Introduction to Ayurveda (Part 2) – Create Balance

Ayurveda

Author diane

I am a self-professed control freak who found yoga, meditation, and NLP to manage self-induced stress. I obsess over anatomy books, full moons, and the mysteries of being human. I have been practicing various styles of yoga and meditation for over twenty years. I am a master NLP Practitioner, I am registered with the Yoga Alliance as an RYT-500 yoga teacher. I am also a certified meditation instructor and Ayurvedic practitioner.

Introduction to Ayurveda – Part 2

In the first lesson, I introduced the basic building blocks of Ayurveda, the five elements; Ether, Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. Everything in creation contains a unique mixture of these five elements in the form of the Doshas elements.

The Doshas are energetic principles that are combinations of the five elements. Therefore, we all have a unique blueprint based on the combination of the doshas, with generally one predominant Dosha, or energetic quality.

Each Dosha has characteristics or qualities and functions they serve.

Vata, the combination of Ether and Air, is the lightest and most mobile. Its qualities are Dry, Light, Cold, Rough, Moving, Subtle, Coarse.

Pitta is the combination of Water and Fire and is flow and heat. Its qualities are slightly oily, light, hot, sharp, flowing, liquid, pungent.

Kapha is the combination of Water and Earth and is the most solid and heaviest of the Doshas. Its qualities are oily, heavy, cool, slow, dull, sticky, stable.

Like Increases Like

A fundamental rule of balance in Ayurveda is like increases like. Qualities similar to those of a Dosha will increase the Dosha. Applying the opposite will decrease the Dosha. In cases where there is an imbalance in the Dosha or even dis-ease process, this concept can help regain physical and mental balance and health.

The Universal Pharmacy and the twenty attributes 

The twenty attributes are ten pairs of opposites that describe the qualities of everything in nature. For example, balance can be created by applying similar qualities as a Dosha for deficiency and more of the opposite for excess.
For example, if someone physically has an excess of Kapha and is trying to lose weight, they can use the principle to decide what foods to eat. Kapha is heavy, dense, oily, and cool. Eating cheesecake that is heavy, dense, and oily will not help. Instead, eating something that has the opposite qualities will decrease Kapha. Instead, they might choose warm, lighter baked apples. Someone who has excess Vata and tends to lose weight would benefit from a more grounding diet of warm cooked foods with some oils. A light salad would create more imbalance. Kapha needs more movement because Kapha resists movement, whereas Vata may benefit from a gentler form of exercise. Excess of Pitta heat can be countered by cooling down physically and with cooling foods like cucumber.

The Six Tastes
Tastes and spices are also ways to work with imbalances. You can use spices to help balance the doshas. Add a spice mix to food to increase the specific qualities. The Six tastes should be present in every meal to satisfy cravings. Reducing tastes that may aggravate the Dosha or adding tastes that pacify a deficient dosha may be necessary if a dosha is out of balance.

Sweet: Earth + Water Found in meats, grains, bread, pasta, potatoes, milk, and desserts. This Taste increases Kapha and decreases Vata and Pitta.
Sour: Earth + Fire Found in yogurt, cheeses, citrus fruit. Increases Kapha and Pitta and Decreases Vata.
Salty: Fire + Water Found in all salts and sea vegetables. Increases Kapha and Pitta and decreases Vata.
Bitter: Air + Ether Found in Salad greens, bitter roots, and bitter tea. Increases Vata and decreases Kapha and Pitta.
Pungent: Air + Fire Found in many spices and herbs. Increases Vata and Pitta and decreases Kapha.
Astringent: Air + Earth Found in beans, broccoli, rhubarb, raw vegetables, and raw apples. Increases Vata and decreases Pitta and Kapha.

Doshic Cycles

The balance of the Doshas will change based on the time of day, the season, the stage of life, your location.

The Times of Day
Different times of day are considered to have more of the qualities of one of the Doshas.

Kapha Time 6 am to10 am and 6 pm to 10 pm
 It is good to get out of bed before Kapha time. During Kapha time, there may be lethargy, and you will end up sleeping in and feeling dull when you get up. On the other hand, getting to bed and falling asleep during Kapha time uses inertia that may help you fall asleep. In addition, Kapha time is a great time to exercise in the morning, offsetting the dullness.
Pitta Time 10 am to 2 pm, and 10 pm to 2 am
At noon, digestion is the greatest. Eating the most significant meal at lunch is good practice to digest and assimilate your food thoroughly. Staying awake into Pitta time at night may give you a second wind.
Vata Time 2 pm to 6 pm and 2 am to 6 am
Vata time is the best time for mental activities. In addition, Vata time at night is often where the most dreams happen.
The seasons affect the Doshas.
There are four seasons here in New England, but Ayurveda looks at three seasons. So, depending on your location, you may be more or less affected by the seasons.
Autumn is dry and cool, like Vata.
Winter is wet and Cold, like Kapha.
Summer is hot and moist, like Pitta.
You may need to adjust your foods and lifestyle during a season to maintain balance. For example, you would probably not want to eat ice cream in the middle of winter in New England, but that would balance the heat in the summer.
Stages of Life

Each of the stages of your life will affect balancing the Doshas and balancing the Doshas. For example, a lifestyle that works for someone in their childhood may not work in adulthood or senior years.

The Kapha stage is your early years, from infancy to late teens. During this time, physical and mental growth forms your bones and body. Kapha time is when you are in school.
The Pitta stage is the time of most ambition and effort. It is when most people are working and raising a family.
The Vata stage is the senior years of your life. Vata time is when your body starts to age and lose its Kapha or stability and moisture.

 

This  video is about 25 minutes long.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me [email protected]

 

Here are links to Part 1 – an introduction to Ayurveda and the third video in the series, The 3 Imperatives.

Enjoy!

Intro to Ayurveda – Part 1

Intro to Ayurveda – Part 3

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