The new year brings us opportunities to implement healthy changes to bring balance into our lives. Learn 10 simple Ayurvedic health tips which you can use now.
Balancing Pitta during summer
In Ayurveda, the three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, each have a primary season where they get imbalanced. In the summer, Pitta can get overheated and thus out of balance, more so than the other two doshas. Pitta is the energy of digestion, assimilation, and transformation. Pitta is comprised of fire and water. To prevent […]
Qualities of Pitta
Ayurveda operates on the principle of three constitutional types or doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The doshas are further differentiated by their qualities or gunas. Ayurvedic practitioners examine the gunas to determine which components of prakruti are contributing to vikruti. We previously explored the gunas or qualities of Vata. Let’s now examine the qualities of […]
Ayurvedic Psychology
Ayurveda is an ancient science of body, mind, and spirit which has stood the test of time for over 5,000 years. It has eight branches. One of these branches is Ayurvedic psychology, also known as graha chikitsa or bhuta vidya. Ayurvedic psychology addresses mental imbalances and how to treat them with holistic methods so that […]
Agni, the digestive fire
In Ayurveda, the concept of Agni, or the digestive fire is a key factor in understanding our physiological makeup, or our prakruti and vikruti. Ayurveda has three doshas, or core energies: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Some consider agni to be the fourth dosha. Ayurveda teaches us that everything which we take in must be digested, […]
Basic Principles of Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient science of body, mind and spirit which originated over 5,000 years ago in India. Ayurvedic theory is based on the five elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth) and the three doshas, or body types: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Ayurveda focuses on the root of a disease, rather than just treating […]
Cooling Pitta dosha
In Ayurveda, there are 3 doshas or body types: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Pitta is the energy of digestion, assimilation, and transformation. Pitta is comprised of fire and water. It is hot, sharp, oily, light, and penetrating. In the summer, Pitta can get overheated and out of balance more so than the other two doshas. […]
Doshic Imbalances in Ayurveda
The goal in Ayurveda is to maintain our prakruti, or our inborn physiological constitution. This is the amount of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas with which we were born. Yet, we all are prone to doshic imbalances due to both internal and external stressors. Doshic imbalances in Ayurveda are due to a variety of factors: […]
What’s a dosha in Ayurveda?
One of the most commonly used terms in Ayurveda is “dosha”. There are varying contexts in which it is currently used, as it can indicate both health as well as an imbalance. So what’s a dosha in Ayurveda? Literally, the word dosha means “fault”. It’s often used in Hindi or Gujarati without the final -a […]
Astringent Taste in Ayurveda
We conclude our journey of the six tastes, or shad rasa, with the astringent taste in Ayurveda. Astringent is comprised of the elements earth (prithvi) and air (vayu). Astringent increases Vata and decreases Pitta and Kapha doshas. The virya, or energy of the astringent taste, is cooling. The vipak or post-digestive effect of astringent is […]