Each person has an innate combination of three bioenergies, or doshas, which shape the body both physically and mentally, creating their unique individual constitution. All health problems originate actually due to a permanent imbalance or significant deviation of these doshas.
Dosha imbalances are caused by wrong habits and stereotypes, unhealthy diet, wrong combination of foods, suppression of needs, emotional and psychological instability, frustration and negative thinking. From these causes, waste toxic substances (ama) are created, which are deposited in bodily tissues and cause a disturbance in the balance of the three biological energies (doshas). If we can determine our psychosomatic constitution (prakrti) and also recognize our current doshic imbalance (vikrti), then we can better understand where our weaknesses and tendencies lie. Then we can effectively proceed with changes in diet (ahara) and lifestyle (vihara) so that we can maintain good health which is manifested by moderate appetite, good digestion, regular excretion, clear voice, absence of pain, refreshing sleep, good appearance, mental stability, energy, endurance, enthusiasm, balance, peace and compassion.
Discover your mental and physical constitution and restore your life balance! To find out your individual dosha constitution, take the Dosha Test online.
Preservation of Health According to the Original Constitution (prakrti)
If you do not currently have any of your doshas in significant imbalance, it is important to be aware of which dosha is dominant in your constitution and take care not to irritate it so that you can maintain your natural dosha balance. For example, if you feel healthy and your dominant dosha is pitta, but you are leading a team of people with constant need of communication and under the constant weight of responsibilities, then it is best to choose a therapy to reduce pitta dosha (Pitta dosha therapy). The same is true in the case of typologically different situations for people with a predominance of vata or kapha dosha.
Restoring Health According to the Current State of Imbalance (vikrti)
If any of your doshas are currently too elevated and you feel imbalanced, then it is very beneficial to follow a regular daily routine according to the Dosha therapies (Vata, Pitta or Kapha Dosha therapies) to help calm the disturbed doshas. For example, if you feel insecure and anxious, have dry skin and cold limbs, your vata dosha is too elevated. Then it is important to choose Vata dosha therapy to relieve the irritated dosha. The same is true for typical kapha or pitta disorders.
Restoring Health According to the Seasons (prakrtika-samprapti)
The state of our dosha imbalance is influenced by many internal and external factors. One of the external causes of dosha disturbance is the regular change of seasons, where there is a greater incidence of health problems caused by an increase in individual dosha based on weather changes in a particular season. Autumn and winter are periods of increased vata, and during winter there is a gradual accumulation of kapha, which manifests itself in the form of colds or flu epidemics in spring. A period of increased pitta then occurs in the warm months of summer. Therefore, to maintain one's dosha balance, one needs to adjust one's daily regimen, cleansing program, use of herbs, application of oils, proper diet and lifestyle according to the season or climate in which one lives.
Preservation of Individual Dosha Balance as Prevention of Disease
Ayurvedic diet therapy and healthy lifestyle therapy
- Ayurvedic diet therapy (ahara) is the conscious preparation and consumption of appropriately chosen foods that are in harmony with our dosha constitution. Such food then becomes our medicine, which profoundly affects the state of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
- Healthy lifestyle therapy (vihara) is the most natural means and the so-called "middle way" to achieve physical and mental balance. It does not mean suppressing one's needs, but learning to control them and to live in accordance with one's natural constitution and the inner guidance of one's soul (atman), which is the very essence of life and the true source of our capacity for healing.
Therapy with a regular daily routine (dinacharya), which is in accordance with the cycle of the biological clock of the three doshas, helps to establish a natural balance of our individual constitution. The daily 24-hour cycle goes through six biological phases, which relate to the predominance of the action of each dosha in a given period of the day.
Ayurvedic massage therapy (abhyanga) involves applying warm oil to the entire body from the feet to the head area. Regular oil massage soothes the doshas, flushes out toxins accumulated under the skin, contributes to the nourishment and regeneration of all seven bodily tissues (dhatus), regenerates and rejuvenates the skin, reduces feelings of tension and stress, contributes to physical and mental well-being, helps improve sleep quality, promotes circulation and the lymphatic system, benefits the joints and stimulates vitality.
Choose the right Ayurvedic dosha therapy for Vata, Pitta or Kapha according to your prevailing constitution. Each contains an Ayurvedic Dosha Tea for your predominant dosha (reduces it), an invigorating Chyawanprash, herbal elixir known as the elixir of youth that effectively boosts the immune system and vitality, a Dosha Body Oil to promote psychosomatic balance, and as a bonus, an Amalaki Nutrition Bar Vata, Pitta or Kapha with Ayurvedic herbs and spices that direct the individual dosha.
