Understanding Yourself Through the Eyes of Ayurveda – A Short Take on the Principles of Kapha Dosha

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As we turn this week to look at Kapha, the third dosha, it is important to remember that we are looking at the doshas from an energetic perspective in order to get a more direct understanding of each of them.

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The doshas constitute the separation of the one great energy which divides itself between subtle and gross. The break up of this one great energy into different parts is there to facilitate evolution. We have sky energy and we have earth energy. Between above and below a lot of action/transformation and communication happens.

Vata is light like the air, while Pitta is the energy of clear changes — eg. when you see someone transforming from being overweight to becoming slim, this is due to the ‘changing agent’ of pitta dosha.

Kapha constitutes the energy of earth and water.

‘Ka’ means ‘water’ and ‘Pha’ is often translated as ‘to nourish’.

When you mix water and earth, the result is a mushiness or clay consistency. When you squeeze your flesh you can feel this combination quite clearly. We are not hard and solid as we often perceive, but we are a good mixture of the softer component of water substantiated by the earth.

Kapha is therefore known for its healing or even better repair capacity. It does this by bringing cohesion and fluidity to the body.

Kapha, in short is the energy of cohesion, of repair, of nourishment.

How do we experience this energy directly, ourselves?

Think about how refreshed you feel when you have slept for 8 hours or more and you wake up feeling good, full of energy and well nourished just from lying down and being in full body contact with the earth.

These days, in our modern world, many people no longer experience that nourishment. Over the past 100 years, our average number of sleep hours has dropped by two. We have more people suffering from sleeping disorderslike insomnia and interrupted using sleep aids like sleeping pills. This has had a major impact on the body’s ability to repair and heal itself. You might also have noticed that immune issues (like allergies or inflammation) or auto-immune diseases are on the rise.

Why are our immune systems falling apart?

In the eyes of Ayurveda, this is closely connected with the increasing sleep deprivation and poorer quality sleep. Kapha can no longer do its work effectively. This is partly due to the fact that the body is no longer able to stabilise its system through kapha.

Here are some suggestions for building kapha to enable deep healing from within:

* Make sure to get enough sleep between 10 pm and 7 am by clearing up your sleeping environment and using calming scents like lavender or rose in the bedroom.

* Wear a sleeping mask to block out light and avoid blue light for at least 2 hours before going to bed.

* Wind down before bedtime with soothing and relaxing activities such as gazing at beautiful art, finding inspiration from sundowns and generally, becoming more aware of the sweetness of life. Avoid watching the news in the evening or engaging with mood-disturbing things such as work emails etc.

If you would like to understand more about your dosha type or solutions to your health issues, you are more than welcome to join me for a Free Ayurvedic consultation.

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Understanding Yourself Through the Eyes of Ayurveda – A Short Take on the Principles of pitta

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px”][vc_column_text]Today I want to delve into an exploration of the Pitta dosha.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px”][vc_column_text]But first, let me be clear that despite the separation of the 5 elements (water, fire, air, ether, earth) into dosha, we need to understand that none can exist without the others. As mentioned in my previous article, there are 3 doshas and they act as a trilogy:  Vata  Pitta and Kapha. It is only by understanding the interrelationship between this trilogy that the picture is complete.

A very easy way to relate to Pitta on a personal level is as follows:

Do you remember when you last felt hungry? What did it feel like? (And I am talking about the kind of hunger that is real!)

Did you feel a sharp pain in your stomach? A gnarling hunger that made you even ‘hangry’?

That is the energy of fire in your body, that transforms food into body tissue. Or in modern terminology, metabolism.

In Ayurveda  PITTA means – the subtle energy of transformation.

It includes not only metabolism but also assimilation and absorption.

The second component of Pitta is Water.

Water helps to contain the fire and being its best companion.

Where do we see the water in the body? If we look into someone’s eyes, we can see the spark in the centre of the eye – the radiance (which is connected to fire), but around the eyeball, we notice the ‘water content’.

Pitta imbalances most frequently show up as fire being in excess, ie inflammations,  stomach ulcers or dry eyes, itchy skin.

Another way of observing the shift in dominance of one dosha over the others is by looking at changes in season.

At the onset of Spring, two things happen. First, we experience an increase of movement (you can see, for example, the transformation in plants and trees) and secondly, we feel the shift from cold to warmth.

Once the weather changes we feel drawn to different foods than the ones we prefer in winter. You might wonder what to eat in Spring at the moment. If you follow your instincts, you might find that you are attracted to the juiciness of the fruits as these can help to keep Pitta in balance and add some of the water that is needed from being too much in the fire (sun/heat) element.

A Short Take on the Principles of pitta

Ayurvedic Tips for Pitta balance

Make the best of tending to your fire by following these few simple steps to keep the fire in check:

  • only work out in the cool hours of the day
  • add moisture when you feel your skin is drying or burnt
  • do not push your meals into the evening but feed the fire while it’s hot (lunch instead of dinner) and avoid feelings of irritability or anger
  • mellow down by cooling down in the evening and reducing your screen time
  • for the once that are outdoor types, take time to look at the moon and bath in it!

Let the beauty of transformation shine through but not overwhelm you and tune in for more Ayurvedic tips at the end of the week on myy Yoga and Ayurveda with Alexandra channel and my Yoga and Ayurveda with Alexandra Fcebook page.

Make it a healthy day

Yours truly

Alexandra[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]