Got Your Doshas in a Row?
November 11th, 2006 by The Doc
It’s all about balance.
One of the things I appreciate about ayurvedic philosophy is its emphasis on achieving and maintaining balance. That’s something we cast aside long ago in our culture, for now we seem enslaved by the idea that—no matter what the cost—productivity and consumption must continue. Indeed, we have elevated this concept almost to the level of deity (if not insanity), and I believe it is costing us dearly.
Ayurvedic medicine espouses the belief that all life—indeed, the entire universe—is imbued with three commingled and intertwining energies, or doshas (fans of Star Wars may recognize “The Force” in this line of thinking). These energies are described (inadequately) as follows:
Vata Dosha: roughly defined as “wind energy” (Vata stems from the Sanskrit “vaayu,” meaning “that which moves things”), Vata is the moving force behind the other two doshas, which cannot function without it. Vata drives the intelligence behind our senses, allowing us to respond appropriately to the stimuli which reach us from the universe.
Pitta Dosha: derived from the Sanskrit “pinj”—to shine—Pitta is associated with the color yellow, and denotes “that which digests.” Pitta might be defined as the fire or heat within the body. In broad terms, Pitta governs metabolic functions and chemical transformations, the production of heat, and the color of our blood, and it is the emotional force behind intellect, perception, and vision (both literal and spiritual).
Kapha Dosha: the Sanskrit word “shlish” or “shleshma” gives rise to the term Kapha—“that which provides substance or cohesiveness.” Kapha arises from two elements, water and earth; it is the force that binds Pitta and Vata, preventing their excessive activity. Where Pitta is the catabolism or breaking down of matter to form heat, Kapha is anabolic, characterized by building, formation, and resiliency.
As if balancing these various energies and their associated elements isn’t complicated enough (the Ayurvedic must determine how, at any given time, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha influence the various body tissues via countless channels, cells and pores within the tissues), it seems that each individual possesses varying degrees of these life forces. It’s what makes us unique. It is the charge of the Ayurvedic physician (and his patient) to determine the underlying character of the individual and, thence, to rebalance the energies to an optimum level when illness occurs.
Though the Ayurvedic physician must learn about anatomy and physiology and pharmacology and organ systems (it is very much a dynamic and evolving discipline), there is a great deal of subjective intuition involved in the art—far more than the Western physician is allowed in his or her daily routine. And that may be what bugs us so much. It’s nothing more than conjecture, but I think we are troubled by the notion that we are applying our sterilized science to living, breathing, infinitely variable human beings…and it’s why we become so perverse when they don’t respond like a self-respecting test-tube project should.