“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength, one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” Booker T. Washington
At the start of my Ayurvedic training, the class took several tests to determine our individual doshas. Ayurvedic practitioners assessed our pulse, measured our limb length, evaluated our joints and muscle definition, and took detailed medical histories. The results reflected which combination of doshas dominated in each of us. Many of my classmates were a combination of one or two doshas, although some had a predominance of one. Almost all of us agreed wholeheartedly with the evaluations, except for one woman, who was visibly upset that her dosha was primarily Kapha. She insisted that the evaluation must have been flawed. The practitioner carefully reviewed her notes but came to the same conclusion. She asked my classmate why the evaluation was so disturbing, as all doshas have an equal amount of positive and negative qualities. One dosha was not “better” than the other. The woman replied by reading off the list of Kapha attributes: heavy, dull, slow, oily, cold, slimy, hard, dense, gross, and sticky. Who, she wondered, would want to be associated with those properties?
Although it is true that many of Kapha’s attributes seem less than complimentary, this dosha, which is made up of earth and water, creates many desirable qualities in the body. Kapha means “what makes things stick together”. Its primary function is to oversee the growth and maintenance of our tissues. Kapha makes our skin smooth, keeps our hair thick and lustrous, our bones strong, and our joints lubricated. It also generates strong muscles, good teeth, healthy gums, and large, well-shaped eyes with deep color. Of the three doshas, Kapha is the most stable, and its heavy, slow, earthy qualities help to offset imbalances in Vata and Pitta. Not surprisingly, it is the dosha associated with the fewest physical ailments.
Given Kapha’s function of tissue formation, it dominates during the first part of life, from conception until our late teens and early twenties when the body and brain experience rapid change and growth. Kapha is what governs the construction of the physical body--our bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, as well as fat and connective tissue. It directs the production of nutritive fluids and lipids, cools the body, stores energy, and holds our cells together. The very qualities that were unattractive to my Kapha classmate—slimy, dense, oily, slow, hard—are essential to building the physical body at the onset of life and keeping our bodies healthy throughout our lifetime.
Kapha season is late winter into spring when the weather is cold and damp. Whereas Vata’s elements of ether and air create the mobility that stimulates the other doshas to move, Kapha’s heavy, dense qualities are what slows them down, holding things in place to allow for proper growth and change. Growth requires forward movement but needs time to germinate as well. Think of how nature responds when we transition too quickly from winter to summer—flowers blossom quickly and then wilt, trees bud too early and then are damaged. Nature needs the heaviness of Kapha so it can build the proper foundation for growth, gaining the strength to resist the summer heat and flourish well into the fall.
The hours in which Kapha dominates are between 6 and 10. If you feel sluggish in the morning, give a nod to the Kapha dosha (it is the only dosha that needs coffee). After dinner, when your energy wanes and your body feels heavy, you are once again under the influence of Kapha. Ayurveda counsels us to be in bed by 10 pm, and Kapha creates the perfect conditions for bedtime—its slow, heavy, sluggish qualities are ideal for winding down and preparing for sleep.
The chest, throat, and head are the areas in which Kapha predominates. It also builds up in the stomach, in the middle of the body where fat accumulates, as well as the pancreas and lymph tissue. Its sense organs are taste and smell, and the nose and tongue are its motor organs. This may be why Kapha types enjoy eating gourmet food and love being in the kitchen.
People with a predominant Kapha dosha have a pleasant appearance, with a deeply resonant voice and rhythmic speech. They are physically strong with a large or muscular build. Their complexions are smooth and radiant with very few wrinkles as they age. In movement, they are slow to start, but once they are moving, have excellent stamina and endurance. Kaphas have no difficulty falling asleep, and when they do, it is sound, although sometimes excessive. They tend to wake up grumpy, especially when their sleep is interrupted, and they frequently need time to take a nap during the day.
If you need a shoulder to cry on, seek out someone with a Kapha dominant dosha. The elements of earth and water govern our emotions and feelings, so Kapha imbues us with love, patience, and forgiveness. It is the dosha that helps us to find a sense of calm—Kapha helps us to be mindful and peaceful--it cultivates the patience needed to meditate. Whereas the Pitta dosha runs hot with frequent sparks of angry outbursts, Kapha’s emotions are slow to be aroused, helping them maintain a steady sense of tranquility.
In life, Vatas come up with the ideas, Pittas figure out how to make it work, and Kaphas execute the details. They are life’s worker bees, organizing details, ordering supplies for the parties, sending birthday packages--generally being an invaluable part of a team, a family, or a community, working behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly. They are even tempered, patient, and are comfortable with routine. They learn slowly but have excellent retention and are good with logical analysis. You rarely get a quick response from Kapha as they think things through carefully, pausing and pondering before reaching conclusions.
The slow, heavy nature of Kapha can encourage a sense of stability, but in excess, it causes them to hold onto things much longer than is necessary. Excess Kapha can also make one clingy in relationships, as well as greedy and attached to material wealth. Whereas Vata experiences worry and fear when stressed, and Pitta shifts into problem solving, Kapha is avoidant, preferring to “deal with it later.” Kapha dosha types seek to avoid problems, as they are resistant to change and can be stubborn in their ways. When Kapha is in excess, it creates a generalized sense of lethargy, brain fog, or melancholy, which can lead to depression. Severe imbalances can lead to a kapha-type depression in which one completely withdraws, refusing to leave the house or make contact with others, ignoring emails, texts, and phone calls, and sleeping excessively.
Physical imbalances due to Kapha excess show up as weight gain, fluid retention, allergies, and congestion. Kaphas are prone to slow metabolisms, so they gain weight easily and lose it slowly. Diabetes is considered in Ayurveda to be caused by a buildup of Kapha over a long period of time. The dense, cold, wet nature of Kapha is a breeding ground for congestion in the chest, leading to sinus congestion, colds, and allergies. Considering that Kapha is the dosha that supports growth, when in excess, Ayurveda links it to all types of lumps, including tumors, cysts, and gallstones.
Kapha relies on the spacious, airy quality of Vata to get it moving and the heat of Pitta to warm it up. In a yoga practice, these qualities are cultivated with poses that open the front of the body and encourage length in the spine. To balance the heaviness of Kapha, a practice should focus on creating lift and cultivating lightness. Poses that engage muscles along the back of the body, from the arches in the feet to the muscles of the neck, will create this sense of lift through alignment of the spine. The better our spinal alignment, the less we need to push into the earth for stability. Side planks are a good example of a pose that feels lighter when the spine is properly aligned. We’ll also get Kapha moving with standing backbends, emphasizing arms lifted above the head, which brings increased air and blood flow to the chest and sides of the ribcage.
I encourage you to come to your mat with a spirit of adventure and lightness to resist any heaviness that may linger in your heart as we explore the qualities of love, community, and connection characteristic of this earthy dosha. Unlike my Ayurvedic classmate, let’s embrace our dense, heavy--even slimy—properties as they keep us firmly planted in our wild and natural world.
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