The Doshas are the golden triangle of Ayurveda, formed when the five elements with all of their attributes come together to produce what are known as the three Doshas. In a nutshell, a Dosha is a form of biological energy. The three Doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha, govern all the physical, mental and psychological systems.

Samkhya philosophy, one of the oldest philosophical systems and the philosophy that underlies Ayurveda, holds that the creation of the universe enabled three states of energy or pure consciousness, to come into play.

These three states are known as Gunas, which literally means ‘ropes that bind us to the physical world’. Which of these states predominate in your mind contributes to determining your psychological constitution.

Three Gunas

Sattwa Guna

Sattwa guna or potential energy is a state of equilibrium and balance. It gives rise to purity, truth, creativity, happiness and knowledge. Predominantly Sattwic people are calm, spiritually minded, quiet, intelligent and health conscious.

Rajas Guna

It is best described as kinetic energy that results in activity. This has the qualities of restlessness, aggression and effort. A  predominantly Rajasic person is ambitious, driven, egotistical and perfectionist.

Tamas Guna

Tamas Guna is aligned with inertia, is a state where nothing happens and rest ensues. It’s a state of dullness, heaviness, materialism, self-interest and depression. Predominantly Tamasic people tend to be lazy, attached to things and bad humoured.

The interaction of these three forces creates a unique and harmonious flow of creation, maintenance and destruction.

Together, the Gunas form the Pancha Mahabhoota (five elements) that compose the building blocks or proto-elements, from which everything in the material world is constructed.
Each element contains the one before it, so each of the five elements contains ether and earth holds all the elements – ether, air, fire and water.  

These Doshas represents air, sun and moon. In balanced condition, these Vata, Pitta and Kapha perform neuro-humoral functions, catabolic functions and anabolic functions for suppression of body just like diffusing power of air, assimilating power of sun and creating power of moon for universe.

In addition to describing types of energy, Vata, Pitta and Kapha also describe types of biological constitution. Every person on the planet has a combination of all three Doshas in a unique configuration.

Generally, one type of Dosha dominates. So, if the Pitta Dosha dominates in you, you’re said to have a Pitta Prakriti or Pitta constitution. Most people are governed by two Doshas, pure types are fairly rare.

Each Dosha exists within us but the amount we have (which is ‘allocated’at birth) is unique to us.

When we’re healthy, all the Doshas are in a state of balance in our body, mind and emotions.

Tri Dosha

The Doshas are the golden triangle of Ayurveda.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha

Vata Dosha

Vata dosha is composed of half air and half ether. Vata is known as the governor of all functions because it moves everything in your body, all nerve impulses, the movement of food in your digestive tract, muscle contractions, heartbeats and so on, would be impossible without it.

Vata’s characteristics are lightness, dryness, mobility, subtleness, coolness, roughness, clarity and inconsistency.

Vata is associated with the taste of astringency.

When Vata is in balance, you think clearly, move easily and are very flexible. If Vata becomes disturbed, you experience muscle cramping, all types of pain and paralysis, tics, fear and anxiety.

Because it’s so light and subtle, Vata is the Dosha which most easily goes out of balance.

If our primary Dosha is Vata, we’re quick to grasp things but also quick to forget them as the agility and natural curiosity of our mind darts from one thing to the next. Irregularity is the name of the game ; sometimes we feel constantly hungry, sometimes you don’t. Like the wind, we change from one state to the next. Mentally, one is  very creative but one get bored easily.

Pitta Dosha

Pitta Dosha is predominantly made up of the fire element with a little of the water element. It mainly governs your enzymes and hormone reactions and without Pitta Dosha metabolic processes would cease.

Pitta’s characteristics are sharp, hot, liquid, strong smelling, slightly oily and  spreading. Pitta is associated with pungent and sour flavours.

Pitta Dosha promotes proper digestion and assimilation of both the ideas and food we take in. It regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature and capacity to see is attributable to Pitta Dosha. When our Pitta Dosha is out of balance, we can fall prey to disorders such as jaundice, conjunctivitis, fever and inflammation.

If Pitta is your primary Dosha, you have a sharp intellect and a matching appetite. We’re endowed with passion, enthusiasm and vitality.

Kapha Dosha

Kapha dosha have the elements of water and earth in equal quantities. Kapha keeps your joints lubricated, produces cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) and protect cells. It gives luster to the skin. Kapha’s power of cohesion holds our musculature and skeletal systems together.

Kapha’s characteristics are hard, gross, sticky, cloudy, soft, static, slow, heavy, dense, liquid, slimy, oily and cold.

Its tastes are sweet and salty. The conditions of this Dosha include general swelling, diabetes, obesity and lassitude.

If our primary Dosha is Kapha, we’re probably laid-back and easy going. Because of  natural tendency not to move much, our metabolism is slow, along with our ability to digest both ideas and food. It takes quite a time for us to commit facts to memory, but once there you’ll never forget them.