Ayurveda is the art of daily living in harmony with the laws of nature. It is the most ancient natural wisdom of health and healing, a science of life and longevity. It is based on the fact that pure health expresses itself when life is in perfect balance and harmony.
The method of living emphasises prevention over cure without neglecting cure. It works slowly but ironically this is part of the remedy when impatience is our biggest suffering. Ayurveda balances and rejuvenates us reducing our susceptibility and empowering our immunity to prevent disease from developing. Its therapies have been tested by thousands of doctors on millions on patients and its theories have stood the test of time.
I have been travelling to India for 12 years now and each time my panchakarma cleansing I did in Pune left me in a state of balance and health beyond anything I had ever tried. This time I decided to take it further and cleansed for 24 days with different doctors and then studied in Jaipur with some amazing lecturers from the Ayurveda University and learnt ,one on one ,the treatments which I am very excited to share. What came to mind In India is how lucky I am to have a peaceful beautiful healing environment free of noise to conduct panchakarma which is crucial in the cleansing process far from city noise and pollution. The first step to really balancing your constitution is cleansing and treatments, then you can follow on with diet and changes to your lifestyle according to your constitution.
According to Ayurveda, every person has a unique constition and his or her physical, mental and emotional characteristics are decided by this constitution. A person can plan a diet and general lifestyle according to the constitution. By understanding this we can know thyself and develop compassion towards self in our lives.
Determining an individual's prakruti or body type is the first step for subsequent treatment and therapies. All three doshas are present in everyone but one or two are predominant. If these questions clearly apply to you, give yourself 2 points, 1 point if somewhat And 0 points if it is clearly not true. Add up the total points for vata, pitta and kapha and this will give you the relative dominance of each of the forces in your constitution. It is not 100% accurate but gives you a good idea.
I am thin and my body build is slight with bones
I have difficulty gaining weight or go up and down
My skin tends to be dry and rough
I feel cold often and don't sweat much
My appetite varies
My complexion is dull, grey or dusty
I tend towards constipation when my digestion is upset
My mind is very active and I am prone to feeling nervous, anxious and fearful
I tend to be a light sleeper and often suffer from insomnia
I tend to spend money quickly and often feel poor
I am often not good with change in climate and don't travel well
My temperament is nervous, insecure and shy
I am of moderate weight and my body has good muscle tone
I often feel warm and sweat easily
My complexion is rosy
My appetite is good and sometime excessive (missing meals makes me irritable)
When my digestion is not good I tend towards diarrhea and runny stools
When I am healthy I have lots of energy and feel focussed
I am prone to feeling irritated, angry and resentful
My skin is pigmented (freckles) and slightly oily
I sleep quite well and wake up bright
I tend to be competitive and make a good leader
My temperament is determined and motivated
I am a stocky body build and often carry extra weight
It is difficult to lose weight
My complexion is pale and I have big eyes
The shape of my face is round
When healthy I move slowly and have great endurance
I am prone to feeling lethargic and depressed
I have no problem sleeping and when unhealthy tend to sleep too much
I tend to be thrifty with money
I sometimes suffer from envy and jealousy
I tend to be easy going and nothing irritates me
My temperament is conservative and resilient
Add up the total points and see which 2 are the most dominant, ie you are a pitta/vata or a kapha/pitta.