“Body Types” in Ayurveda explain much more than just the physicality

This is part 3 of a series of articles about managing and maintaining a healthy, well-rounded and satisfactory life.

Part 1 — Holistic Life Management Lessons From Ancient Indian Science

Part 2 — Secrets To A Healthy “Mindset” From Ancient Ayurvedic Science

The Sanskrit word for ‘nature’ is Prakriti. Ayurveda sees a person’s Prakriti as a combination of physical properties and psychological traits. We saw the types of psychological prakriti that a person may possess These were called ‘Gunas’ — Rajas, Tamas, Sattva.

Body types, as described by Ayurveda, are governed by ‘Doshas’ — explained using phrases such as “energies which flow through the body”. Sometimes Doshas are referred to as body types themselves. Although in reality, the meaning of the word Dosha is ‘a fault’ or ‘a disorder’. And a person’s body type is based on the combination of these fault — the dominant dosha having the greatest effect on the body type, and contributes to most physical ailments.

Since Ayurveda largely considers the five elements as an integral part of a person’s prakriti, the Doshas are also distinguished based on the dominance of one or more elements. Basically this means the body is governed by the characteristic traits attributed to each of the elements — Vayu (air), Aakash (space), Prithvi (earth), Teja (fire), and Jala (water).

This boils down to three Doshas —

Vata — consists of two elements air and space
Pitta — based on fire and water
Kapha — based on earth and water

Pitta and Kapha show similarities as they are connected by the Water element, while Vata appears distinctly different.

A person’s unique proportion of Vata, Pitta and Kapha is said to outline their body type, a blueprint to achieve optimal health. Though there’s little scientific evidence to prove the validity of these doshas, many practitioners and followers of Ayurveda point to a lack of studies on the subject.

(Maybe because they like to use words such as ‘energies’ and ‘elements’ instead of ‘properties’ and ‘characteristics’)

Vata

Dominated by characteristics of Air and Space, people with this Dosha tend to be more energetic or restless, easily distractible and often impulsive or temperamental. They may be prone to insomnia, slightly weaker memory retention and may either be complete loners or always surounded by people. They also tend to be sensitive and creative.

Energetic nature and a fast metabolism means less muscle mass and may not even gain fat easily. If you have been interested in fitness, you may notice that this is similar to the Ectomorph body type. The difference is that when Ayurveda describes body types, it also describes the nature of mental and behavioral traits along with physical appearance. It digs deeper.

People with Vata Dosha have irregular eating. sleeping habits, talk fast, tend to not like cold weather and have dry skin and hair. Focus and concentration are not strong suites. All this describes a lot more than physical body, right?

Typical ailments include insomnia, heart diseases, anxiety, arthritis.

Pitta

Dominated by the Fire element, along with Water. Strange combination, huh?

People with a high Pitta Dosha tend to have higher muscle mass, sometimes can be heavy, like Mesomorphs. They have good energy level, but are not overly active. Their skin is often soft and radiant, but prone to sunburn. They cannot tolerate heat and it often gets on their nerves, and they can be aggravated. Highly contradictory considering they are supposedly governed by Fire element.

Though people with dominant Pitta Dosha are usually cheerful and very social, they can also be easily angered or irritated. They like their personal space and don’t do well in crowded situations. They can be very open and talkative with friends. Ambitious and tenacious, they have a good memeory and learn quickly.

Show high intelligence, highly emotional, sensitive to discrimination. They have very high desire for food, sexual pleasure, money and luxury.

Because they digest food easily, they are prone to hunger, hence susceptible to gaining unwanted weight. While they have moderately deep sleep, they tend to want to sleep more. They are also prone to acne, inflammations and ailments of liver/kidneys/pancreas.

Kapha

This body type is governed by Earth and Water elements. (Again, this means characteristics of the elements, not the elements themselves.) People with this body type are strong, have good muscle and bone weight. They tend to have larger bodies, but also gain weight easily. They do not indulge in physical activity, can be sluggish and lethargic. They also have smooth skin and thic hair. These are the Endomorphs.

In terms of appearance they look pleasant and cheerful. People with dominant Kapha Dosha tend to be more romantic, sentimental yet calm. They’re known for keeping things together and being a support system for others. They are masters at not showing their emotions. Kapha dominant people rarely show when they get upset, think before they act, and go through life in a slow, deliberate manner.

A combination of Earth and Water means being slow, heavy, high inertia.

These people can be very loyal to those they love. They are empathetic and helpful and are very complacent. They are highly dedicated to their daily routines and sleep deeply. However, they tend to over-eat, avoid excercise and procrastinate.

Due to their lifestyle choices, Kapha type people often suffer from obesity, digestive disorders, diabetes, heart diseases. They may also suffer from depression and require frequent motivation.

Most of the time, any person may have two dominant ‘body-types’ — for example 50% Vata, 30% Kapha and 20% Pitta. But rarely does someone have all three Doshas dominant enough to control their lifestyle.

The dominance of any of the Doshas is not only inherent with our Prakriti (true nature), but is also affected by external stimuli. Our current state is as result of the accumulation of properties of these doshas. A greater proportion of qualities accumulated in our lifestyle from any one of the doshas tends to make us more and more like the ideal Dosha-dominant personality.

In the previous article (Part 2) I mentioned that even the food we eat has a considerable influence on our personality as well as our physical body. Accordingly, Ayurveda suggests certain dietary and lifestyle changes for each of these Dosha-dominant body types.

For the Vata type -

One important rule is to have wholesome meals regulary, to avoid or reduce irregular eating habits.

Secondly, avoiding strenuous activity, fasting and cold environments is important to support a calm mind.

For the Pitta type -

Try to get more vegetarian diet, if not entirely vegetarian. Spicy and oily foods should be avoided.

Some excercise is recommended but exertion must be avoided.

For the Kapha type -

The only rule for food is to avoid over-eating. Control cravings.

More importantly, excercise regulary and take up different types of excersise routines.

By now, if you have read all three articles, you may have noticed that body types and mental states are connected deeply. They are influenced by internal as well as external stimuli, and hence, they may be altered. This knowledge of altering you state of being is the key idea behind Ayurvedic treatments. No medicines, just some lifestyle changes may be good enough to help you avoid major or minor ailments.

In the next article, I will explore the importance of food in holistic health management, it’s effect on us and also how food is affected by other things.