Ayurveda ‘short’

Dosha’s & chronic disease.

Last week I talked about how the doshas are the basic biology of the body, and each has its own function – Vata dosha supplies the energy for movement of fluids and nutrients, enabling them to reach and enter the cells; Pitta dosha supplies the energy for digestion and metabolism, ensuring the nutrients within the food we consume are metabolized; Kapha dosha supplies energy to lubricate and maintain the structure of the cell.

When there is excess or lack of any of the doshas, the cells cannot perform properly, either because the nutrients are not reaching them (vata issue), or because the nutrients have not been metabolized properly (pitta issue), or there is a problem with the structure of the cell (kapha issue). And, excess doshas in the tissues, along with ama (incompletely metabolised food stuffs) creates the ground for disease.

All chronic diseases are due to an imbalance of the doshas – everyone is born with their specific balance of the doshas and need to keep that balance, in balance. This can be a hard concept for Westerners to get their head around. It involves understanding what to do to keep your constitution in balance, how to recognise when any of your doshas that make up your constitution are moving out of balance through symptoms, and applying the remedies.

We can learn to live in balance through our food, and through our life choices – what we consume through all our senses.

Vata imbalance affects the neurological system, joints, and large intestine. Pitta imbalance causes problems with metabolism and inflammatory disorders. Kapha imbalance creates excessive moisture and heaviness leading to obesity, excess mucus and lung problems, and diabetes.

While Western medicine has to wait for the chronic disease to develop – stage 6 of the disease model – then treats the symptoms; Ayurveda picks up the symptoms of the dosha moving out of balance long before the chronic disease develops, and corrects this imbalance, reversing the biological conditions that were leading to the illness.

This is what makes Ayurveda such a fantastic preventative healthcare tool. When you receive an Ayurvedic Consultation you will discover which are the prominent doshas in your constitution, how to live in balance with them, whether you currently have any doshas out of balance, and what to do about it – your Ayurvedic plan.

None of this is hard, when you know how. Next week I’ll be talking about the symptoms that start to show up when any of the doshas are moving out of balance.

If you enjoy these Ayurveda ‘shorts’ a like will let me know to carry on!