yoga

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 both ends—they’ve been running at

such a high level of execution that they are literally fried,” Green-span

said. “They are working all the time, barking at people, causing and

getting headaches. They’re not taking any time off for anything. They

end up getting so overheated everyone around them gets burned. I

call it scorching the village.”

what vatas need

TOUCH THAT SOOTHES

“I love to see thevatascoming, because they are so much fun,”

says Natasha Korshak, aonetime director of yoga,meditation, and

mindfulness training atthe Miraval Resort in Catalina, Arizona.

“They’re the ones havingwild rides! With them, we are always

talking 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 ofopportunity; when

they’re in balance, that’sgreat,” says David Greenspan, who’s

served as the lead Ayurvedic educator at theChopra Center. “But

when they’re facing 30choices and feeling overwhelmed, 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 repetition. This makes gentle massage (think Swedish or

abhyanga),body wraps, bathing rituals, and all sorts of warming

hydrotherapies 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 andswaddled

and completely centered. Plus, there are some interesting

opportunities forself-discovery.” The signature Turquoise Wrap at

The Boulders Resort andSpa, in Scottsdale, Arizona, begins with

a cornmeal scrub, endswith a steam and a full-bodyhoney

mask, and in-between enrobes thebody in turquoise clay,

which is believed by Native Americans to have powerful protective

properties.

BEING COVERED IN CLAY IS GROUNDING—LITERALLY.
WARM OIL SOOTHES AN OVERHEATED BRAIN.

59

december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg