VATA - PITTA - KAPHA & COUNTING DOWN!

Last week I announced that starting May 1, I would be part of a study, directed by internationally known KP Khalsa. I will be living an Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle for a year at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Ashram in the Bahamas.

I shared the definition of Ayurveda and gave a bit of background (www.bestyouconsulting.com/blog/a-huge-leap). 

Everything on our planet is comprised of the 5 elements Air, Ether, Water, Fire and Earth.
In Ayurveda, there are three primary forces that are responsible for the characteristics of our mind and our body.

I mentioned Sanskrit words for the three fundamental energies - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.  Strange words to us, but they are very interesting.  

These energies govern our movement (Vata), transformation (Pitta) and structure (Kapha).  Each of us has a unique proportion of these three forces that shapes our overall nature.

What I’ve learned thus far, in my still novice level of understanding, is that if Vata is dominant, we would tend to have a thin framed body, with light, enthusiastic, energetic and changeable tendencies.

If Pitta predominates in our nature, we would tend to be intense, intelligent, goal-oriented and have a strong appetite for life.

When Kapha is dominant, we generally are easy-going, methodical and nurturing.

Each of us has all three forces in our nature, yet most people have one or two energies that predominate.

I am Pitta-Vata for example.  In Ayurveda, this is called my Constitution.

Besides my finding it all fascinating, Why does any of this matter?

For each of the three elements or energies, there is a balanced and imbalanced expression.  

When Vata is balanced, a person is lively and creative, but when there is too much movement in the system, a person tends to experience anxiety, insomnia, dry skin, constipation, and difficulty focusing.

When Pitta is functioning in a balanced state, a person is warm, friendly, disciplined, a good leader and good speaker.  When Pitta is out of balance, a person tends to be compulsive and irritable, getting annoyed easily and may suffer from indigestion or inflammatory conditions.

When Kapha is balanced, a person is sweet, supportive and stable, but when Kapha is out of balance, a person may experience sluggishness, weight gain and sinus congestion.

Some of the key goals of Ayurveda is to identify a person’s ideal state of balance, determine where they are out of balance, and then offer natural interventions using diet, herbs, aromatherapy, massage treatments, music and meditation to reestablish balance.

Ayurveda considers the imbalanced states to be the body giving us ‘signs’ of something wrong.  

If those signs are ignored and the imbalances worsen over time, then at a point of extreme high stress or a major tragedy or sometimes with no bigger warning, a major episode, disease or condition shows up.  

These are not ‘sudden’ and have been developing over time, completely undiagnosed in western medicine.  Often we don’t even mention the symptoms to our doctors at our check ups.

I know I didn’t mention that I haven’t slept well all my adult life.  Interrupted sleep and waking every 2-3 hrs, with temperature swings of cold, hot and then cold again every night.  I easily fell back asleep after going to the bathroom each time.  So, I never questioned that I didn’t sleep solidly through the night, and I figured everyone struggled with getting up in the morning.  Right?

I’ve been a coffee drinker since I was about 12 years old when my favorite Aunty Tina let me drink coffee when I stayed over and babysat for my cousins.  Coffee has been a daily necessary jolt for me to ‘wake up’ and be able to function energetically, just as it is for billions of people around the world.

To look at me, I look perfectly healthy and I have plenty of energy - at least when I am around people I always have energy:)  You don’t know, and even my doctor didn’t know, that I rarely got a good night’s sleep - and we are talking about decades of this.

I have plenty more signs of imbalances.  Most of them are readily covered up and certainly, we don’t tend to share our less than attractive traits or conditions.  

I will share them with you!  And no, most of them are not pretty:(
Why Share?  In order to find out "What is Possible?" in the Ayurvedic-Yogic lifestyle adventure, it is important to know where I am starting from.  So, I plan on sharing openly and freely!

My Ayurveda consultations have established that my imbalances are mostly Vata imbalances, but I also have Pitta imbalances too.  I will be sharing about my various health imbalances in the coming weeks.  STAY TUNED!!!

If you are interested in finding out your Constitution:

Banyan Botanicals has a basic quiz to determine your predominant nature or Constitution. - Check it out!

Consultations with Ayurvedic Practitioners, such as KP Khalsa, can provide a more in depth look at both your Constitution and your Imbalances, plus be able to prescribe treatments.  

An Ayurvedic Practitioner will use a variety of tools besides the general quiz, including pulse readings and data they can attain from your eyes, tongue and overall demeanor as they meet with you or speak to you on the phone.

I am counting down the time and have exactly one month until I leave for this exciting adventure!  Now if I can manage to get everything done here that needs completion before I leave, all will be right with life:)

I am very grateful for the support of KP Khalsa, Sivananda Yoga Retreat and Banyan Botanicals.

I will continue with writing weekly blogs, in the form of updates.
I hope that you will want to follow the journey.  I am so excited for the adventure to begin!

I encourage you to leave a comment below or post one on my BestYOU facebook page. 
Sharing your thoughts is a gift to all of us! 
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