Ayurveda by Deborah Hoffman

I started thinking back to how Ayurveda found me and its seeds go back quite a few years. I had a friend who was always worried and upset and “hyper” about things. Sounds disturbed him, he was very thin and very high strung but also a musician, very creative and spiritually oriented. The chief of staff at the hospital where he worked showed him a book by Deepak Chopra and introduced him to the ancient science of Ayurveda, suggesting that his constitution might be Vata (one of three main energy/body types).

This was all foreign to me at the time but it was my introduction to Ayurveda. About 10 years later, I began studying it with a teacher/practitioner in Milwaukee, using materials by David Frawley who is an esteemed Vedic scholar. The approach of Ayurveda is to address how our bodies (physical and subtle energy bodies) are in balance or out of balance with the entire universe.

Not really knowing what I was getting into, we began by studying the entire manifestation of the cosmos. Not the body as a machine or parts, but the entire evolution of the cosmos, from the ancient Indian perspective. So, you might understand why it’s difficult to give a short explanation of Ayurveda. It is about the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of each human being.

Ayurveda begins with an analysis of the constitution you were born with, Prakriti. After that, we look at where you might be out of balance, Vikruti. The three “doshas” are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Every person has all three doshas in them, some are just more predominant and most people have two predominant.

Vata is a combination of ether and air. These people tend to be thin, with irregular features, high metabolisms. Mentally they have a tendency to worry and be afraid. They are very creative but flit around from one thing to the next. They eat irregularly and sometimes forget to eat. Gwyneth Paltrow would be an example of a person with Vata predominant.

Pitta is a combination of fire and water. These people are well muscled, average build. They tend to have blue eyes or green, tend to grey or go bald early. They have a fiery temperament with anger as a dominant emotion. They attack everything they do with lots of energy and tend to complete what they start. They need to eat on a regular basis or they get cranky. George W. Bush would be an example of a Pitta.

Kapha is a combination of earth and water. Kapha type people tend to carry more body weight than the other doshas, they are more embodied you might say. They tend to have big eyes and lots of hair, they are very good natured with lots of stamina. They also tend toward lethargy mentally. They are very reliable and family oriented. Luciano Pavarotti is an example of Kapha.

This is extremely simplified but Ayurveda addresses every person as a unique combination of Vata, Pitta and Kapha and any treatment plan would be based on their constitution, in addition to whatever is out of balance at the time.

Treatments in Ayurveda can involve many things. Primary is diet and how you consume your food. Cleansing the digestive system is also a big part of Ayurveda, as well as herbs, mantra, meditation, and yoga. Ayurveda can change your life. But it involves changing our deeply ingrained habits.

Our bodies are made up of the food and drink we consume, the air we breathe but also the quality of the mind. If we cleanse our bodies, eat pure foods with lots of Prana (life force), as well as meditate and observe our thought patterns, we can change our bodies and our lives.

For more information on Arurveda, visit http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=373.

Deborah Hoffman,
June 1990, Delavan, WI