According to ayurveda, the five fundamental elements that make up the universe. Space (akasha), Air (vayu), Fire (agni), Water (apu) and Earth (prithvi) Ayurveda describes three biological humors or psychophysiological energies called doshas. There are three doshas, called Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and each is mainly a combination of two elements.
Each of these doshas is further divided into five sub-doshas. Together, the doshas coordinate all the activities that happen within us.
Ayurvedic Medicine is generally based on the concept of the Three Doshas - Tridosha. Dosha commonly means 'force' or 'fault, something which can easily go out of balance, leading to a disorder in the body or mind. While it is not unheard of for people to have nearly equal proportions of the three doshas or just one very predominant dosha as their prakriti,( nature and day to day life is called prakriti.) most people have two doshas that are more or less equally dominant, with the remaining one less dominant. Thus, there are ten classic types of prakriti possible-
- Vata-Pitta-Kapha, Vata (where Vata is much more dominant than either of the two other doshas,
- Pitta, Kapha, Vata-Pitta (where Vata and Pitta are the two major doshas with Vata being slightly more dominant than Pitta),
- Pitta-Vata (where again Vata and Pitta are the two major doshas, but Pitta is slightly more dominant than Vata),
Vata-Kapha, Kapha-Vata, Pitta-Kapha and Kapha-Pitta. Of course, each of us has a unique doshic thumbprint, and an ayurvedic healer performs an ayurvedic pulse assessment to discover that special unique element of doshic make-up and the exact nature of imbalances in order to recommend a very individual program for restoring balance.
For good health and well-being to be maintained, the three doshas within you need to be in balance. That does not mean they need to be equal, unless you were born with equal doshas; it means that you need to maintain your original doshic make-up through life as much as possible to maintain good health. Unfortunately, factors such as the dietary choices you make, the lifestyle you lead, the climate where you live, levels of environmental pollution, the work you do, the nature of your relationships with people and even just the passage of time can cause one of more of the doshas in your prakriti to increase or decrease from its original level in your constitution, creating vikriti or imbalance. You eventually lose your good health, If this imbalance is not corrected .That's why restoring balance is the central theme of the ayurvedic approach to health.
Somebody with dominant Vata energy tends to be thin, restless and creative; The Pitta mostly conforms to a happy medium; Kapha people tend to be heavy, slow and lethargic.
