Tridoshas
Basic
Concepts
What
are the Tridoshas?
Ayurveda's
concept of the Tridoshas is unique to medical science.
Ayurveda says the body is made up of tissues (dhatus), waste
products (malas), and doshas (loosely translated to Energetic
Forces). It is the Tridoshas' job to assist with the creation
of all of the various tissues of the body and to remove any
unnecessary waste products from the body. It is also the
Tridoshas that influence all movements, all transformations,
all sensory functions, and many of the other activities in the
human body and mind.
Vata
dosha
The
Vata dosha is the most important of the three doshas. This is
for two reasons. First, if Vata becomes imbalanced for long
enough and sufficiently enough, it can also cause the other
two doshas (Pitta or Kapha) to become imbalanced. It can even
cause both Pitta and Kapha to become imbalanced; this is
called a Tridoshic imbalance and is the most difficult to
overcome. Secondly, Vata is the main driver or mover of the
body, including the other two doshas, all the tissues (dhatus)
and all of the waste products (malas).
Vata provides the following functions:
- All
eliminations: fetus, semen, feces, urine, sweat, and a few
others
- Assists with
all the various metabolisms in the body (called Agni in
Ayurveda)
- Controls all
of the various movement of body (both physical and
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
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Pitta
dosha The
Pitta dosha is associated with fire or heat. Wherever there is
transformation, there is Pitta (doing its job). Whether it is
in the GI tract, liver, skin, eyes or brain doesn't matter,
for these are all locations where Pitta works.
Pitta provides the following functions:
- Metabolism -
at all the various levels
from digestion of food to transformation of all other
material
- Thermogenesis
- 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
and Braveness - to face the situation
- Complexion -
gives color and softness to skin
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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. A big, heavyset football play or wrestler is a
person with a predominance of Kapha.
Kapha provides the following functions:
- Strength -
to perform physical tasks
- Moistness
and 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
- Mass and
Structure - to provide fullness to bodily tissues
- Fertility
and Virility - to produce healthy offspring
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Why
should I care? Because by
learning how to balance the Tridoshas, the following goals can
likely be achieved:
- Prevention
of many diseases before they take hold
(In other words, keep healthy folks healthy)
- In many
cases, slowing down or reversing the disease process
(particularly the case in many auto immune disorders)
- Assistance
in becoming totally healthy: physically, mentally, and
spiritually
(In other words, maximize your full potential)
What
is really nice about Ayurveda is that learning to balance the
Tridoshas is easy. Much of Ayurveda is common sense; it is
based upon the laws of nature. The tools one uses to balance
the Tridoshas are lifestyle management and the proper
nutritional protocols.
Nutritional
Protocols? What is this term - Nutritional Protocols?
Wouldn't some people call this diet? Sure, some would;
however, we definitely would not use this word. I wouldn't
want to be on a diet, would you? On the other hand, learning
to eat tasty, well-balanced meals that are easy to digest and
even easier to cook -- now that's something I like!
Ayurveda
goes into great detail explaining all of these different
aspects of the body, how the functioning of the body can go
wrong, and what to do in order to correct the problem.
Likewise, it also explains how each individual can create a
customized nutritional protocol and lifestyle plan that can
prevent disorders from occurring in the first place.
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What
is the Normal State of the Tridoshas? When
the Tridoshas are balanced, the individual experiences health
on all levels: mental, physical and spiritual. This is much
more than the mere absence of disease.
The following
areas help to define what Ayurveda considers as health.
- Happiness -
sense of well being
- Emotions -
evenly balanced emotional states
- Mental
Functions - good memory, comprehension, intelligence, and
reasoning ability
- Senses -
proper functioning of eyes, ears, nose, taste, and touch
- Energy -
abundant mental and physical energy to perform
- Digestion -
easy digestion of food and drink
- Elimination
- normal elimination of wastes: sweat, urine, feces and
others
- Physical
Body - healthy bodily tissues, organs, and systems
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What
causes the Tridoshas to become Imbalanced?
Balanced
and Imbalanced Each
of the three doshas have certain quantity, qualities, and
functions. When all of these are balanced, it is called normal
or balanced (Dosha Shamya). This condition is conducive to
well-being, health, and wellness. However, this balanced state
is not stable; it is always changing. The Doshas will become
either increased (vriddhi) or decreased (kasaya). Both of
these states lead to ill-health or disease. However, increased
Doshas have much more power to cause problems than do
decreased Doshas. The important point here is to understand
that each dosha has a set of qualities (gunas) associated with
it which can increase or decrease in quantity.
Qualities
of Vata Dosha
Cold,
Light, Dry, Rough, Hard, Mobile and the Ability to penetrate
fine particles
Qualities of
Pitta Dosha
Hot, Sharp, Slightly
Oily, Penetrating, Liquid, Light and can be sour and foul
smelling when excessively increased
Qualities of
Kapha DoshaCool, Heavy, Dense,
Stable, Oily and slimy
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Two
kinds of Imbalances
Natural -
imbalances
Natural
imbalance is due to time and age, which are mild and normally do
not cause any problems. Vata, Pitta, and Kapha increase and
become predominant during one's life, during a season and during
certain times of day. For example, Vata is predominant during
the latter part of one's life, during the fall season and during
late afternoon, as well as during the last part of night and the
last part of digestion. Whew!! I know that's a lot of stuff!
Hang in there! Pitta is predominant during middle age, during
the summer season, at midday, at midnight and during the middle
part of digestion. Kapha is predominant during childhood, during
the spring season, in late morning, at the first part of evening
and during the early part of digestion.
Unnatural -
imbalances
Unnatural
imbalances of the Doshas can be caused by such things as:
inappropriate diet, inappropriate lifestyle, trauma (like a car
accident), viruses, parasites, etc. While some of these items
are beyond our control, the type of lifestyle we live and the
foods we eat are within our control.
Like
increases Like
To
learn how to reduce the Tridoshas, it is first necessary to
understand what causes the Tridoshas to increase. The reason,
according to a simple rule in Ayurvedic principles, is:
"Like increases Like, while Dislike (opposite) decreases
Like." For example, if you are cold and you eat ice cream,
you will become colder; or if you are hot and you eat chilli
peppers, you will become hotter. These examples, which seem so
obvious, are the basis for much of what is done in Ayurveda that
allows its exceptional results. Herein lies one of the true
beauties of Ayurveda: its principles are so simple, so basic,
that it naturally appeals to common sense.
Example
of Vata increasing Lifestyle and Foods
So
if we engage in either lifestyles or consumes foods that have
Vata qualities one will be increasing the Vata dosha in
themself. Some examples of Vata increasing activities are the
following: running outside in the fall while dressed lightly
when it is cold, dry with lots of winds blowing, going to rock
concert after skipping a meal and not having slept all night,
eating popcorn while driving in traffic with the music
blasting, never taking time to rest, relax and take it easy.
Basically any activity that is nerve racking and/or highly
stimulating is going to increase (aggravate) Vata. Example of
Vata increasing foods would be things that have the above
mentioned qualities and/or taste bitter, astringent or pungent
like: popcorn, rice cakes, beans, cayenne pepper, coffee and
alfalfa sprouts.
Therefore,
note that whatever one does that has the above mentioned
qualities (food, lifestyle, relationship) in it will cause that
dosha to increase(aggravate).
And
the name of the game in preventing disease is not to aggravate
any of the Tridoshas; to keep them calm and happy. So all you
need is to understand what factors increase and decrease each
of the three doshas; Vata, Pitta and Kapha and follow those
recommendations when necessary to avoid disease and promote
overall health. Really it's actually quite simple. Most of us
can follow those Lifestyle suggestions for reducing each of
the three doshas, and simply follow a Tridoshic nutritional
program. Tridoshic meals can be very easy to cook.
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Pancha
karma
Pancha Karma
is the cornerstone to Ayurvedic management of disease. Whereas
diet, lifestyle and herbal supplements play key roles in
creating and maintaining health; Pancha Karma is the process
which gets to the root cause of the problem and corrects the
essential balance of mind, body, and emotions.
Pancha Karma
is not only good for alleviating disease but is also a useful
tool in maintaining excellent health. Ayurveda advises
undergoing Pancha Karma at the seasonal changes to both keep
the metabolism strong and keep toxins from accumulating in the
mind / Body. Using Pancha Karma prior to any rejuvenation
treatment (herbal tonics and foods) greatly enhances the
beneficial effects; for it cleanses the body, improves the
digestion and improves the metabolic processes of the
mind / Body.
The
therapeutic management involved with Pancha Karma covers many
aspects and is designed to achieve increased efficiency of
medicines, foods and rasayanas (tonics). Before medicine, food
or rejuvenative tonics are taken, it is essential that the
body become receptive so that it is capable of absorbing and
assimilating what is being taken and that the accumulated
wastes and toxins are eliminated. An analogy of this would be
if one tries to dye cloth that is heavily soiled and dirty the
dye will not take very well; however, if the same cloth was
properly cleaned then dyed the dye would work beautifully. In
addition this therapy greatly enhances one's natural immunity
thereby providing additional protection from many diseases and
disorders.
There are
several eliminative procedures in Pancha Karma that assist in
eliminating toxins.
- Therapeutic
vomiting (vamana) promotes elimination from the stomach
and thoracic cavity.
- Purgation
(virechana) promotes elimination from the small intestine.
- Therapeutic
enema (basti) works on the colon to eliminate toxins and
strengthens the tissues.
- Nose
drops (nasya) cleanse toxins from the head and sinuses.
Warm
oil massage and sweat therapies prepare the body to eliminate
the toxins (doshas) from their respective zones. This approach
is unique in that it insures that the underlying tissues are
not damaged by the elimination procedures mentioned above.
This attention to the proper preparation of the body prior to
the elimination of toxins is unequal in the health care field
and is what makes Pancha Karma so unique and effective.
After
Pancha Karma a specific graded diet is followed for seven days
to assure that the agni returns to a normal balanced state and
that no further Ama (toxins) is formed in the GI tract.
In
addition to the previously mentioned karmas there are many
other therapeutic techniques that Ayurveda has to offer that
can be used singularly or in combination for the desired
effect upon the patient.
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