self-care 101“I love to see the vatas
coming, because they are
so much fun,” says Natasha
Korshak, a onetime director
of yoga, meditation, and
mindfulness training at the
Miraval Resort in Catalina,
Arizona. “They’re the ones
having wild rides! With
them, we are always talk-
ing about grounding.”
When in balance, vata
types are characterized by
high energy, creativity, and
an inspiring fluidity. When
out of balance, they tend
to be nervous, restless,
confused, and exhausted.
“They are the kind of
people who can turn up
lots of opportunity; when
they’re in balance, that’s
great,” says David Green-
span, who’s served as the
lead Ayurvedic educator at
the Chopra Center. “But
when they’re facing 30
choices and feeling over-
whelmed, they start to
suffer anxiety, they don’t
eat well, and they feed
on themselves until they’re
totally imbalanced.”
The keys to balancing
vata, Greenspan says, are
warmth, touch, and repe-TOUCH THAT SOOTHESwhat vatas
needBEING COVERED IN CLAY IS
GROUNDING—LITERALLY.whether we were an airy, creative, changeable vata;
a driven, intense, fiery pitta; an earthy, loving, steady
kapha; or some mix of the above. (Most of us are made
up of a combination of doshas, with one or possi-
bly two that are predominant. To learn more about
your dosha mix, take the online quiz at yogajournal
.com/ayurveda.) David Greenspan, a former corpo-
rate executive who has served as Chopra’s lead educa-
tor in Ayurveda and meditation, was giving a talk on
the interplay of the doshas within each of us when
someone in the class asked, “What dosha type do you
see most often at the Chopra Center?”
Greenspan didn’t have to think for long. “Vata
types,” he answered. “Vatas go out of balance very
tition. This makes gentle
massage (think Swedish
or abhyanga), body wraps,
bathing rituals, and all
sorts of warming hydro-
therapies particularly good
choices. Sweet almond,
sesame, and safflower oils
can balance vata, as does
the scent of patchouli
essential oil.
TREATMENT TO TRY
BODY WRAP
A body wrap combines
the best of warmth and
touch, slathering the body
with clay straight from
the earth. What could be
more grounding? “A good
body wrap is an amazing
cocoonlike experience,”
says Korshak. “It makes
you feel safe and swaddled
and completely centered.
Plus, there are some inter-
esting opportunities for
self-discovery.” The sig-
nature Turquoise Wrap at
The Boulders Resort and
Spa, in Scottsdale, Arizona,
begins with a cornmeal
scrub, ends with a steam
and a full-body honey
mask, and in-between
enrobes the body in tur-
quoise clay, which is
believed by Native Ameri-
cans to have powerful pro-
tective properties.quickly, and they are the quickest to take action.
Generally, when vatas go out of whack, they start to
feel anxious and overwhelmed, and they want to do
something about it. Vata types come here saying
they need to slow down so they can think clearly.”
The least likely to show up, he said, were kapha
types. “Imbalanced kaphas feel withdrawn and slug-
gish, and they don’t do much of anything unless they
really feel inspired,” he explained. “It’s a rare couch
potato who will leap up and say, ‘I need to get to the
spa!’ ” Instead, kaphas tended to show up because a
concerned family member sent them.
And right in the middle were pittas. “Pittas come
in because they have been burning the candle at bothYOGA TODAY YOGAJOURNAL.COM 101