The Three Doshas

I realized that I have been posting a lot more about the Doshas, but some of you may not be familiar with this Ayurvedic concept or know which you tend to be more like. The concept of Doshas is complex but can be easily explained to get a general understanding of what they and their characteristics are.

In Ayurveda, the human body is made up of the 5 elements (earth, air, fire, water, space) and there are three body constitutions called the "Doshas" that are each ruled by two or sometimes all three of these elements.

• Vata - Air|Space

• Pitta - Fire|Water

• Kapha - Earth|Water

The easiest way to understand these three Doshas is by looking at them as three different friends.

Lizzie, the Vata friend

• Lizzie is one of your most imaginative and creative friends who is both physically and mentally active. Lizzie loves the spring and summer, she loves to travel, be spontaneous and in social settings is from one conversation to the next. She has rough and curly hair, a thin and lanky build, and her skin tends to be more on the dry side. On her not-so-good days Lizzie can get stuck in her head and become very anxious, leading to fear and anxiety. Her digestion is usually irregular with hard constipated bowel movements. Did I mention Lizzie is always cold?

Miranda, the Pitta friend

• Miranda is your dedicated and loyal friend who you learn to love. She is a driven go-getter who is very dedicated to her career and has a fiery passion for whatever she sets her mind to. Miranda loves winter and is the kind of person who is always warm and needs some kind of air flow, even when Lizzie is freezing. She has smooth and shiny hair, a lean build, reddish skin tones, and tends to be on the oily side. On her not-so-good days Miranda can become irritated very easily leading to a fiery temper, breakouts, and acid reflux. Her digestion is very sharp, she has a strong appetite, loves to eat, and always seems to be going to the bathroom.

Gordo, the Kapha friend

• Oh Gordo, the chilled out friend who just goes with the flow. Gordo is the friend that helps ground you. Lizzie and Miranda both love how trustworthy and easy it is to be around him and wish they could sometimes be as relaxed as him. Gordo loves the summer, has a heavy short build with firm shoulders, and hair that is long and thick. On his not-so-good days Gordo can become too relaxed, eventually leading to him feeling codependent, stubborn, and at times even falling into a depression. Gordo easily gains weight, and has less of an appetite which leads to eating larger but less frequent meals.

Each of our bodies is composed of two or all three Doshas, and the goal of Ayurveda is to keep these Doshas in balance—in other words, to not let any of these friends get to their not-so-good days. While it is important to know what your Prakritti is (your dosha), it is even more important to know what your Vikritti is: the current state of imbalance.

If you're reading this and thinking "Did he really just base this off of Lizzie McGuire characters?" Yup, I did.