“That’s life; starting over, one breath at a time.” - Sharon Salzberg
Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga, tells us that life is made up of five elements—ether (space), air, fire, water, and earth. These elements are the foundation of all living things and are the forces that unite everything in nature. All living things hold a different combination of each of these elements, which are grouped into three categories, or doshas, which can be thought of as a type of biological disposition that create the diversity found throughout nature. The three doshas are Vata (ether and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water and earth). Ayurveda tells us that each person has a unique ratio of each dosha, and these combinations make up our basic physiological constitution. Our doshas are responsible for our physiological and mental health, so Ayurveda is the science of keeping these tendencies in balance through targeted lifestyle choices.
According to Ayurveda, we are born with a specific proportion of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. However, doshas are not limited to humans, they also exist in nature. Not only do our individual doshas interact within our own body, they also bump up against the doshas of other people, things in nature, the time of day, seasons, and our environment—all of life. There are seven types of doshic constitutions: Vata, Pitta, Kapha, Vata-Pitta, Vata – Kapha, Pitta- Kapha, and Tri Doshic (all three doshas). This explains the endless diversity found in life and why two people can have the same dosha but express it much differently.
Our practices this month will provide a general overview of the three main dosha categories of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each week we’ll look at the physical properties of each dosha, examining where they reside in the body, their characteristics, and how they show up in nature. The information offered each week is intended as a dip of your toe into a vast ocean of knowledge, as Ayurveda is a highly sophisticated and complex medical science that requires a detailed understanding of its foundational roots and practices. This exploration is meant only as an introduction that might serve as a starting point for further exploration. If you’d like to go deeper into Ayurveda, let me know and I can guide you to more detailed information.
We’ll start our introduction with Vata, the dosha of ether and air. All doshas have specific attributes. Vata is dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, mobile, and clear. Seasons have doshic qualities; fall through early winter is Vata season—think of the dryness of a clear, crisp autumn day, or how your skin becomes rough and cracked in February. The time of day also reflects the doshas. Vata’s mobile quality causes it to dominate during transitional times of the day, specifically between the 2:00 and 6:00 hour, when the earth is rotating toward the sun for sunrise, or away for sunset. There is also a Vata time of life. Different stages of our lives are deeply affected by each dosha, and Vata has the most influence in the later stages of our lives, starting at about age 50.
In Sanskrit, the word vata means wind. It is the primary dosha that influences our ability to change and adapt, both mentally and physically. Vata is the motivating force behind the other two doshas. In the body, Vata exists in the air found in the “spaces” between the joints and bone cavities, particularly the hips and lower back. The cracking sound we hear when moving our joints is a release of Vata energy. Osteoporosis is a Vata disorder characterized by developing too much space in the bone. It is typically diagnosed in women and men after the age of 50, a Vata time of life.
Vata sense organs are the ears and skin, and its motor organs are speech and hands. When imbalanced, we may experience hearing disorders such as tinnitus, suffer from cracked, dry skin, or find ourselves being overly talkative. Its primary physical site in the body is the colon, an organ that is characterized by space, where Vata helps to provide the energy produced through the digestion of food. When Vata is disturbed, we experience mental, nervous, and digestive disorders that result in feelings of low energy and muscle weakness.
Vata governs how energy moves through our body, creating sensory, emotional, and mental harmony. When balanced it drives our enthusiasm, creativity, speed, mental and physical agility, and our ability to respond and adapt to the world around us. People with a predominant vata dosha tend to be active, restless, and energetic. They can be good conversationalists, although sometimes prone to talking too much, and enjoy all forms of communication. They have quick minds and fast changing mood states, gathering information and reacting to events quickly. Vatas are flexible, adaptable, and tend to be either loners or nonconformists.
Physically, the Vata dosha is characterized by irregularity or asymmetry. Their upper bodies may be disproportional to their lower body, with hair that is frizzy in spots, straight in others. A Vata pulse is fast, weak, and irregular. Sleep habits can be erratic and are easily disturbed which can lead to frequent bouts of insomnia. Even their appetite is unpredictable. Vatas can eat constantly one day or go without food for significantly long stretches, sometimes unaware of hunger or even forgetting to eat. They have difficulty building muscle, with body frames that feature protruding joints that tend to crack. Their skin and nails are dry and rough, and they have visible veins and many wrinkles.
Just like the air element that governs this dosha, Vatas love to move. Like air, they are uncomfortable in confined environments, becoming impatient or unsettled when things become stagnant. Craving space and novelty, they enjoy change, so they frequently travel, rearrange the furniture, shake up a routine, or think up a new activity or an innovative solution. But they are also impulsive and lack the tenacity necessary for follow up, so their ideas are prone to drift away as they move on to the next spark that captures their attention. Vatas can be fun, spontaneous, and interesting, but unless they are grounded, they are easily distracted and unpredictable.
A yoga practice for the doshas creates balance when it emphasizes actions that are opposite of the targeted dosha. Because of its tendency to be spacious and mobile, poses that keep the flow of energy grounded will balance Vata. Poses in which our hands and feet are supported on a stable surface will provide containment for the lightness of Vata. Forward bends with long exhales, Warrior poses, and prone backbends open the low back, hips, and legs--areas of the body in which Vata can get build and become imbalanced. The pace of a Vata balancing practice is key, moving slowly and methodically while focusing on a Drishti to calm the mind. Holding poses for a longer time also acts to counterbalance the mobility of this dosha. Notice how your attention and mood changes as you move through the practice. A general calming of your mind will indicate that Vata is decreasing, but a depletion of energy could signal that you are working too hard. Vata is wind so your breath will be key in assessing how this dosha is playing within you. Irregular breathing, including holding your breath, is indicative that Vata is rising or starting to dominate in your practice. Find balance by timing the inhale with the exhale as you press into the stability of the earth. A steady practice of Warrior poses and hip openers can help us gently contain our Vata energy, harvesting this important source of inspiration, adaptability and creativity while staying firmly tethered to the earth.
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