Learning To Be Healthy
What Is My Body Type?
One very important step in the pursuit of good health is, first, to find out what body type you are and,
second, to discover what you can do to help your body recover its natural state of balance and vitality.
Ayurveda recognizes that every person has a unique psycho-physiological body type that responds to
foods, medicine, climate, seasons, stress, colors, smells, and other stimuli in a unique and specific way.
No two people can exactly be the same because the three bodily humors, or doshas—Vata, Pitta and
Kapha—are each represented in varied degrees in every person living on the planet. Along with the
genetic makeup, this creates the individualistic qualities of looks and behavior and different instinctive
choices concerning the types of foods, colors, climate and environment that each person prefers. So before
we can restore balance in the body and mind, we may need to find out who we are in a psycho-
physiological sense.
When we identify ourselves as Vata, Pitta, or Kapha body types (Illustration 14), we should keep in
mind that no one constitution is better than another. The three doshas are composed of the great elements
of nature, earth, water, fire, air and space. These five elements are proto-elements, which means that they
are energies vibrating at different frequencies. For example, the photons (particles of light) that are
constantly generated in the air that surrounds you, have a different characteristic pattern of energy than
the energy that is created by the particles sitting in a piece of clay or the water that flows in a stream. All
existing matter, no matter how dense, is but a process of a constant intermingling of these five elements or
vibrational energies. In the body, these elemental energies are grouped together and represented as the
three doshas, thereby forming an inseparable link with the environment. The forces of nature work inside
and outside, and the more we recognize and realize their great powers within us, the more we tend to
harmonize with the outer world. Good health is the spontaneous result of harmony between the natural
world and us.
Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are the main principal forces in control of all life in the universe. At present,
they are greatly disturbed and cause havoc and turbulence, both within us and in our environment. By
restoring balance among the three doshas in our body, we automatically pacify the great elements that
constitute our world. This is very necessary now, since we also need to create a more healthy environment
in order to become and stay healthy.
When Vata goes out of balance in nature, it causes earthquakes, droughts, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
Disturbed Pitta generates heat waves and great destruction through fires. Irritated Kapha leads to
excessive cold, rain and flooding. In the body, an unbalanced Vata dosha causes gas, pressure, pain,
dryness, shaking and nervousness. If Pitta dosha is disturbed, the body overheats, acidifies or suffers from
inflammatory diseases. An imbalanced Kapha dosha leads to congestion in the stomach, chest and
sinuses, as well as water retention and weight gain, not unlike similar phenomena in the environment. As
you begin to create balance in your internal spaces, the external ones will also begin to shine more
brightly and become vital and fresh. Knowledge of your constitutional makeup will help you build a
harmonious link with the constitution of your environment and derive all the benefits that nature can
provide you with on your journey to living a healthy, fruitful and fulfilling life.