What's Your Dosha? Discovering the 3 Doshas, the Ayurvedic Mind-body Types of Vata, Pitta & Kapha

The more I learn about the 3 different doshas (mind-body types) based on the wisdom of Ayurveda, the more I can make sense of the world. I get to know myself more as well as the people around me. Understanding your dosha not only helps you find the right diet and lifestyle for you, but also helps you create harmonious relationships with the people around you.

Ayurveda (which means “the knowledge of life”) is a 5000-year-old ancient healing wisdom of India. It’s the art & science of finding balance in your life. It's a sister science to yoga, although it's not as widely known as yoga in the west. Ideally, yoga & Ayurveda should be practised hand in hand for anyone to achieve optimal health & wellbeing. I'm a yoga teacher who ignored the wisdom of Ayurveda for too long. I knew the concept but I was not really embracing it in my everyday life. Ayurveda was the crucial part of my healing since my daughter was born so my hope is that more and more people start paying attention to the Ayurvedic practice just as much as the yoga practice.

Here's a quick overview of each dosha - Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which is one of the most fundamental concepts taught in Ayurveda.  

Vata (like wind)
Vata is made up of the element of air and space. Let’s call it the wind type. A Vata person is slim and slender. She tends to be underweight and doesn’t gain weight or muscle easily. She enjoys the sun and the warm weather. She doesn’t like the cold nor air-coned room. She could be the only one feeling cold when everyone else is comfortable. She is creative and a big dreamer, full of big ideas. She is good at starting a project but not so good at finishing it and tends to change her mind often. She can be a great musician, dancer or natural teacher.

Pitta (like fire)
Pitta is made up of fire and water elements and I like to call it the fire type. A Pitta person has a toned muscular body. She is strong, athletic and competitive in nature. She loves competitive sports and can get overheated easily. She is highly organised and enjoys leadership. She might be a director of an organisation, manger, architect, engineer or scientist. She has strong digestive fire so can be angry when hungry!

Kapha (like earth)
Kapha is made up of earth and water elements. Think of it as the earth type. A Kapha person has large thighs and hips and tends to be overweight. She has difficulty losing weight and retains water easily. She loves staying in bed and is slow to wake up in the morning. Exercise is the last thing she wants to do, she is happy staying at home. She loves staying in her comfort zone and doesn’t like a change in life. She enjoys stability and steadiness and tends to stick with the same job for a long time because she is afraid of change. She is nurturing and caring in nature and she makes a great parent.

There you have it! This is a very brief summary just to give you a general idea and there are so many more aspects we can be discussing when it comes to determining your dosha. We are all made up of above 3 doshas and there is no one who is 100% Vata/Pitta/Kapha. One dosha is often dominant than other 2 doshas or you may have 2 doshas equally dominant. Learning more about your predominant dosha type(s) helps you find balance and achieve optimal health by incorporating the right foods and lifestyle for your unique mind-body type. I’m sharing this with you because I find doing yoga alone is not enough to achieve optimal health and you can benefit greatly from exploring this sister science of yoga. We need the right foods and lifestyle for our unique constitution to find balance so why don’t you start embracing the wisdom of Ayurveda in your life?

If you are interested in learning more about each dosha and how to find better balance in your life with Ayurveda, I invite you to come join me inside the Mindful Mama Membership. This is the only place where I share everything I know about Ayurveda and you can access the self-assessment quiz that I created so that you can discover your dominant dosha(s). You will receive weekly Ayurveda tips & ideas to help you stay balanced.  

Mindful Mama Membership is the only place where you can receive ongoing support from me. It's designed for busy mums of young kids who seek life balance through yoga, Ayurveda and mindfulness. If you want to reduce stress and find more calm so that you can be more present and patient with your kids, you're in the right place! <<CLICK HERE>> to find out more about the membership.

Other related posts you may enjoy👇

Finding Balance with Ayurveda
https://www.wayoga.com.au/blog/finding-balance-with-ayurveda

How to Jumpstart Healthy New Year - 3 Ayurvedic Tips for Improving Digestion
https://www.wayoga.com.au/blog/3-ayurvedic-tips-for-improving-digestion

About Chika

Chika is the founder of Wa Yoga (Wa is a Japanese word meaning harmony). She is a Yoga Australia registered teacher, student of yoga for 15 years, teaching yoga & mindfulness for the last 9 years and mum to a 7-year old daughter. She specialises in offering online courses and memberships for mothers of young children and young families. She has a gentle approach to teaching yoga and her classes are always infused with mindfulness, reminding people to slow down and come back to the present moment. Her mission is to inspire and motivate other mums to start incorporating yoga & mindfulness into their daily self-care ritual. She is also a creator of Mindful Mama Membership, the online membership for busy mums of young kids who seek balanced living through yoga, Ayurveda & mindfulness.