Where are the Doshas?

Based on what I’ve been able to learn within our Fundamentals of Ayurveda course, the three doshas are woven into the workings of the seen and unseen atmosphere.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha, are all around us, within us, and synchronistically upholding our universe. Through their qualities, respectively, we are able to see their effects within us and around us.

  • Vata can be seen through its qualities of cold, light, dry, active, sharp, rough.
  • On a cold windy day when our lips get chapped, our skin dry, our mind light and active…
  • Pitta shows through its qualities of hot, sharp, light, flowing, little oily.
  • On a hot summer day, sweat dripping down the back, with the feeling of hunger increasing, the warmth of sun penetrating.
  • Kapha displays through the qualities of wet, cold, heavy, slow, smooth, slimy, stagnant. On a rainy day, chill surrounds us, our thoughts and bodies slowed by the wet and cold atmosphere. Melancholy might creep as we sink into heaviness…

Ayurveda allows us to bring a practical awareness to the balance of five elements within the human body, and our surrounding atmosphere. Vata, the dosha associated with elements of air and ether, is the source of movement and activity. Pitta dosha, associated with the elements of fire and water, is the force of heat and transformation, coming from the sun. Kapha dosha, the elements of water and earth, provides structure and cohesion in our bodies and the matter all around us. Through the dynamic of these elements, we are able to witness the functional and structural, yet subtle reality of our world.

We see in Ayurveda that these three doshas permeate all of existence. In the microcosm, VPK exist at the cellular level, within the very DNA of all beings. At the macrocosm, Ayurveda views the doshas as the primary energies which uphold the movement, transformation, structure and evolution of this universe.

Vata, Pitta, Kapha, Ayurvedic Energies

At the core of each person, there is a unique balance of these doshas, which comprises their constitution, or Prakriti. As we go through life, the doshas are constantly affecting us from outside and within. Our current state commonly isn’t of the same balance with which we were born. This alternate state, everchanging, is called Vikriti. We can utilize this understanding to bring ourselved closer to our natural balance, through proper lifestyle habits, herbs, foods and thoughts.

Though these doshas are subtle, their traces are clearly displayed, and affecting us all the time. it can be seen that these energies exist within the subtle and vast, the core and the body of everything in our universe. I’m totally captivated by this learning, and with the vastness of this life science, I see no end to the learning potential.

In deep gratitude to my teacher Khabir Southwick, his teacher Dr. Vikram Chauhan, and all those who have contributed to their learning.

Jade Crawford – Ojai, CA – USA