Prakrti: Vata-Pitta

Your prakrti, the physical constitution with which you were born, is a mix of
Vata and Pitta, with Vata slightly predominant. This is an unchanging
characteristic and represents your natural, normal state of being. Let's take a
look at some of the common qualities of Vata-Pitta individuals.

Physically, Vata individuals tend to be thin and wiry, with small, light bones
and uneven development. Pittas tend to be medium in all physical
characteristics. Where Vatas are usually darker than the rest of their
families, Pittas tend to be very fair skinned and to sunburn easily (think
freckles). As a Vata-Pitta you may be more likely to sunburn than a pure
Vata, but you are probably a lot better off than a pure Pitta.

Vatas tend to have uneven or underdeveloped features, including small

frames; bony, protruding joints, thin, spindly fingers; crooked noses and
teeth; etc., but your Pitta influence tends to moderate those characteristics.
Thus, you are probably better proportioned, stronger, and a little less flighty
and high-strung than your pure Vata friends.

The Pitta influence has probably increased your drive and improved your
digestion, but you've most likely retained the creativity and imagination of
the Vata type. And having a bit of Pitta tends to sharpen your intellect. On
the down side, Vata-Pittas tend toward addictive personalities and need
stability.
 Vatas usually have a hard time gaining weight and lose it easily. The Pitta-
influence strengthens your digestion and betters your chances of holding on
to hard-won weight gains. It also helps you to move the weight away from
your belly and toward a more even distribution.

This is the physical constitution (prakrti) with which you were born. It gives
you some idea of your tendencies, and your physical strengths and
weaknesses. Now let's take a look at your current dosha state to see if you are
balanced or imbalanced.

Vikrti: Kapha Imbalance

Vikrti is a state of imbalance in which one of the three bodily humors or
doshas is excessive. In your case, you have an excess of the Kapha dosha.
Kapha is the water dosha (a mix of water and earth).

Ayurveda lists some twenty diseases that are caused by imbalanced Kapha.
Because the negative tendencies of Kapha are lethargy, drowsiness, and
accumulation, the Kapha-related illnesses stem from such behavior, as well
as from excessive liquid intake.

Kapha ailments include:

 Drowsiness and excessive sleep

 Laziness, lethargy, and heaviness of the body
 Excess mucous production and excess bodily excretion
 Obesity, anorexia nervosa, indigestion
 Mucous around the heart or in the throat
 Edema, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, sinus congestion, hay fever
 Hypertension, atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries)
 Diabetes

As you can see, Kapha's earth element causes illnesses related to lack of
movement (whether of the body or the digestive system). Kapha's water
element causes illnesses related to accumulation of fluids, such as edema and
excess mucous. Naturally, lack of activity and cold, damp environments
aggravate Kapha ailments. For example:

 Drinking with meals

 Sleeping too much and not exercising enough
 Eating too many sweets or mucous forming foods
 Lethargy
 The best treatment for a Kapha imbalance is to get off your butt and get to
work. Get out of bed! No more than eight, and preferably closer to six, hours
of sleep is the rule. Get some physical and mental exercise. Eat a very light
breakfast, if at all, a big lunch (followed by a brisk walk), and a moderate
evening meal. One day a week, fast.

Stick to bitter, pungent, and astringent foods. Don't drink with meals and, in
fact, drink less. An occasional trip to the sauna or a warm bath to promote
sweating is also a good idea. And the best news: have regular sexual
intercourse!

Kapha is strongest between 6-10 a.m. and 6-10 p.m. Those are good times to
avoid eating (or eat lightly) as the digestive process will be slowest then. And
beware the late winter and early spring, as Kapha is at it's peak then. Don't
fall into a spring slump. Stay active.

For more help, enter your name and email address in the spots provided at
the end of this page. Pressing the Send button will send a copy of these
results to us. We'll take a look at it, and respond with further suggestions for
ways to regain your doshic balance. For now, read on.

Mind Type: Samdoshaja

Hmmm. You appear to be perfectly balanced mentally between the three
doshas. While this is possible, it's pretty rare. You may want to go back to the
self-test and check your answers in the Mind section. If you're sure you
answered all that apply and only those that apply, then read on.

It is difficult to describe the characteristics of a true samdoshaja, a perfectly

balanced person. But it is not too difficult to tell if that person has a Sattvic
guna (psychic energy), a Rajasic guna, or a Tamasic guna. The first guna,
Sattva, represents a condition of harmony with the universe. It is
characterized by conscious awareness, pleasure, perceptiveness, wisdom,
compassion, and lightness of being. This is the guna occupied by the saints
and sages. It is the psychological state we should strive for.

The second guna, Rajas, is the most active guna, and the state most prevalent
in the world today. (We are, we hope, in the process of moving from a largely
Rajasic world to a Sattvic one.) The characteristics of Rajas are movement
and stimulation. It is easy to see that our present world is filled with people
on the move, and the levels of stimulation, particularly in the more
"advanced" societies, are overwhelming. Rajas is responsible for all desire
(which binds us to this world), ambition, and illusion.
The lowest state, the Tamas guna, is the state of inertia, darkness, heaviness,
and resistance. It is in this state that we find delusion, lethargy, apathy, false
knowledge, dullness, and stupidity.

Which of these states of mind are you in? To find out, let's see what answers
you gave to the final section of the test.

Guna: Sattvic
Imbalance: Vata
Your answers in this section fall into one of three gunas: Sattvic, Rajasic, or
Tamasic. Within each of these gunas, your answers are further subdivided
into Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Please understand that this test uses only three
questions in each of these areas to determine your guna and your
psychological imbalance, if any. That's a pretty small sample, so don't take
these results as anything more than a very general indication of your current
psychological state.

If you would like a more detailed analysis of your psychological state, please
check the more information box on the form below and submit it along with
your name and email address. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Your responses indicated that your current psychological state is Sattva.

This is the state characterized by clarity of mind, lightness of being,
intelligence, warmth, compassion, and a sense of purpose. If this doesn't
sound like you, use the Show Checked Items link below to display the list of
items checked by you. Reread your responses to section four, Qualities of
Emotion. If you find that you answered in error, go back to the Questions
page and correct your answers. Then press the Evaluate button to recalculate
your results.

Then again, maybe you really are the enlightened being you appear to be. If
so, you still have a slight imbalance of the Vata dosha, as indicated by the
one or two answers you checked that fall into the Rajasic (not so good) or
Tamasic (really kind of bad) categories. Again, you may want to recheck your
answers using the Show Checked Items link below.

Unfortunately, your psychological imbalance is not in the same dosha as

your physical imbalance (Vata vs. Kapha). Thus, the actions you take to
reduce your physical imbalance will not help your psychological imbalance.
But don't worry. You can still use aromatherapy to reduce your psychological
 symptoms while working through diet and lifestyle to reduce your physical
imbalance. But perhaps a better solution would be to contact a qualified
Ayurvedic practioner for a full examination. Remember, this test is only a
general indicator of a possible imbalance. For more information, please use
the form below to contact us.

A summary of your emotional responses is as follows:

Vata Pitta Kapha

Sattvic 3 2 1
Rajasic 3 0 0
Tamasic 0 0 1

Get More Info

Want to know more? Enter your name and email address in the form below,
then press the Send button. Within a few minutes you should receive a
detailed report by email.

Included in the report will be the above results, plus suggestions for diet and
lifestyle changes to regain or maintain your doshic balance. We'll also take a
look at your test results, and if we have any other suggestions that we feel
will be of use to you, we'll send them along personally.

Thanks for trying our tridosha self-test. Please feel free to add any comments
or suggestions you may have.