CONSTITUTION: THE ENERGETICS OF YOUR UNIQUE BEING AND THE THREE DOSHAS
Are you ready to dive deeply into who you are? This chapter will help you begin to understand what makes you special—what makes you innately you—starting by keeping a wellness journal. You will then begin to understand the energetics that make up your unique being. From this point forward, the functions of your body, mind, and spirit will begin to show clarity.
To know how to treat yourself, you first need to be aware of what you are trying to achieve. Understanding the things that will bring you into and out of balance is the key here. Taking a step back and looking at your life as one big picture is a great exercise to help you see where you need to improve and where you are doing great.
Keeping a journal for at least a three-day period is something I recommend to all my clients at the beginning of their wellness journeys. This allows us to pick apart each category of their health and happiness, generally starting with food and lifestyle. I also have them log the activities they engage in. This is very important because the environment around us and what we choose to expose ourselves to has a huge impact on our health. For example, if you work in a toxic environment, with negative people and high-pressure energy, this will have an effect on your mind, body, and spirit. Lastly, I ask my clients to record when and how they sleep since sleep is crucial for a balanced body and mind.
All these components play a part in your health. Once you understand your unique constitution, you can begin to acknowledge and notice what brings you out of balance and what makes you feel your best. My goal is to give you the tools you need to make a balanced and healthy lifestyle accessible.
Make three copies of the journal page provided (see opposite), then fill one in per day in as much detail as possible. Once you have filled out three days (you always have the option to continue keeping a journal if you like the activity), review what you have written.
This will give you an inside look at how you truly feel, what’s aggravating you, what is working, and where your imbalance may be. The more honest and specific you are, the more beneficial this practice will be to your healing journey. You can come back to this journaling practice whenever you’d like to review the progress you’ve made with the tools from this book.
Here are the types of things you should include in your journal notes:
Understanding Energetics: Applying Energy to Everyday Living
Energy is in us and all around us. Energy affects all living things, from you to your cat, the bugs in the grass and the grass itself, right down to the tiniest microscopic atom. Ayurveda believes that each living thing contains a balance of five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ether (space). These elements play important roles in balancing our physical and nonphysical bodies. They are energetic forces that affect all the things we do on a daily basis, including the food we eat, our thought patterns, our environment, the type of sleep we have, the way we move our bodies, our digestion, and so on. Think of these energetic elements as a metaphor for the processes that occur within your body. Once you start to understand and feel the interactions of these subtle energies in your body, and in your life, you can begin to balance yourself.
In order to experience balance, first we must get to the root of our nature and what makes us unique in the world. Ayurveda believes that the five energetic elements make up the three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Not only are these doshas present in our bodies but also they can be found in the changing seasons, the food we eat, the activities we do, the relationships we have, and the environment we live in.
The three doshas can be used to define the energetic balance of our being. The unique doshic balance inside each of us is determined at the point of conception and stays the same throughout our lives. However, it can be thrown off by internal and external factors, which is why we need to work on balancing our bodies and minds through practices that are right for our individual mind-body type. Our doshic balance affects our likes and dislikes, our emotional and mental tendencies, our physical characteristics, our tendencies toward specific habits, and how vulnerable we are to disease. Once you start to recognize that the energetic elements within your body—and in nature—are composed of the three doshas, you have begun to understand the concept of Ayurveda.
The charts on the following pages show the natural characteristics, states, and tendencies of each of the doshas. Please refer back to these charts for clarification at any time along your journey.
VATA
PITTA
KAPHA
VATA 
Elements: Air and Ether (space).
Elemental qualities: Cold, dry, light, swift, mobile, irregular, and rough.
Seasons: Late fall (autumn) and early winter.
Body parts: Small intestine, large intestine, and colon.
Physical features: Individuals with a Vata nature have a predominance of the Air element. This makes Vatas thin, with a light and wiry structure, long angular features, and small dark eyes that are usually brown. Vatas tend to have a small mouth, thin lips, irregular teeth, and receding gums. They may have irregularity in bones, teeth, hair, and spine. They have thin, coarse hair, which is often kinky. Their skin is usually dark and dry. They may have rough skin and lips and/or dry eyes.
Sensitivities: Extreme sensitivity to cold, wind, and dry weather. Cold extremities, such as hands, feet, and nose.
PITTA 
Governs: The transformation of food and ideas.
Elements: Fire and Water.
Elemental qualities: Hot, oily, light, liquid, mobile, sharp/precise, soft, and smooth.
Seasons: Summer.
Body parts: Liver, spleen, gallbladder, stomach, duodenum, and pancreas.
Physical features: Individuals with a Pitta nature have a predominance of the Fire element. This makes Pittas hot in constitution with a robust circulation that leads to ruddy coloring and warm extremities. Pittas tend to have a medium-sized build and moderate muscle tone. Their skin is usually fair, warm, reddish, soft, and moist. They have many freckles and moles and a tendency toward rashes and acne. Their eyes are medium-sized and light in color. They have soft, thin, light-colored or reddish hair that may turn gray or bald early.
Sensitivities: Sensitive to heat and humidity. Burn easily in the sun.
KAPHA 
Governs: The structure of the body and the formation of all seven tissues: nutritive fluid, blood, muscle, fat, bones, marrow, and reproductive tissues.
Elements: Water and Earth.
Elemental qualities: Cool, wet, oily, heavy, stable, dense, and static.
Seasons: Late winter and early spring.
Body parts: Sinuses, nostrils, throat, bronchi, and lungs.
Physical features: Individuals of a Kapha nature have a predominance of the Water element, which is reflected in their full, soft features and thick, cool, moist skin. Kaphas tend to have a stocky build, a large frame, well-lubricated joints, a well-developed chest, and a strong and well-proportioned body. Kaphas have a tendency to be overweight and they have trouble losing weight. They have thick, soft, oily hair that is often wavy and plentiful. Their eyes are usually large and attractive, blue or light brown in color, with long thick lashes. They tend to have large, round faces with full lips and big white teeth.
Body functions: Erratic appetite and irregular digestion that is easily disturbed. Irregular menstrual cycles. May experience dryness in the form of constipation. Acute premenstrual pain and emotional mood swings. Body aches and stomach aches. Sudden weight loss.
Sleep cycles: Light, restless sleep. May suffer from insomnia.
Personality and mental activities: Vatas have very active and restless mind. They are creative and artistic people whose imaginative ideas can alter direction as frequently as the wind changes direction. They are open and tolerant of others. Adaptable and quick to act, they usually make decisions easily but may struggle with bigger decisions. Vatas have sensitive natures and can retreat when anxious or emotionally insecure. Hyperactive and energetic, Vatas often have multiple ongoing projects. They may have trouble finishing projects because their energy often jumps all over the place and is never fixed or focused on one thing, which can lead them to be unable to complete goals. They may suffer from mental anxiety, worry, and confusion.
Body functions: Prone to inflammation of muscle tissues, especially in the shoulders and middle of the back where stress accumulates. Robust, healthy appetite. Pittas will become irritable if they skip a meal. Best digestion of all three doshas when balanced. Regular menstrual cycles with heavy bleeding and PMS. May experience profuse sweating, hot flashes, bad breath, and strong body odor. Often suffer from acid build-up and indigestion/heartburn.
Sleep cycles: Light but moderately good sleep. Often overheat during sleep. They burn the candle at both ends, so may suffer from exhaustion and are more likely to experience adrenal fatigue in the long run.
Personality and mental activities: Pittas are intelligent, powerful, and clear, with a focused mind that makes it easy for them to succeed. They are aggressive and competitive in nature. They are workaholics, overly ambitious, and may have a quick temper. With a high energy level, Pittas are sharp and quick-witted, with dynamic personalities. They are great conversationalists. Pittas are content with the direction of their life. They are compassionate and fair.
Sensitivities: Intolerant of cold and damp environments.
Body functions: Tendency toward colds, congestion, allergies, and respiratory illnesses. Steady appetite, although may overeat, with slow but regular bowel movements and minimal urination. Water retention, weight gain, and depression are often a complaint. Regular menstrual cycles with little pain and a minimum of premenstrual depression.
Sleep cycles: Kapha types are heavy sleepers; sometimes they like to oversleep, causing sluggishness.
Personality and mental activities: Kaphas are easygoing, fun loving, grounded, and patient. They speak and move slowly. Their calm, reliable nature makes them ideal managers and caretakers. Kaphas have the most energy of all the doshas. With a nonjudgmental nature, they are affectionate and forgiving. They have a stable mind and emotions, and strong endurance. They may sometimes become overly sentimental and may find change difficult. They make attachments easily but can be possessive. They sometimes withdraw from social situations.
Now that you have a simple understanding of each dosha, you are ready to find out your own doshic mind-body type.
Ayurveda is unique because it works with each person’s body, treating and addressing every individual combination of the three doshas. Since each person has an individual balance of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, it is important to understand and focus on your own balance (or body type). Take the following quiz to learn which doshic quality you have most of. For the most accurate results, focus on your life as a whole and not your present imbalances or new habits. For each attribute, check the answer that best fits your long-term experience. Once you have completed the quiz, add up the check marks in each of the columns and put the totals in the boxes at the end of the quiz. This will reveal your mind-body type.
Generally, each person has one or two dominant doshas, in rare cases some people are considered tri-doshic, which means they have an equal balance of all three doshas. If you think that this is the case for you, try to apply the tools you learn about all three doshas to the areas of your life that need balancing. For example, if you are in a climate where the seasons change you will have to work year-round to shift your habits to balance all three doshas, since they are equally sensitive in your body. Opposite energies balance each other. If you are hot you will need to balance with cold, if you are damp you will need to balance with dry, and so on.
Once you’ve discovered your unique constitution, you can begin to alter your lifestyle and diet to optimize your energy levels and maintain a life of balance.
Vata body types
Pitta body types
Kapha body types
Important
If you are unsure of your dosha after taking the quiz, start to carry out some of the practices in this book and come back to the quiz after you’ve begun making positive changes in your lifestyle.
Once you have completed the quiz, add up the check marks in each of the columns and put the total in the boxes at the end of the quiz. The column with the most check marks indicates your primary dosha.
Lifestyle and Food Recommendations for the Doshas
If you take away two things from this book let it be your unique constitution and these simple recommendations on how to keep your balance through food and lifestyle practices. The advice below is easy to incorporate into your lifestyle, regardless of your doshic imbalance/balance. Try and incorporate some of it as you move along on your wellness journey.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VATA
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR KAPHA
