What’s Your Dosha?

Hi, my name is Brittany and I’m mostly Pitta and Vata.

If you’ve never heard these words before, don’t worry, you’re not alone! Pitta and Vata are two of the three Doshas that every person has, the third being Kapha.

I’ve been getting really into Ayurveda lately (again…it seems to come in waves, but this is the deepest dive into it I’ve ever been!) which is an ancient Indian form of healing, wellness, and I would even say that it is a lifestyle. It translates to “knowledge of life” and is the oldest form of medicine known! It even precedes traditional Chinese medicine! One premise of Ayurveda is knowing your mind-body type which is where the Doshas come into play.

“Dosha”: (in Ayurvedic medicine) each of three energies believed to circulate in the body and govern physiological activity.

From knowing your Doshic constitution, you become more attune to what makes your body happy and how you can keep your body (and mind) in balance! I encourage you to take a Dosha quiz to find out what your constitution it!

Take Deepak Chopra’s dosha quiz here.

To give you guys some context, I’m a very strong-willed person. I’m gung-ho, spontaneous, driven, and a little bit like a wildfire. I’m also very free-spirited and prefer to go as the wind does, so it is no surprise that when I took the Dosha quiz, my results came back as Pitta and Vata with a Kapha imbalance. Basically, what that means is that I have a lot of fire and wind, but not enough earth. Here’s how the three Doshas breakdown:

The doshas are derived from the five elements and their related properties.

Vata: “Space and Ether (Air)” A Vata dominant person will have qualities reflecting these elements.

Just as the wind in balance provides movement and expression to the natural world, the balanced Vata individual is active, creative, and gifted with a natural ability to express and communicate. When the wind in a Vata rages like a hurricane, negative qualities quickly overshadow these positive attributes. Common signs of Vata imbalance include anxiety and bodily disorders related to dryness, such as dry skin and constipation.

The qualities of Vata are dry, rough, light, cold, subtle, and mobile. A Vata individual will display physical and mental characteristics that reflect these qualities in both a balanced and an imbalanced state.

Pitta: “Fire and Water”

The balanced Pitta individual is blessed with a joyful disposition, a sharp intellect, and tremendous courage and drive. As the fire of the mind and body becomes unruly, however, the laughing Pitta quickly becomes the yelling Pitta. Anger, rage, and ego replace Pitta’s positive attributes, leaving an individual who is bitter with life and overbearing towards others.

The qualities of Pitta are oily, sharp, hot, light, moving, liquid, and acidic. A Pitta individual will display physical and mental characteristics that reflect these qualities in both a balanced and imbalanced state.

Kapha: “Earth and Water”

Mentally, the loving and calm disposition of the Kapha individual may transform into lethargy, attachment, and depression.

The qualities of Kapha are moist, cold, heavy, dull, soft, sticky, and static. A Kapha individual will display physical and mental characteristics that reflect these qualities in both a balanced and imbalanced state.

With this newfound knowledge, I hope you do a little more research to find out what makes you tick! It’s pretty incredible how accurate Ayurveda is even thousands of years after its conception and even more incredible that our bodies have the ability to tell us what they need to be the best versions they can be. If you take the test, leave a comment with your Doshic constitution, I’d love to connect about it!

Until next time,

Brittany