What the Health: What is Ayurveda
I hope you have someone in your life who loves personality quizzes as much as I do. I’m sure I am not the only adult who graduated from the online “Which Friends Character Are You?” quizzes to astrology (what’s up, Geminis), the Enneagram (hi, I’m a 4), DISC profile (high I & S, anyone?), and many more. While I believe they should all be taken with a grain of salt, I can’t resist finding out what each says about me. I think the quizzes are doors into systems and ideas that may provide some new insight to understanding humans. Perhaps that is one of the things that attracted me to Ayurveda. Not only does it present an entire holistic health system, but it is organized around three different types, or Doshas. Sign me up!
Ayurveda has been in the world for over 5,000 years. It has been circling around in my world for admittedly much less time, but long enough to repeatedly catch my attention and pique my curiosity. Early on in my health career, friends would casually comment on which type they suspected I embody most, or seem surprised when I didn’t know for myself. So, enough about me, what is this Ayurveda?
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda means “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit. While its sister science, yoga, is focused on providing a spiritual awakening, Ayurveda is focused on health and well-being. It is a whole body approach to systemic wellness achieved by cultivating a balanced lifestyle that accounts for the mind, body, and spirit.
The three Doshas are based on the idea that we are all made up of the five natural elements: earth, air, fire, water, and ether (space), in different amounts. These elements exist both inside and outside of our bodies and represent different mental and physical characteristics, such as form, protection, change, movement, transformation, and cohesiveness. The Vata Dosha is primarily air and ether, Pitta is fire and water, and Kapha is water and earth. Everyone is born with a certain balance between the doshas. As life pushes, pulls, and tugs us out of balance, Ayurveda provides practices, guidelines, and routines to nudge us back towards natural balance. The path to this balance is achieved with a combination of healing, nutrition, practical self-care, and meditation.
For example, my most recent internet quiz, (it’s a good one, I’ll include the link below), revealed that I am 71% Pitta, 15% Vata and 14% Kapha. According to the practical self-care recommendation in the Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda, by Sahara Rose, “Pittas should focus on chilling out, practicing mindfulness and staying cool. The optimal yoga practices for Pittas are relaxing and opening, and the best meditations are realistic and visual.” This is because Pittas are full of fire and often very competitive…although, I’m sure I don’t know anything about that…
What I like about Ayurveda is that in its simplest form it provides a framework. It shares one of the same core principles as health coaching: bio individuality. Meaning that even if we share the same primary Dosha, we may need different things and that is not only tolerated, but expected and accepted. Ayurveda provides a framework to return to and use whenever things start feeling out of balance. It is reasonable to question how the framework knows what to return you to if everyone is different even with the same Dosha. My understanding is that it is based on how you feel as you try the different suggestions and practices. So, two Pittas could both try tongue scraping every morning and while one might find that they love the way their mouth feels when it is extra clean, the other might not find it too uncomfortable and not worth doing. It is up to each individual to tune into their response to each practice and decide for themselves whether or not it feels good. It reminds me a lot of fitness: over time, there are things you will adopt and do regularly because they feel good and things you will do because you feel like you have to. The ultimate goal is to hone in on what those things are and then be willing to adapt as those things change. You never reach “fitness,” it is a life-long practice. Ayurveda is the same for your entire lifestyle. It is an ongoing process of finding things that help you feel your best and adapting as those things change.
I also really like that involvement with Ayurveda can be as general or as detailed as you wish to explore: you can go as far as to learn what times are best for your Dosha to eat and sleep and what kinds of foods you more easily digest. You can borrow the simple practice of tongue scraping before you brush your teeth (my current favorite, if you couldn’t tell), or examine every single ingredient of every single product you put in and on your body. The way I see it, any little bit of health-oriented self-awareness is good.
I Can’t Wait to Learn More!
If this excites you as much as it does me, I have several books and resources to recommend. Much of my basic knowledge of Ayurveda comes from a woman named Sahara Rose. She is regarded as the contemporary expert who is bringing Ayurveda into renewed focus. Her book Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda and Cookbook Eat Feel Fresh are both wonderful resources. And, as promised, here is the quiz you can take to discover your Dosha. I have also been picking my way through Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide by Susan Weis-Bohlen and have enjoyed reading similar information from a slightly different voice.
Happy exploring & best of luck in your Ayurvedic adventures!
Originally posted February 15, 2021.
Cover image by vector artist, voinSveta.
