Dosha
One of the fundamental concepts in tradition of Ayurveda is Dosha. The doshas are energetic forces of nature, functional principles that help us better understand ourselves and the world around us.
In Ayurveda, everything in this universe, including the human body is composed of the five basic elements. They each predominate in different organs, giving them their essential characteristics. They also intervene as energy in all the processes of the body. These vital and functional energies are formed by elements grouped in pairs and are called doshas or your body constitution.
The five elements or the Panchamahabhuta are: Air, Ether or Space, Fire, Water and Earth
Every substance contains all five of these elements. That said, in a given substance, one or two elements are typically predominant over the others.
The three doshas (bodily humors): vata, pitta, and kapha. The doshas, or some combination of them, can be identified in various seasons, landscapes, activities, plants, animals and in us. Each of them embodies a combination of elements and qualities to create a functional entity, an energetic force of nature. All three doshas are present in everyone at all levels in tissues, organs and cells, but the ratio between them varies a great deal from one person to the next. They are the source of our desires, our tastes, our choices, and our way of behaving and interacting.
This basic constitution will remain unchanged throughout our lives, but its expression will change under the influence of our environment and our choices. In principle, all of us can maintain the balance of the internal forces by changing our diet and lifestyle, to counterbalance changes in the external environment as it relates to doshas.
VATA
Elements of Energy
Air and Ether
Movement and impulse
​Presents in our body & mind
Breathing, pulsation of the heart, nerve impulses, communication, muscle movement in general.
Fear, anxiety, interruptible, irregular, restless, fast, varies and flexible.
Qualities
Light, cold, dry, rough, subtle, mobile, creative
PITTA
Elements of Energy
Water and Fire
Digestion and Transformation
Presents in our body & mind.
Digestion, appetite, absorption,
assimilation, intelligence, charisma, courage and ambition.
Anger, frustration, hatred, jealousy and competition.
Qualities
Hot, sharp, light, liquid, oily, intense
KAPHA
Elements of Energy
Water and Earth
Structure and cohesiveness.
Presents in our body & mind
Breathing, pulsation of the heart, nerve impulses, communication, muscle movement in general.
Fear, anxiety, interruptible, irregular, restless, fast, varies, grounding.
Qualities
Heavy, slow, cold, oily, dense (solid), stable and sticky