Ayurveda basics · 6 min read
What is your dosha?
Ayurveda, the traditional system of health from India, describes everything in nature — including you — as a play of three functional energies called doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. They are not substances you can point to but patterns of how things move, transform and hold together. Learning to read them is the whole practical art.
Everyone is made of all three. What differs is the proportion, and that proportion is what people mean when they ask “what is my dosha?”
Vata — movement
Vata is the principle of movement: breath, circulation, the passage of thoughts, the impulse of a muscle. Its qualities are dry, light, cold, subtle and mobile. When Vata is balanced you feel energetic, creative and quick. When it is high you feel scattered, anxious, dry and restless, and sleep gets light and broken.
Vata rises with cold, wind, travel, irregular routines and too little food or rest. It settles with warmth, oil, weight, routine and quiet.
Pitta — transformation
Pitta is the principle of transformation: digestion, metabolism, body heat, and the mind’s ability to process and decide. Its qualities are hot, sharp, oily, light and slightly liquid. Balanced Pitta is focused, warm and capable. Aggravated Pitta runs hot — irritable, critical, inflamed, prone to acidity and skin heat.
Pitta rises with heat, sun, skipped meals, and sour, salty, spicy or fried food. It settles with cooling, sweetness, and a slower pace.
Kapha — structure
Kapha is the principle of structure and cohesion: the fluid, tissue and stability that hold the body together. Its qualities are heavy, cold, oily, smooth and stable. Balanced Kapha is calm, strong and steady. Excess Kapha feels heavy, sluggish, congested and reluctant to change.
Kapha rises with heavy, sweet, cold, oily food and too little movement. It settles with lightness, warmth, stimulation and exercise.
Prakriti vs vikriti — the difference that matters
Your prakriti is the constitution you were born with — your baseline proportion of the three doshas. It does not really change over a lifetime.
Your vikriti is your current state — which dosha is running high right now, because of the season, your stress, or what you have been eating. This is the more useful thing to know day to day, because it tells you what to do today. A Kapha person can absolutely have a Vata flare in a cold, busy week — and in that week they should eat and live to calm Vata, not Kapha.
So what do you do with it?
The single most useful rule in Ayurveda is “like increases like, and opposites balance.” Whatever quality is in excess, you reduce by bringing in its opposite. Cold and dry Vata is met with warm, moist food. Hot Pitta is met with cool. Heavy Kapha is met with light. That one idea drives the whole of Ayurvedic eating.
Best foods for Vata · Best foods for Pitta · Best foods for Kapha
Common questions
Can you have more than one dosha?
Yes — most people are a blend of two, with one leading. A roughly equal mix of all three is called tridoshic and is uncommon.
Can your dosha change?
Your constitution (prakriti) stays essentially fixed. What changes is your current state (vikriti) — which dosha is aggravated right now — and that is what you adjust for.
How do I know which dosha is high right now?
By its qualities: dry, anxious and restless is Vata; hot, sharp and irritable is Pitta; heavy, slow and congested is Kapha. The Sanctuary reads this from how you feel and tailors the day to it.