Yoga & Ayurveda

Ayurveda (ayus =life, vid = knowledge) is a complementary system of health for body, mind and spirit that has been practised in India for over 3000 years. Both yoga and ayurveda stem from the samkhya philosophy which holds that everything is created from the union of consciousness and energy.

In ayurveda, five elements (space (ether), air, fire, water and earth) are fundamental to everything, and equally valuable. Each individual has some combination of these elements that is expressed as three doshas or constitutional types, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha (VPK). Each person’s VPK is determined at conception from the parents and from environmental factors, but it may become disturbed as conditions change. Ayurveda seeks ways of regaining the natural balance, and yoga is one of these ways. So far, Ayurveda has not been scientifically tested.

Which is your predominant Dosha?

	*VATA* (air, ether)	*PITTA* (fire, water)	*KAPHA* (earth, water)
Hair	Dry	Fine	Thick, oily
Skin	Dry, rough	Soft, ruddy	Oily, moist
Mental action	Quick, restless, imaginative	Efficient, perfectionist	Calm, steady, stable
Memory	Quick to learn, & forget	Good general memory	Good long-term memory
Weather	Aversion to cold	Aversion to hot	Aversion to damp, cool
Sleep	Interrupted, light	Sound, medium length	Sound, long, heavy
Under stress	Excitable, anxious, worried	Critical, irritable, angry	Unruffled, stubborn, set ways
Body size	Small frame	Medium frame	Gain weight easily
Hunger	Irregular	Sharp	Can easily skip meal
Walk	Quick	Determined	Slow & steady
Mood	Changes quickly	Intense, slow changes	Steady, non-changing

What upsets the balance of the doshas? Avoid or reduce	Irregular routine Cold dry windy weather Staying up late Irregular meals Excessive mental work Bitter, astringent or pungent food Travelling Injury	Excessive heat Too much sun Alcohol Smoking Time pressure Excessive activity Spicy, sour, salty food Skipping meals	Excessive rest Oversleeping Cold, wet weather Overeating Insufficient exercise Too much routine in life Heavy, unctuous, sweet, sour, salty foods
Yoga to help balance the doshas	Do a gentle practice Be firmly grounded Use calming breath Foetal postures Sitting postures Forward bends Sequences done slowly Standing postures Inverted Prone back bends Spinal twists Long savasana & relaxation	Do a medium strength practise Be steady, calm & cool Be uplifted Do cleansing breath Avoid over-exertion & over-heating Kneeling backbends Prone backbends Seated forward bends Medium savasana	Do a strong practise Do flowing sequences, strongly & energetically Accept a challenge Standing postures Up/down dog Inverted postures Backbends Lion posture Sitting & lying twists Breathing practise in sitting postures Short savasana

Material from British Wheel of Yoga National Training Week 2004.