Vata Dosha. Creative Visionary.

Transcription

1 Vata Dosha Creative Visionary

2 Table of Contents Welcome 3 Disclaimer 4 The Big Picture 5 The Doshas 7 Your Constitution 10 Diet 15 Lifestyle 17 Opposite Therapy 21 Next Steps 23

3 Welcome I love that you were curious about Ayurveda and your dosha! My life s dharma is to teach. I love working with inquisitive and brilliant souls like you who love to learn and grow, both personally and professionally. As you ll learn, when your vata dosha is in balance you are a creative visionary, able to bring your imagination to anything you do. You are gracious, inspirational and light up a room. However, when your vata dosha is out of balance, you feel insecure and lack confidence in your abilities. My intention with this e-book is to help you get grounded so that you can tap into your unlimited supply of creativity. You will learn how to create balance in your body, mind and spirit. This will help you connect more authentically to your life s dharma for being here in this lifetime. Let s get started! 3

4 Disclaimer The information in this e-book is for educational purposes only. It should not be used to diagnose, treat or take the place of professional medical advice. Please seek a qualified health professional before undertaking any form of exercise, including yoga, diet or other health related program. 4

5 The Big Picture Life s experiences have the power to awaken you and crack your heart open or shut you down. The Samkhya philosophy, one of 6 Indian Philosophies, explains this dualistic nature by dividing reality into two categories, the material world (prakriti) and the soul (purusha). Prakriti is unlimited potential and is comprised of three energies called the gunas. The three gunas are light (sattva), activity (rajas) and inertia (tamas). Sattva is the quality of light, love & life, the higher or spiritual force that allows you to evolve in consciousness. Sattva relates to the present moment. Rajas is the quality of twilight, passion & agitation, the intermediate or vital force, which lacks stability or consistency. It gives rise to emotional fluctuations of attraction & repulsion, fear & desire, love & hate. Rajas relates to the future. Tamas is the quality of darkness, non-feeling & death, ignorance & attachment. It causes dullness, inertia, heaviness, emotional clinging & stagnation. Tamas relates to the past. According to Samkhya, when the Gunas are in equilibrium, Prakriti is static. Disturbance of the equilibrium initiates a process of evolution that ultimately produces both the material world and individual faculties of action, thought, and sense. 5

6 The Purusha (soul) appears to be bound to Prakriti (matter or nature) and its modifications and may become free only through the realization that it is distinct from Prakriti. Prakriti is here for your own evolution and awakening, your own enlightenment. The purpose of Self-realization is to study and transcend each level of manifestation as you move towards the core of your being. Yoga and Ayurveda are complimentary sciences. They both emphasize the development of sattva. In yoga, sattva encourages spiritual growth. In Ayurveda, sattva is the state of balance that allows healing to occur. Sattva can be obtained through the right diet, physical purification, control of the senses, control of the mind, mantra and devotion. One of Ayurveda s core principals is that man is a microcosm of the external environment, the macrocosm. In other words, Ayurveda does not separate the individual spirit, energy or matter from the cosmic spirit, energy or matter. From this perspective, there is an inherent wisdom that already prevails in Mother Nature. Ayurveda unearths this wisdom and integrates it into the various techniques and treatments to create balance and harmony from within. 6

7 The Doshas The five elements combine in the body to form three doshas or humors Ayurveda teaches that the doshas create the physical body. The doshas represent both physical and psychological aspects of the individual, you! Dosha means blemish. Doshas reveal factors that create imbalance, dis-ease and illness. Vata Pitta Kapha 7

8 Did you know? You may be confusing your dosha. Let me explain. Your prakriti (yes- same name as the Samkhya s prakriti representing the material world) is your individual constitution. Your prakriti is what you are born with, similar to your astrological sign or your natural hair color ;). Vikriti represents imbalances that contribute to disease. Sometimes, while taking an Ayurveda Dosha Quiz, you may confuse your prakriti and vikriti. In other words, you may respond to the questions with current symptoms. Those symptoms may only reach back a couple of months or years. Those symptoms are more representative of your vikriti, what s out of balance. Perhaps you are super stressed at work, just moved, suffered a loss or are going through menopause. These factors could create an imbalance, a vikriti. You could have a pitta prakriti with a vata vikriti. How do you know the difference between the two? One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is to recognize whether or not the symptoms or qualities are short term (think a couple of months or years) or reach back into your childhood. Short term symptoms usually relate to an imbalance or your vikriti. Long term characteristics or traits usually relate to your constitution or your prakriti. 8

9 Ayurveda works to balance body, mind & spirit through specific treatments and purification techniques to reduce doshic excess, increase sattva guna and connect you to your Purusha (soul) through spiritual practices. 9

10 Your Constitution Vata dosha prevails in you. Vata means wind. Vata governs all movement in the body and mind, including your blood flow, elimination, breath and thoughts. Vata dosha is considered the master dosha because pitta and kapha dosha are dependent upon it. Therefore, when in doubt focus on balancing vata dosha. Since your constitution is a combination of air and ether, your qualities are light, dry, cool, irregular, rough and mobile. 10

11 Creative Visionary 11

12 When In Balance Like the wind, you are light and agile, ready to move towards your dreams. You are forever curious and thrive with stimulation and change. You are social, gracious and inspirational. You light up a room. You are spontaneous and often seek new adventure. You are at your best when using your imagination and creativity. You are quick to learn new information. You are filled with joy and enthusiasm. You are able to adapt, both in body and mind. You are communicative and easily express yourself. You are fun and playful. You have an unlimited resource of energy. 12

13 When Out of Balance You feel overwhelmed and full of despair. You are unable to make decisions. You worry relentlessly. You feel, isolated, separate and alone. You become forgetful or absent minded. You feel insecure and lack confidence in your abilities. You talk incessantly or have a difficult time expressing yourself. Your digestion is irregular with bouts of constipation and bloating. You experience insomnia and/or fatigue. Your resist anything resembling a routine. You are unpredictable and unreliable. You are hyper sensitive and ungrounded. 13

14 The best preventive medicine and support of the natural healing process is a diet and lifestyle specific to your constitutional needs and in line with the seasons and cycles of nature. Vishnu Dass, LMT, NTS, CAYU Ayurvedic Doctor 14

15 Diet One of the key differences between Ayurveda and western medicine is their approach to dis-ease. Western medicine tends to diagnosis the dis-ease once it has manifested in the physical body. Western medicine treats symptoms. Ayurveda monitors the doshas regularly and works to create balance between health and dis-ease before it manifests. Prevention is a key component to Ayurveda. Ayurveda treats the whole person. The purpose of any treatment is to either eliminate or neutralize toxins. Toxins are called ama in Ayurveda. Ayurveda emphasizes diet as the foundation for all healing therapies. Food or anna is the first Sanskrit word for Brahman, the Supreme. Food carries life-force energy or prana & sustains it within the body. According to Yoga & Ayurveda philosophies, all that you see is food for the soul. Ayurveda believes that the food you eat nourishes your body, mind & spirit. 15

16 Ayurveda & yoga both emphasize a vegetarian diet. There are a few guiding principles that will help you gain the maximum amount of nourishment and energy from your food: Eat according to your constitution, your prakriti. Remove processed foods from your diet. Eat freshly prepared foods at every meal. Eat organic and locally grown food. Eat according to what is in season. Your biggest meal should be at lunch when your digestive fire or agni is strongest. Try and avoid iced beverages as that tends to dilute your digestive fire or agni. Eat all six tastes at every meal: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent. Eat in a calm and serene setting. 16

17 Lifestyle One aspect that is essential to the Ayurveda lifestyle is the concept of the daily routine or dinacharya. You are made up of the five elements- earth, water, fire, air and ether. My teacher says, What you spend the most time doing on a daily basis is what you will be at the end of your life, which is why your daily routine is so essential. In consistently observing your daily routine, you become more conscientious of how the sun, moon and planets influence your physical and energetic body. You are more connected to the pulse of Mother Nature herself and more attuned to your soul (purusha). A period of 24 hours can be broken down into kapha, pitta, and vata periods. At these times the qualities of that particular dosha prevails. Within a 24 hour period, each dosha is dominant at two particular periods. Day: Kapha: 6am to 10am Pitta: 10am to 2pm Vata: 2pm to 6pm Night: Kapha: 6pm to 10pm Pitta: 10pm to 2pm Vata: 2am to 6am 17

18 The aim of all spiritual practice is to know your real Self, to know the Knower All spiritual practices are essentially done to help clean your mind. Only when you have a clean mind can you experience the truth. Swami Satchidananda 18

19 Another key component to yoga, Ayurveda and your daily routine or dinacharya is your personal spiritual practice or sadhana. It s essential as it helps to purify your body and mind. Here are a few suggestions to help you begin your sadhana practice. The key is to begin with one or two items. If you try and do too many, you may become overwhelmed and simply quit: Try and wake 90 minutes before sunrise to meditate. This is considered the most auspicious time of day. Practice yoga or asana. Incorporate breathing or pranayama techniques. Spend time in nature. Practice Ayurveda purification techniques (see next page). Reflect by reading yoga scriptures or any other scriptures. Journal 19

20 Ayurveda Cleansing Techniques Eliminate upon waking. Tongue scraping: scraping your tongue on a daily basis helps remove the build up of toxins or ama. Oil pull: 1 to 2 TBSP of sesame or coconut oil. Swish for 5 to 20 minutes. Neti pot: 1/4 TSP of Himalyan salt to 1 cup warm water per nostril. Nasaya: add special drops to your nose to help lubricate your nasal passages. Abhyana: use an oil specific to your dosha. Massage your entire body, including ears, head, hands and feet for 10 to 15 minutes. Practice yoga or take a steamy hot shower after to open your pores and remove toxins. Honey Lemon Water: drink a cup of warm honey, lemon water. Wait 30 minutes to eat anything as this helps promote healthy digestion. 20

21 Opposite Therapy Ayurveda seeks to reduce dosha excess and create balance through a process called Opposite Therapy or Yukti Vyapashraya in Sanskrit. From the Ayurveda perspective, like attracts like. Think of the qualities of vata: light, dry, cool, irregfular, rough and mobile. As a vata dosha, you may like your beverages iced, love to travel, are spontaneous and are constantly on the go with no down time to ground your energy. The opposite qualities you would seek to introduce would be heavy, moist, oily, warm, routine, smooth and grounding. As a vata dosha, you do well with warm heavy foods like soup and/or stew, routines where you go to sleep and eat at the same time each day and build in time to decompress, avoiding fatigue. 21

22 Your key words: Stillness & Grounding 22 Carrie Hensley

23 Next Steps Knowing your constitution or prakriti is beneficial as it reveals your natural strengths. In addition, knowing your constitution can help you understand the natural consequences when your prakriti is out of balance. Looking at the characteristics on pages 11 and 12 will help you determine if your dosha is in or out of balance. If your vata dosha is in balance, you may explore the different aspects of your diet and incorporate some of the Ayurveda principles on page 15. For example, do you know what foods are in season in your region? How much processed food do you eat on a daily basis? You may choose to explore the different aspects of the daily routine or dinacharya including the dosha times of day and creating a sadhana. If your vata dosha is out of balance, you may want to explore the concept of opposite therapy or Yukti Vyapashraya. Are you traveling a lot? If so, can you establish a routine to practice while you are gone? What types of warming foods and Ayurveda and yoga techniques can you introduce to counterbalance the fatigue and anxiety you may be feeling? 23

24 Inspired Action: Grounding Practices for Vata Dosha Yoga or asana One of the key concepts for vata dosha is grounding. Remember, when in balance, you are creative, spontaneous and easily light up a room. Gentle backbends such as cobra and hip opening poses such as pigeon are excellent for your vata dosha as these are two areas where vata dosha tends to accumulate. Routine or Dinacharya This can be the single most important inspired action you can take for your vata dosha. Some key aspects that will help balance your vata dosha include going to sleep before 10pm each night, eating at regular times and creating a morning ritual that focuses on self-care such as abhyanga (self-massage). Breathing or pranayama Just like your yoga practice, your pranayama practice should be stimulating. Your dosha does well with vigorous pranayama. Bellows breathing or bhastrika is perfect for your vata dosha. The emphasis is on slow deep inhales and slow deep exhales. If you become light headed stop. 24

25 Feed Your Inner Student As I shared on the welcome page, my intention with this e-book is to help you get grounded so that you can tap into your unlimited source of creativity. When your vata dosha is in balance, you are confident. You are gracious, inspirational and a visionary. Did this e-book spark your curiosity to learn more, to go deeper? If your answer is yes and you d like to know how Ayurveda can benefit you, specifically, I d like to share an introductory Ayurveda ecourse with you! That s right! ecourse meaning you can learn about this ancient 5,000 year old tradition in the comfort of your own home. Ayurveda is a personalized and in-depth approach to balancing your body, mind and soul through diet, lifestyle, self-care, yoga postures, breathing techniques, meditation, chanting & more! Visit: to learn more. Use coupon code doshaquiz to receive 10% off the ecourse price of $ Code: doshaquiz 25