Last updated September 30, 2024
Ayurveda has been steadily climbing the social ladder for decades and is now the gold standard in healing centers, advanced hospitals and luxury spas worldwide. Your beginner’s guide to Ayurveda starts here.
In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “the science of life.” This science encourages prevention of disease by paying close attention to balancing our inner and outer worlds through proper selection of foods, lifestyle and herbs.
Ayurveda teaches us to live in harmony with nature by reminding us we are nature. And when we get out of balance, like most of us do at some point, Ayurveda helps us identify where we are out of alignment.
Ayurveda, a system of holistic healing, originated in India more than 3,000 years ago.
The principles are simple and begin with the understanding that “like increases like” and “opposites balance.” These ideas can be transformative when applied daily.
In full form, Ayurveda is a vast science covering everything from yoga to herbs, diet, exercise, mantra, gem, color, aroma and sound therapy. Learning the basics helps make better life choices, from what to have for dinner to which wellness vacation to book.
The most important concept to know in Ayurveda is your dosha. In layman’s terms, this refers to which elements are dominant. So let’s get learning with this beginner’s guide to Ayurveda.
Ayurveda 101
According to Ayurveda, there are five elements—ether, air, water, fire and earth. These are the basic building blocks of life and are present in all things. In any given substance, including people, two of the five elements will dominate.
These five elements also correspond to our five senses and create the three primary doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Vata dosha, composed of air and ether, represents the light and mobile qualities of these elements. In contrast, Pitta dosha is defined by fire, embodying heat and transformation. Meanwhile, Kapha dosha, consisting of water and earth, brings stability and grounding through its heavier, more solid nature.
The primary doshas are then broken down into six dual element constitutions: Vata, Pitta, Kapha, Vata-Pitta, Vata-Kapha, Pitta-Kapha and one tri-dosha: Vata-Pitta-Kapha or balanced. You will be one of these.
There are also 20 qualities in life. Ayurveda organizes them into ten easy-to-remember pairs of opposites. The pairs of opposites are useful to learn. When you identify excess qualities, you can balance them by applying the opposite.
The 20 qualities are: heavy and light, dull and sharp, cold and hot, oily and dry, smooth and rough, dense and liquid, soft and hard, stable and mobile, gross and subtle, and cloudy and clear.
For example, a Vata-type person, made mostly of air and ether, may become unbalanced by too much air travel, cold, raw foods, and windy conditions. These add light, dry, cold, and mobile qualities to already air-like elements, causing imbalance.
However, these same things are balancing medicine for the Kapha type, who is composed mostly of water and earth.
What Does Each Dosha Look Like?
Let’s move forward with this beginner’s guide to Ayurveda and delve into the three primary doshas now.
Ayurveda Dosha: Vata
Vata people are slim and slender with dry skin and hair, less muscle mass, poor endurance and poor circulation. They have variable digestion and metabolism and are prone to constipation, pinched nerves, pain, bone loss, instability and over-stimulation. Vatas are also extremely creative and the most adaptable of the three types.
Vata is disturbed to excess by cold, dry, windy conditions including air conditioning. Vata types should avoid iced drinks, too many green smoothies, and living on salad. Instead, they should opt for cooked vegetables, soups and quality protein.
Raw veganism is not favorable to Vata. Telltale symptoms of excess Vata are emaciation, anorexia, protruding belly on a skinny body, fear, anxiety, confusion and aimless talking.
Excess Vata treatments start by boosting digestive fire with warming herbs, followed by tonic herbs to fortify and build quality tissue. A Vata-balancing diet, consisting of warm, heavy and moist foods with sweet, sour and salty tastes, is also recommended.
When booking spa services and wellness retreats, Vata people should look for warm oil massages, gentle yoga and silent meditation. They should also seek warm climates and peaceful, supportive environments that promote rest.
Ayurveda Dosha: Pitta
Pitta people are of medium build, with good circulation, warm soft skin and a high metabolism that allows them to eat freely and burn it off. They are prone to burnout, premature balding, inflammatory diseases, fever and infection. Intelligent, motivated and perceptive, a Pitta possesses natural leadership skills and a competitive nature. With penetrating eyes and intense focus, they can become easily irritated by heat and hot sun.
Pitta is disturbed to excess by heat and oil. Hot climates, spicy, oily, greasy, excessively salty or sour foods tend to overheat Pitta people. Tell-tale signs of excess Pitta are anger, short temper, conflict, extreme hunger or thirst, allergic reactions like hives and inflammatory disease.
Pitta-balancing therapies begin with a diet of cool, light, dry foods with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. When booking wellness vacations, Pittas benefit by choosing locations that offer cool-water swimming and cold-water plunges. They should also look for spa services that offer light, cooling coconut oil massages with sweet aromatherapy oils such as rose or sandalwood.
Ayurveda Dosha: Kapha
Kapha people, the largest of the three, are capable of great strength and physical endurance and equally capable of gaining weight and becoming obese. They love a stable routine and if they establish a rigorous exercise program, make some of the world’s best athletes.
Kapha types have thick, lustrous hair, melodious deep voices, wide doe-like eyes and beautiful skin. They tend to live longest and have strong immune systems. Kaphas have a calm, cool nature, are cool under pressure and cool to the touch. They can become attached to people and possessions and may have a hard time letting go of the past.
Kapha is disturbed to excess by cool, damp, heavy environments and by living near water. Heavy foods including dairy products, too much meat, wheat, pastry, and even watery foods such as melons and cucumber all contribute to excess Kapha.
Tell-tale signs of excess Kapha are feelings of heaviness, depression, inability to “move on,” water retention, obesity, swollen glands, increase in mucous production in cough and congestion, and sleeping too much.
Kapha-balancing therapies begin with a diet of warm, light, dry foods with astringent, pungent and bitter tastes. When booking wellness vacations, Kaphas should look for wellness programs that offer rigorous group exercise classes, strong massage with dry herbal powders, dry sauna to promote sweating and support for light fasting.
Ayurveda and Your Life Energy
As an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor and Yoga Therapist with twenty years in the wellness industry, I believe we, as a society, have become disconnected from nature. And this disconnection has led us to become a disease-based society. The good news is, this is changing.
Now, as individuals prioritize their healing, we are moving toward a time of collective well-being and harmony with nature. This shift is thereby helping to raise the vibration of the entire planet.
If this beginner’s guide to Ayurveda sparked your interest and you want to learn more or take the dosha quiz, follow this link.
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