The following is guidance based on the answers you have given. We advise joining our Introduction to Ayurveda course, getting professional advice from a fully-qualified Ayurvedic practitioner such as Kate or Jo or getting a personalised report to get a fuller picture.
YOU ARE LIKELY TO HAVE A PITTA & KAPHA CONSTITUTION
This constitution has a mix of pitta and kapha.
The most important things to note with a constitutional combination of these two doshas are:
- Both pitta and kapha are OILY. This will show in the body as well-lubricated, moist skin and supple joints. Another meaning of sneha (oil in Sanskrit) is love, a sense of binding. There will therefore be an ease with giving and receiving love, often spending of lot of one’s life caring for others. It may also mean allowing oneself rest and nourishment. Out of balance, there can be an excess of oiliness in the hair and skin and more mucous.
- Neither pitta or kapha have the changeability or mobility of vata. This means that you’ll have a steadier, stronger constitution with good energy levels that are easily maintained. When out of balance, this can mean you can stagnate and become fixed physically and mentally.
Details of pitta and kapha dosha are given below.
Pitta, woven from elements of fire and water, governs digestion and metabolism.
Pitta predominant people tend to:
- be HOT; be warm regardless of season, sweat easily and be fatigued by heat. There will be a preference for cool environments, cool food and drink and there will be quite a lot of thirst.
- have LIGHTNESS, LIQUIDITY and a sense of FLOW due to the combination of water and fire, thus they have moderate build and energy; by putting their mind to it, they’ll be able to gain or lose weight as they choose. Energy is naturally moderate, movements are of moderate speed and sleep is moderately sound (less than 8 hours leaves them rested).
- have FIRE in their bellies; strong appetites and strong digestion of food, information and experience. If they go long without food, they’ll suffer and get irritable. Their strong digestive fire makes for easy, regular, looser bowel movements.
- have more RED or YELLOWISH tones; skin, hair, lips and teeth. Their hair will more likely be fine and prone to early greying or balding. The warmer, reddish skin will be prone to irritation and burns easily.
- have a certain MENTAL INTENSITY; focused, driven, goal-oriented and naturally alert, intelligent and persevering. The eyes will have a penetrating gaze and their speech is equally penetrating and clear. They will love to convince, like structure and detail and are often organised. Decision making comes easily. Compete with and criticise them at your peril!
- have a degree of OILINESS (versus the dry, roughness of vata for example); lips are red and soft, skin is relatively soft and joints are flexible.
- more likely to have an ODOUR (one of their least flattering characteristics!).
Those with more pitta dosha in them will tend towards inflammation, hypertension and hypersensitivity if they are out of balance. Mentally they could end up being more angry, aggressive or argumentative.
Kapha, comprised of earth and water, maintains, grounds and nourishes.
Those with kapha predominance are most likely to:
- be solid, HEAVY and FIRM. These might not sound like attractive qualities but actually, they make for very healthy bodies and minds. Build will be naturally larger and round, with a broad frame and large, well-knit, padded joints. They gain weight easily and find it hard to shift. Their eyes are large and pleasant, lips, nose and teeth are also large. Sleep is heavy, 8 hours is often needed, and often they will oversleep and have difficultly waking.
- have the quality of THICKNESS in their tissues; thick, moist skin and abundant and thick hair.
- be SMOOTH and have higher levels of OILINESS; skin and hair are smooth and oily, eyes are well lubricated as are the joints. This also equates to a lower thirst.
- be EARTHY and DELIBERATE or SLOW; solid, reliable, contented souls who tend to be grounded. Speech and movements are slow and deliberate. Their energy levels are steady, and they tend to have good endurance and stamina. The slow quality is also seen in the digestion and bowel movements. Mentally this quality shows a natural resilience in the face of stress, making for a calm person who is loyal and patient with an inner sense of stability and contentment. Sometimes it takes a while to grasp new things but once they are remembered, they stick, as do decisions.
- have COLDER bodies; adaptable to most temperatures but tend not to like cold, wet weather; prefer hot, dry weather.
Kapha dominant people will tend to have excess mucus, congestion and water retention if they aren’t in balance. When they are not on good form, they can tend towards lethargy and withdrawal.