27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

MIND-BODY HEALT H

Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of

Knowing Your Unique Dosha
Mind-Body Health Doshas Vata Pitta Kapha

Erin Easterly
March 03, 2020 09:56 AM

Have you ever wondered why the latest diets seem to work for everyone but you? Or have
you observed two people handle the exact same situation with completely different
emotional responses? Viewing the world through an Ayurvedic lens can shed light on why
certain diets, experiences, and environments bring health and happiness to one person but
do little for another.

Discover your dosha type here.

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 1/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

According to Ayurveda, there are five different elements that form the foundation of all
matter, including your body and mind. Though each person’s specific mix of elements is
individualized, there are still predictable elemental combinations that have come be
known simply as the doshas. The three main doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) express in a
person’s body, emotions, mind, and intellect in varying ways. By understanding your
primary dosha, you can gain valuable insight into the best ways to utilize your natural
strengths and enhance well-being on every level. The following are seven specific ways
that knowing your unique dosha can be of benefit.

1. Allows You to Customize Dietary Choices for

Optimal Health

Understanding your dosha affords you the opportunity to select foods that balance your
elemental constitution. Food selection becomes a pathway to optimal health when one
redirects focus from the manipulation of carbohydrate, fat, and protein percentages to the
consumption of foods that harmonize accumulated elements in the physical constitution.
Eating in this way frees you from any confusion resulting from the vast array of conflicting
dietary plans. Knowing your dosha and eating to balance its elements increases vitality,
energy, strength, and health.

2. Identifies Origins of Emotional Responses (and

How to Tame Them)

Are you hot-headed, cool and aloof, or stuck in a rut? These phrases are not simply
colloquial expressions. They point to a deeper principle of emotional and elemental
connection. According to Ayurveda, if the elements in your dosha accumulate they will
appear not only in the physical nature but in the emotional nature as well.

For example, if the fire element rises, anger, irritability, and other “fiery” behaviors may
surface. If the air and space elements increase, anxiety, worry, and overwhelm may take
over the mind. When earth and water elements increase one is likely to feel depressed,
stuck, or unmotivated. Knowing that emotions are often just expressions of accumulated
https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 2/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

doshas allows you to work on creating elemental balance so that you can keep your
equilibrium.

3. Creates Greater Understanding of Financial

Predilections

Money is energy and believe it or not, the elements of your dosha may contribute to the
way in which you spend it. Vata types tend to bring their air and space elements into the
financial domain by lightly holding onto money, spending quickly, and losing focus on long-
term financial goals. In other words, for Vata individuals, money may leave as quickly as it
comes.

Pittas, on the other hand, are planners. They tend to spend money on practicalities, self-
development, and planned luxuries.

Kaphas lean toward holding onto money and saving for rainy days. Though Kapha types are
good savers, in excess they may be construed as misers. Knowing your doshas can give you
insight into your relationship with money. Better yet, pacifying accumulations within your
dosha can inform your monetary choices so that they, too, become balanced and
harmonious.

4. Reveals the Most Restorative Ways to Spend

Your Leisure Time

Have you ever attended an event with someone and found that the activity filled their
bucket but left yours drained? The ways in which you best receive self-care are directly
linked to your dosha. Knowing your current doshic imbalance (vikruiti) allows you to select
leisure activities based upon which ones are most beneficial to your current physical and
emotional state.

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 3/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

Vata energies will appreciate fireside chats and tree-studded hikes while Pitta types will
likely prefer social gatherings and ocean dips. Those with strong Kapha tendencies may
benefit from motivational and movement-based activities. Whatever your dosha, by
tailoring leisure activities toward its balance, you will achieve a higher restorative yield
from the hours devoted to self-renewal.

5. Offers a Nurturing Approach to Beauty

Skincare, like diet, can be individualized for dosha balancing. You are not separate from the
nourishment that you put in and on your body. When you understand the properties of
your dosha and how those express through the skin, you can topically supply the elements
needed to enhance skin health. The end result is not only skin that performs its job as a
barrier from pollutants and toxins, but also skin that is radiant from the inside out.

For example, the nature of Vata is dry, thus, making absorbable hydration of paramount
importance when providing skin nourishment. Pitta skin tends toward aggravation and
redness, requiring a focus on calming, soothing ingredients. Kapha skin needs stimulation
to facilitate the removal of toxins. Familiarizing yourself with your dosha is a great way to
launch your conscious beauty regimen and customize your skincare routine.

6. Provides the Ideal Template for Creating a

Balanced Exercise Program

Different doshas have varying needs when it comes to exercise. Knowing your dosha
allows you to customize your workouts for maximum benefits. Vata types tend to have
thin, light body frames and benefit greatly from strengthening exercises. Pitta individuals
lean toward a strong physique and are natural athletes who enjoy pushing their bodies.
While physical intensity can help Pittas to release excess fire, it is also important for them
not to get overheated. Swimming, therefore, is an ideal exercise for Pitta-predominant
doshas and can be incorporated at the end of any fiery workout.

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 4/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

Kapha types may have a difficult time getting started on any exercise regimen but once
they do, they see how movement balances out the naturally heavy energies of earth and
water. Kaphas do well when they focus on cardiovascular fitness that breaks a sweat. By
crafting a movement and exercise plan that works with the elements in your primary
dosha, you will increase the benefits of your exercise.

7. Encourages You to Accept the Uniqueness of

Your Body

Every person’s body is a special combination of the five elements. Those elements present
themselves in a diverse array of physical characteristics, including structure and size.
Rather than a singular cultural image of beauty, Ayurveda offers multiple healthy
variations of size and shape. Vata individuals usually possess thin and delicate frames, Pitta
bodies tend to be strong and sleek, while Kapha bodies reveal beauty through curves and
fullness. Knowing your dosha gives you permission to love your body in all its uniqueness
without feeling compelled to force yourself into a shape that is not your natural
expression. Vitality and beauty come in many variations. Understanding your dosha helps
you know what shape is healthy and natural for your unique body.

Understanding your dosha provides a pathway to the creation of health, vitality, and joy on
every level. Once you see how the elements express in your body and mind, and how those
elements respond to various lifestyle factors, you can consciously choose actions that
create balance, stability, and health. As your focus shifts from the manipulation of external
factors to the balancing of your elemental structures, you will find that you are effortlessly
able to craft a life that radiates well-being.

Enhance your well-being with guided meditations and personalized practices, available
now in the Chopra App.

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 5/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

DISCOVER CHOPRA'S SIGNATURE

Renew & Restore Detox Kit |

Chopra
The Chopra Renew & Restore Detox Kit is a gentle and effective 7-Day
cleanse rooted in the wisdom of Ayurveda and backed by science. Inspired
by our world-class Chopra Health Retreat, this kit includes all the
ingredients and guided rituals you need to:

Clear away brain fog

Ignite your digestive fire
Rev up your energy

Purchase Today

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 6/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

Related Articles

MIND-BODY HEALT H MIND-BODY HEALT H MIND-BODY HEALT H

Mental Health, Satisfaction at Work: Reiki-Inspired Practices

Meditation, and Loving Cultivating Sattva for Self-Love
Presence: A
Dr. Sheila Patel Jessie Quinn
Conversation with
Gabriella Wright

Jodie Martin Read More Read More

Read More

Bring balance to
Email
your inbox
Enter email address
We’ll send you content you’ll
want to read—and put to use.
Get weekly wisdom
By submitting, I consent to

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 7/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

Chopra, and its affiliates

contacting me by email at the
address provided and/or by
telephone at the number
provided (by live, automated, or
prerecorded phone calls or text
messages) about its products
and services.

SHOP EDUC AT I ON RETR E AT S

Guided Meditations All Certifications Silent Awakenings

Renew & Restore Detox Kit Online Courses

Chopra Signature Body Oils Find a Teacher

Chopra: Meditation & Well-being

App

Jyotish Vedic Astrology

ARTI C L E S ABOU T U S

All Articles Mission

Meditation Explore the Science

Ayurveda In The News

Mind-Body Health Careers

Nutrition & Recipes Contact Us

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 8/9
27/9/23, 21:29 Ayurveda Doshas: The Benefit of Knowing Your Unique Dosha

Yoga DeepakChopra.com

Personal Growth FAQ

COPYRIGHT 2023 CHOPRA TERMS OF USE PRIVACY P OLICY CONTACT US

https://chopra.com/articles/ayurveda-doshas-the-benefit-of-knowing-your-unique-dosha 9/9