kaphic excess are listed below. Melancholy, laziness, congestion are all common manifestations of kapha imbalance.

Adding in a bit of adventure, spontaneity, and spice is balancing for kapha--in your food, routine, and relationships. Let go of all the "stuff" you are accumulating and holding on to--mucous, emotional baggage, objects you are sentimentally attached to. Walking up early and staying active is going to be really hard to motivate yourself to do at first, but once you start, you'll feel your spirit and body experience the benefits.

Of course, food is the major intake route for doshic energy into our beings. For a kapha balancing menu from holisticonline, click here.

For the other five senses, wear bright, warm colors. Try some warming spiced teas (chai, ginger, etc.)and a more active yoga practice.

Step 4: Addressing a Pitta Imbalance

Higher pitta levels in your vikruti, as compared to your prakruti, indicates a pitta imbalance. A truer term would be pitta excess, as doshic imbalance in this ayurvedic framework only occurs in excess.

Pitta energy is the digestive and metabolic force in the world, from the level of each cell to the whole universe. Composed of the fire element contained in water, pitta is hot, moist, light, flowing, sharp; these qualities can be seen in the personalities of people with predominantly pitta prakruti, or those in pitta imbalance. The slide below lists a few of the common symptoms of pitta excess in our physical, emotional, and mental beings.

Like fire, pitta imbalance is reflected in our thinking and behavior; excess pitta is seen in being reactive, intense, critical and in over-analyzing. Being in calm places and around calm people is soothing for pitta. Try wearing cool colors, light floral scents (rose is soooo good for pacifying pitta!), and drinking herbal floral teas. Sweets (natural of course) are also a nice way to calm pitta imbalance. The most effective way to calm doshic imbalance is, of course, through our diet. For a pitta balancing menu from holisticonline, click here.

Step 4: Addressing a Vata Imbalance

If the vata level in your vikruti analysis is greater than the level in your prakruti analysis, you are housing more vata energy than your constitution prefers. This is sometimes referred to as being in vata imbalance, although a more accurate term would be vata excess.

The slide below lists a few of the physical, mental and emotional symptoms of vata excess. Generally speaking, symptoms of vata excess reflect excess cold, dryness, and motion.

Remember that the doshas are reflected in everything that exists. We can see them at work in the seasons of the year, the times of day, and even in the dynamic between two people. When we think of all the ways in which we take in the doshas from our environment (5 senses: doshic energies are taken in through what we see, hear, smell, touch, taste), we can see that our food is an important source of doshic energy. If you are eating a diet heavy in vata energy (cold, dry foods like ricecakes, salad, crackers), you may be exacerbating your vata imbalance. For a menu of vata calming foods from holisticonline, click here.

In today's multitasking  society,  our minds are racing in many directions.  Not getting enough sleep and multitasking increase vata energy. To bring vata back into balance, we need to have grounding foods, company, and lifestyle. Eating warming comfort foods, drinking spiced teas, wearing warm/bright colored clothing are all good to pacify vata vitiation. Meditation is very beneficial to promote single-mindedness, which calms vata excess. Yoga, tying the breath to moving meditation, is also very effective in bringing vata into balance.

Bringing some semblance of routine into our lives is also great for calming vata energy. Ideally, we'd be awake, eat, and work on a set schedule and our bodies would customize their function to meet this routine. Without routine, the body is constantly trying to adapt it's function to deal with what we are experiencing. This continual adjusting of our bodies' functions drains us in the long run. This is what we feel when we experience jet lag, or feeling tired up to two days after a late night. Western medical sleep studies indicate it takes two days for our brain function to reach baseline levels after a night without any sleep (U.S. Medical Residents sleep deprivation study). So try to do one thing at the same time everyday. It can be as simple as lighting an incense,or writing in your calendar, just try to do this at the same time everyday. Gradually, work up to trying to eat one meal a day at the same time, and eventually you may start to even go to bed and wake up at the same time. Your body will start to optimize its functions, and you will feel the difference.
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