Tridosha (three three rulers/ body humors)

Vata dosha
The word vata means to blow or move like the wind.
Vata derives from the elements of Space and Air and
translates as “wind” or “that which moves things.”
It is the energy of movement and the force governing all
biological activity. Vata is often called the “King of the
Doshas,” since it governs the body’s greater life force and
gives motion to Pitta and Kapha.
 Just as the wind in balance provides movement and
expression to the natural world, the balanced Vata
individual is active, creative, and gifted with a natural
ability to express and communicate.
 When the wind in a Vata type rages like a hurricane,
negative qualities quickly overshadow these positive
attributes.
 Common signs of Vata imbalance include anxiety and
bodily disorders related to dryness, such as dry skin and
constipation.

Qualities of Vata: The qualities of Vata are dry, rough, light,

cold, mobile and having ability to penetrate fine particles.
5 Types of vata:
1. Prana: relates to chest and respiration.
2. Udana: concerns the upper gut. This responsible in
emesis and other motility disorders of upper gut. Also
responsible for the voice.
 3. Samana: refers to the intestines. It controls the churning
movements required to digest the food and formation of
stool.
4. Vyana: refers to the whole body and mainly chest.
Related with cardiac functions.
5. Apana: relates to rectum and genito-urinary tract.
Controls evacuation of stools and urine, ejaculation of
sperms, and delivery of child.
Locations of Vata:
The main locations of Vata in the body are the colon, thighs,
bones, joints, ears, skin, brain, and nerve tissues.
Actions:
 All eliminations: fetus, semen, feces, urine, sweat, and a
few others.
 Assists with all the metabolisms in the body (Stimulates
the Agni)
 Controls all of the various movement of body (both
physical & mental), including such things as respiration,
heart beat, motivation and contraction of muscles
 Relays all sensory input from the various sense organs to
the brain
 Psychologically, Vata governs communication,
creativity, flexibility, and quickness of thought.

Ways Vata Becomes Imbalanced

 Eating Vata-aggravating foods like popcorn, rice, beans,
cayenne pepper, coffee and alfalfa sprouts
 Eating while anxious or depressed
 Eating on the run
 Drinking alcohol, coffee, or black tea
  Smoking cigarettes
 Following an irregular daily routine
 Going to bed late at night

How to Balance Vata:

Eat in a peaceful environment.
Engage in wholesome and contemplative activities (like
spending time in nature).
Go to bed early.
Meditate daily.
Do gentle physical exercise like yoga, swimming, tai chi, or
walking.
One should put efforts to establish regular daily routine to
eating schedule; to sleep and to work at regular times. It is
very important to regulate vata dosha.
Eat warm, moist, heavy texture food, which is soothing and
satisfying.
The food with sweet, sour and salty taste is good to balance
Vata dosha.
Food such as warm milk, butter, cream, warm soups, hot
cereal, etc is satisfying.
Regular relaxing exercise and avoiding strenuous exercise
help.
Vata is cold and dry in nature so warm nourishing food
stabilizes vata. Cold salads, greens, raw vegetables, iced
drinks are not food for persons with vata imbalance.
Warm sesame oil whole body massage before bath or head
massage before sleep will help balance vata.
Pitta dosha
Pitta derives from the elements of Fire and Water.
The Pitta dosha is associated with fire or heat. It is mainly
associated with transformation in the body.
It is the energy of digestion and metabolism in the body that
functions through carrier substances such as organic acids,
hormones, enzymes, and bile.
Pitta is most closely related to the element of Fire
Qualities of Pitta:
Hot, Sharp, Slightly Oily, Penetrating, Liquid, Light and can
be sour and foul smelling when excessively increased
5 Types of Pitta:
1. Pachaka: controls digestion of food by controlling
secretion of enzymes.
2. Ranjaka: controls colour of skin and complexion. It
converts Rasa (plasma) to Rakta (blood). So white
colored plasma gets converted red colored blood.
3. Sadhaka: located in brain. Transform the sensory
messages to actual perception.
4. Bhrajaka: located under the skin. Regulates body
temperature.
5. Alochaka: resides in eyes and is responsible for vision.
Rods and cones cells of retina may be related to it.
Locations:
The main locations of Pitta in the body are the small intestine,
stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, blood, eyes, and sweat.
Actions:
Pitta provides the following functions:
 Metabolism - at various levels from digestion of food to
transformation of all other material
 Maintains the proper body temperature
  Vision - converts external images into optic nerve
impulses
 Appetite - the feeling of hunger and thirst
 Comprehension - of information into knowledge, also
reasoning and judgment
 Courage & Braveness - to face the situation
 It governs all processes related to conversion and
transformation throughout the mind and body.
 Psychologically, Pitta governs joy, courage, willpower,
anger, jealousy, and mental perception.
 It also provides the radiant light of the intellect.

Ways Pitta Becomes Imbalanced

 Eating Pitta-aggravating food like spicy, hot food.
 Eating while angry
 Drinking coffee, black tea, or alcohol
 Smoking cigarettes
 Over-working
 Being overly competitive
 Staying under sun
 over-indulgence in pungent, sour and salty tastes.

Ways to Balance Pitta

Eat in a peaceful environment.
Avoid artificial stimulants.
Engage in calming activities, like spending time in nature.
Meditate daily.
Do calming physical exercise, such as yoga, swimming, tai
chi, or walking Eat cool/warm food; try to avoid too hot food
and drinks.
Sweet, bitter and astringent tastes are good to decrease pitta
influence.
Complex carbohydrates, milk, sweet fruits, green leafy
vegetables are good for pitta.
A glass of warm milk with two teaspoons of ghee will calm
down pitta.
Avoid processed foods, oily, spicy heavy and salty foods.
Kapha dosha
Kapha derives from the elements of Earth and Water.
Kapha is the heaviest of the three doshas.
It provides the structures and the lubrication that the body
needs.
These qualities help to counterbalance Vata's movement and
Pitta's metabolism.
Qualities of Kapha:
Cool, Heavy, Dense, Sweet, Stable, Oily, Viscous and soft.
5 Types of Kapha:
1. Tarpaka: located in brain. Protects brain from external
injury. Related with cerebrospinal fluid.
2. Bodhaka: located in mouth at root of tongue.
Responsible for taste sensation of food.
3. Avalambaka: Resides in thorax (chest cavity). Lubricates
the chest organs. Related to pericardial and pleural fluids.
4. Shleshaka: located at joints. Prevents them from friction.
Linked to synovial fluid.
5. Kledaka: resides in the gut. Protects the mucous
membranes of gut from action of fiery pitta.
Locations:
Chest, throat, lungs, head, lymph, fatty tissue, connective
tissue, ligaments, and tendons.
Actions:
 Strength - to perform physical tasks
 Moistness & Lubrication - to prevent excessive friction
from occurring between the various parts of the body
 Stability - to add the necessary grounding aspect to both
mind and body
o Physiologically, Kapha moistens food, gives bulk to

our tissues, and relates to cool bodily fluids such as

water, mucous, and lymph.
o Psychologically, Kapha governs love, patience,

forgiveness, greed, attachment, and mental inertia.

Ways Kapha Becomes Imbalanced

 Eating Kapha-aggravating food like milk products,
banana, curd etc.
 Overeating
 Eating to offset emotions (like indulging in sweets when
depressed)
 Spending too much time in cool, damp climates
 Not engaging in physical activity
 Spending most of one’s time indoors (especially on the
couch watching TV!)
 Avoiding intellectual challenges

Ways to Balance Kapha:

Avoid a luxurious, leisurely lifestyle
Focus on non-attachment in daily life.
Make time for introspective activities, like meditation and
writing.
Make a distinction between being nice and being taken
advantage of.
Rise early, with no daytime naps.
Eat light meals with lightly cooked vegetables, raw fruits and
vegetables helps balance kapha.
Stimulating food, which is bitter, pungent and astringent, are
good tastes for kapha dosha.
Kapha dominated person need to watch the consumption of
sweet, salty, and fatty food as they might gain weight easily.
Butter, dairy, ice cream, cheese, yogurt aggravate kapha.
Ginger, black pepper, fenugreek, cumin’s turmeric these
spices should be added to food.
Use honey as sweetener than any other form of sugar.
Take honey ginger and lukewarm water to pep up the morning
Exercise like aerobics, swimming, jogging will help maintain
kapha.
Three primary states of existence of doshas:
1. Balanced: All three doshas are present in their natural
proportions; also referred to as “equilibrium.”
2. Increased: A particular dosha is present in a greater-
than-normal proportion; also referred to as an
“aggravated” or “excess state.”
3. Decreased: A particular dosha is present in a less-than-
normal proportion; also referred to as a “reduced” or
“depleted state.”
Of the three states, the increased or aggravated state leads to
the greatest number of imbalances. Such imbalances can arise
from dosha- aggravating diet and/or dosha -aggravating life
style.
How to balance Doshas:
The key to remember is that like increases like, while
opposites create balance.
By simply choosing cooling or more alkalizing foods, you can
avoid heartburn, while also supporting your underlying make-
up.
Ayurveda offers specifically tailored recommendations for
every individual, ranging from general lifestyle changes to the
treatment of dis-ease (literally, an imbalance within our
natural state of “ease”).
For this reason, Ayurveda can truly be called a system of
individualized health care, something remarkably different
from the Western model’s “one-pill for all” approach.
Since the doshas are used to detect imbalances before the
manifestation of dis-ease, Ayurveda is also a complete system
of preventative medicine.