THE DOSHAS

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, the 5 great elements exist in all matter (see page titled” the 5 great elements”) and it groups the 5 elements into 3 types of energy (called dosha in Sanskrit) that are present in everything including us. These energies are called Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

Our constitution – called Prakruti (in Sanskrit) – is a particular combination of the 3 doshas; for example, if a person’s Prakruti is V2P3K1, that means this person is primarily Pitta, secondarily Vata, and has a bit of Kapha. But these ratios vary from person to person because the qualities of each dosha may be expressed differently from person to person. Thus, one’s Prakruit is unique.

The current state of your dosha is called Vikruti which rarely corresponds to your Prakruti. Vikruti is the imbalanced state of the doshas. To be healthy is to bring back Vikruti to your Prakruti.