By: Angelica Neri and Rachel Jeffries, co-founders of SoulFull Veda

Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga and is an ancient healing system to align your mind, body and spirit.

While yoga is a spiritual practice to achieve a state of samadhi- total oneness. The path of Ayurveda is to heal from physical, mental and spiritual imbalances.

This science is vast and ranges from healing simple digestive issues like gas and bloating all the way to oncology work. Pretty amazing, right?

So where do we begin to understand a science that can is so complex and multidimensional? We are starting with the fundamentals of Ayurveda today.

Because when it boils down, Ayurveda is a simple and intuitive science that was meant to be understand and applied by all.

The Fundamentals of Ayurveda

Everything in Ayurveda is based off the five element: earth, water, fire, air and ether. All of these elements are all around us in our food, environment, seasons, climates, etc.

These elements are all within us like our physical body features, mental tendencies and physiological experiences. 

To make the elements simpler to understand, the ancient rishis who channeled this ancient healing system, created the doshas.

A dosha is an imbalance in the body and is created by two elements. We have THREE doshas in total.

Kapha (Earth + Water)

Pitta (Fire + Water)

Vata (Air + Ether)

The easier way to first grasp the concept of the doshas is by understanding how the doshas live within us. We call this our constitution in Ayurveda.

So let’s cover the basic fundamentals of give classic examples of how each person can be each of the doshas.

Kapha (Earth + Water)

Kathy is a beautiful Kapha that has curvy features, big loving eyes and strong bones.

She absolutely loves to make the plans for things like dinner date, but if someone tries to change the plan- eek!

It is only because she thrives off of consistency and tends to be stubborn from time to time.

When she is not her best, she tends to gain weight and go through periods of sadness and heaviness. However, when she is her highest Self, she is the most nurturing, thoughtfull and loving friend there is!

Catch Kathy curled up in the softest blanket ever watching netflix marathons all day.

Pitta (Fire + Water)

Stacey is a sophisticated Pitta that has an athletic build, sharp and angular features and clear and concise speech patterns.

She thrives off of a detailed schedule and high achieving work mentality. But when someone tries to tell her to calm down, you get pierced with her sharp tongue.

Being judgemental and critical are often the qualities Stacey has when she is not her best. This can also mean inflammation, burning indigestion and multiple bowel movements.

But, when Stacey is her highest Self, she feels successful in all areas of her life and finds total love and compassion for everyone around her.

Vata (Air + Ether)

Tara is a stellar Vata that has a thin frame, tiny facial features and a very fast and flighty way of speaking. She is so excited when she makes time for creating and indulges in a little afternoon session of day dreaming.

The problem can sometimes be when she gets overly excited and tries to start one too many projects at once.

This causes her to spiral into moments of anxiety and overwhelm, which can also manifest as constipation, weight loss, bloating and gas in her physical body.

However, when she is her highest Self, she is enthusiastic, creative and bubbly. 

Can you think of people in your life that fit any of these molds to a tee?! You probably can for at least one of each dosha. And most of can resonant with one of these doshas as our dominant.

Although, some of us have can have TWO dominant doshas.

To make things simpler, we created a quiz for you to understand what dosha resonates the most with you! For our full dosha quiz, click here.

But the reality is that we are ALL these doshas just in different proportions.

If you want to receive a full Ayurvedic consultation to learn your doshic percentages and a month long healing plan for your mind-body-spirit, learn more here.

Xo,

Angelica + Rachel