Ayurvedic Lifestyle

Traditional Indian Medicine

Understanding Your Body Type

Understanding your Body Type –

By Rama Prasad and Caroline Robertson – Ayurveda Elements – Sydney, Australia.

Your body-type

Pakriti and Vikriti
Discover your innate strengths and vulnerabilities through the following questionnaires.

Your mind-body constitution: Every individual is born with a certain proportion of various energies and elements. This is called one’s “prakriti”. Understanding our constitution makes us aware of our unique strengths and vulnerabilities guiding us to follow an ideal health regime for disease cure and prevention. The following column will give you a brief idea about your body type. Then continue to the Self Care Tips for details about how to adjust your lifestyle to suit your constitution.

Body type questionnaire simplified
The answers should be based on your tendency throughout your entire life.

Criteria

Vata

Pitta

Kapha

 

Personality	Light & easy Enthusiastic & vivacious	Analytical & driven Competitive & challenging	Loving & caring Supportive & concerned
Body frame	Tall or short	Muscular, strong	Large, broad, curved
Weight	Slim Loose easily	Moderate weight Steady	Heavy build Gains easily
Movements / walking	Quick and easy	Fast and measured	Slow and heavy
Professions	Teachers, Philosophers, communicators, organisers	Leading, negotiating, brokers	Nursing, domestic care, cooks

 

Activities	Quick and restless Starts things, may not finish	Moderate, directed Enjoys completing tasks	Slow but steady Enjoys repetitive tasks
Sleep	Light and short (5-7 hours)	Medium with colourful dreams	Deep and long 7-9 hours)
Dreams	Flying, jumping, climbing	Challenges, fights	Water bodies, food, clouds
Appetite and eating	Influenced by external factors. Eats large or very small quantity	High level. Needs large amounts of food	Slow and steady Needs moderate amount

 

Mind	Active, imaginative	Analytical, driven	Sensitive, steady
Memory	Good short term	Moderate in both	Good long term
Learning ability	Quick to learn and forget	Needs to analyse	Slow. Good retention
Temperament	Nervous, shy	Determined, motivated	Resilient, conservative
Excitability	Quick and temporary	Very quick, can endure	Very slow
Talking	Fast, uneven, may miss words	Sharp, provocative, calculated, logical	Slow, resonating, clear

 

Weather preference	Warm, moist weather Spring, autumn	Cold weather Winter, rain	Warm, dry weather Summer
Flavour preference	Sweet, sour, salty tastes	Bitter, astringent, sweet tastes	Pungent, astringent, bitter
Work preference	Communication, planning, forcasting	Marketing, analytical, crisis management	Caring, maintaining, repeated activities

 

Mouth	Spaces in between teeth	Bleeding gums	Rounded teeth
Skin	Thin, cool, needs moisturiser	Sensitive, warm, reddish, less hairy. Seeks shade	Cool, thick, oily Loves sun
Hair	Curly, thin or dry. Profuse	Coloured, shiny, thin	Thick, flowing, rich, oily
Nose	Thin, crooked	Sharp, pointed	Rounded, big
Earlobe	Small, thin	Pointed tips	Fleshy and oily
Nail	Rough, dry, brittle, bitten	Soft, pink, strong	Soft, large, white
Circulation	Poor circulation	Good circulation	Moderate circulation

 

Urination	Variable timing, small amount	Regular, mildly strong	Pale, milky, large quantities
Defecation	Variable timing, hard	Regular, soft	Regular, large quantities
Sweating	Depends, usually less	Easy to sweat	Sweats profusely
Thirst	Variable	Very often	Seldom

 

Usual emotional imbalances	Anxiety, fear, worry, excessive thoughts –‘can’t switch off’	Frustration, anger, vengence, jealousy	Depression, lack of motivation, static, dependant
Usual disease tendencies	Aches and pain Weight loss Inadequate circulation Neuromuscular conditions	Acidity and heartburn Overheating Overflow (e. g: diarrhoea) Digestive problems	Weight gain Sluggishness Unmotivated Circulatory insufficiencies
Total %

Your present imbalance - Vikruti

Criteria	Vata Imbalance	Pitta Imbalance	Kapha Imbalance	Healthy state
Sleep	Restless, Interrupted	Night sweats	Deep, long Heavy	Easy to fall asleep Deep sleep is maintained Refreshed when wake up
Dreams	Flying, fearful Teeth loss, travel	Violent, anger Fire, fights	Melancholy Water, sewrage	Can’t remember
Appetite	Fluctuates Restless after eating	Excessive Tired after eating	Weak appetite Sleepy after eating	Excellent Energised after eating
Digestion	Gas, bloating Headaches	Heartburn, Excessive sweating	Feel heavy and sluggish Excessive salivation	No discomfort
Energy	Fluctuates	Agitated	Low, sluggish	Excellent, steady
Craving	Crisps, fizzy drinks, protein	Sugar, cold water & alcohol	Cheese, potatoes, Deep fried	Almost never
Urine	Clear, scanty With pain	Strong, odorous Burning sensation	Milky, excessive Incomplete feeling	4-5 times daily Normal
Defecation	Constipated Unsatisfied	Diarrhoea Unsatisfied	Sticky and heavy Unsatisfied	1-2 times daily Satisfied
What do you think about the world?	Very confusing	Very violent	Hopeless	World is a teacher
Total %	Vata	Pitta	Kapha

 

Now you have ascertained your mind/body constitution
here are some tips to stay in balance. 

 

Vata lifestyle tips

If you are a predominantly vata constitution it may be helpful to incorporate the following adjustments into your life.

Avoid:
› Irregular eating, sleeping, exercising, working times
› Frequent drastic changes in climate and environment
› Situations that threaten your security and serenity
› Overactivity whether it be work, exercise or socialising
› Excessive intake of stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, alcohol, recreational drugs.
› Too many foods that are either raw, cold, dry, bitter, pungent or astringent.
› Exposure to cold, dry and windy weather
› Fasting or stringent dietary restrictions.

Favour:
› Regulated eating, sleeping, exercising and working hours
› Pleasantly warm and moist climates
› Supportive friends and a calming living and working environment
› Moderation in all things.(including talking, working, exercising)
› Warming essential oils such as musk, wintergreen, lemongrass
› Earthing and energising colours such as brown, maroon, yellow and orange
› Daily meditation, yoga nidra and self massage
› Foods that are cooked, lidoqur, warm, sweet, sour and salty

 

Pitta lifestyle tips

If you are a predominantly pitta constitution it may be helpful to incorporate the following adjustments into your life.

Avoid:
› Having unrealistic expectations of oneself and others
› Violent or passionate stimuli
› Situations that will make you angry or irritable
› High pressure jobs or situations
› Spicy, oily, salty, acidic, fermented food and alcohol
› Hot, humid weather, water or air (e.g: sun, shower and hairdryer)
› Eating when stressed or in a rush

Favour:
› Cultivate a calm and patient mind-set
› Soothing and peaceful company
› Work that is challenging but not stressful
› Food that is sweet, bitter, astringent, cooling and juicy
› Calming music, cool breezes and water
› Cooling exercise in an uncompetitive spirit such as swimming, dancing, yoga
› Essential oils such as sandalwood, lavender, jasmine, rose and vetivert
› Pastel colours and white
› Simplifying ones lifestyle and desires

 

Kapha lifestyle tips

If you are a predominantly kapha constitution it may be helpful to incorporate the following adjustments into your life.

Avoid:
› Being sedentary for long periods
› Staying in dissatisfactory circumstances
› Being overly dependant on others for happiness and security
› Overindulging in rich, fatty, sweet, salty or sour foods
› Overeating, oversleeping and underexercising
› Lack of mental stimulation and creative activity
› Cold, moist weather
 
Favour:
› Vigorous exercise and challenging endeavours
› Sharing abundance and joy with others
› Positive change and risk taking
› Food that is light, low fat, pungent, astringent and bitter
› Skipping meals when not hungry
› Rising in the early morning
› Learning new and stimulating things
› Cinnamon, clove, cedar and juniper essential oils
› Rich and warming colours with patterns