Yoga
to balance Doshas
In one of my yoga classes recently I
mentioned doshas- the Ayurveda path to define characters, imbalances and
diseases. Doshas are the physiological constitution of an individual controlled
by the contribution of universal elements- earth, water, fire, air and ether-
and their related properties; it is the blue prints for health and fulfillment.
The three doshas – Vata, Pita and Kapha- are basic body characteristics and the
tendency of these body types to have specific strengths and weaknesses. Normally
one dosha predominates in a person and this preponderance of one over others in
our nature (prakruthi) establishes our natural body type and determines our
strengths and weaknesses. However, there may be influences from other doshas.
Each of us is born with a genetically determined prakruti which is controlled
by the contributions at the time of the birth. The acquired deviation from the
prakruthi by life styles is called vikruthi. If the proportion of doshas in
ones current state is close to birth constitution, then health will be vibrant.
A divergence between these states, however, indicates a state of imbalance.
Each dosha has several differentiating qualities or “gunas”; and each has a
specific location (seat), as well as a corresponding chakras Vata means “wind”.
Pitta means “bile”. Kapha means “mucous or phlegm”. When any one of these
becomes excessive in any particular area, it is then considered to be in a
state of imbalance. Once established at birth, our body types do not change.
The slings and arrows of life do not often permit us to remain in that state
and we frequently find ourselves out-of-balance.
I continued
the practice on that day with focus on the role of yoga to balance doshas and how
specific yoga poses optimize them. At the end of the class a participant came
to me and said, “I liked the whole class and the sequence. But, I do not still
have any clue on what dosha and their controls on my life” As a yoga instructor,
I am sure, you have been in this situation.
I changed
my style. I stick with, “there are two kinds of personalities, one find it very
hard to relax and others find hard to act on anything” (and, of course, there
is one in between) It would be safe for us to deliver sequences to address both
these identities in a class, and the third will be addressed consequentially. “Swadhyaya”-
teach thyself- is very relevant in yoga. Recognize who you are; your strengths,
weaknesses and imperfections; and tailor yoga to fit you. In yoga, one size won’t
fit all. Everybody don’t need to strive for a perfect headstand or savasana.
Shift the focus on poses to fit your nature, and nurture that balance yoga
warrants.
I
am going to talk only about the vata dosha here. The contributions for this
dosha comes from air and space. It provides the motion necessary for the
physical, mental, and emotional processes. It is called “a dosha that moves”.
Individuals with predominance of this dosha tend to be fast in their action and
thinking but lack the stamina for prolonged activity. Individuals with a vata
dominant body type tend to be thin and active. Restlessness, hyperactivity,
curiosity, and creativity mark the vata-dominant personality, as do rapid,
chaotic speech and frequent changes of mind. Vata is the leader of other doshas
and is located in the colon. Vata corresponds with the throat chakra. Vata’s
most important function is to control the central nervous system. Vata people
tend to have restless minds with weak memories. They are likely to be artistic
and creative with a good imagination, they will sometimes overindulge in
pleasures. They are often fearful, worry too much and become anxious. They like
to question things, spend a lot of time theorizing and then tend to over
analyze situation. Vata people often become dissatisfied with friendships and
are unable to sustain them. When out of balance, vatas feel over-amped and
ungrounded, and may suffer from mental and physical restlessness, insomnia, or
anxiety. Vata energy can be very uneven, marked by spurts of frenetic activity
followed by exhaustion. This dosha can get aggravated by dry, cold, and windy
weather; over stimulating environments; travel; lack of routine; and a lot of
change. One can ground (earth) and soothe (water) excess vata by bringing the
mother principle into your life—learning how to calm and nurture yourself;
lowing and quieting down; keeping warm and moist; and establishing self-care
boundaries and a supportive routine.
Yoga
adds stability to vata. Poses that work on the colon, intestines, pelvis,
lumbar spine, and sacroiliac balance vata by bringing energy back down into the
base of the torso. Spinal twists and inversions of all kinds soothe this dosha.
Sitting and standing forward bends are choice poses; boat, plank, staff, and
plow are also powerful vata-reducers to control anxiety and stress. To support grounding, work with standing
poses such as mountain, triangle, warrior, and tree. To make a vinyasa more
vata-pacifying, move deliberately and slowly, extending the length of time that
you hold each pose. Also pay attention to the transitions between poses,
performing them with conscious awareness rather than rushing on to the next
pose. Calming and grounding yoga sequences
are ideal for them. Traditionally yoga poses that work on the lower abdominal
areas are suggested to balance this dosha. Now I understand why yoga
visionaries incorporated these yoga poses at the end of yoga practice. They
calm you down into meditative and contemplative final stages of yoga practice.
These poses increase the metabolism and digestion and increase the amount of
tryptophan produced in the body. Tryptophan is the raw material for serotonin,
which in turn acts as the building block for melatonin which calms one down.
So, if anybody seeks yoga to calm them down and relax may be looking at these
“vata salutations”
I have
taken vata salutation as the theme for my classes for the next few weeks and
will slowly incorporate sequences for Kapha (kapha salutations- fast vinyasa) and
Pita doshas (pita salutations- intermediate vinyasa); I will refrain from
explaining the details in the class to avoid the situation my friend had, as I
mentioned in the beginning (that is why I post the details of themes of my
classes here). Hope to see you in one of my classes.
Thy,
Jay
