Ayurveda
Ayurveda is a complete health system for mind, body & soul. Rather than treating symptoms, as we do so frequently in our Western health care system, it treats the whole patient and, ultimately, the root cause of the dis-ease. Ayurveda views dis-ease as caused by an imbalance in a person's physical or mental constitution and seeks to gently bring a person's body and mind back to a state of healthy balance.
Ayurveda operates on the assumption that everyone is composed of unique combinations of the five basic elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water & Earth. These elements combine and give rise to three main ‘Doshas’ ( bio-physical forces) and these doshas, in turn, govern all the biological, physiological and psychological functions of the body & mind. The three main doshas are Vata (space & air), Pitta (fire & water) and kapha (water & earth). Establishing and maintaining the balance of your individual dosha is key to a successful Ayurvedic practice. We use a combination of diet, herbal remedies, detoxification, Yoga, Ayurvedic massage & lifestyle routine to achieve this balance.
With a few small changes to a person's daily life, it is possible to achieve a sense of balance & harmony in the body and mind. Ayurveda is not intended to replace modern medicine, but to help us live a more preventative lifestyle. It provides beautiful tools to help treat the body according to its needs, leading to emotional and mental well being and good health.
Discover your Dosha
As part if our time together in a 1:1 consultation, you will discover your unique mind body type, the cornerstone of holistic healing with Ayurveda. You will identify with a variety of characteristics from 3 broad mind/body types and this will give you an insight into your health vulnerabilities and help you recognise the signs and symptoms in the early stages so you can manage your health. Once you become acquainted with your Prakruti you will open the doors to a wealth of natural, easy to apply tools and techniques that will help you maintain a balance that is more aligned to your natural state.
Your Prakruti, also known as your constitution, dosha type or mind/body type, is your natural state of balance and is unique to you. It is established from a combination of your parents’ Prakruti, their mental and emotional state at the time of your conception and your mother’s diet and lifestyle through pregnancy. This is your personalised key to health and harmony. Your prakriti determines personal traits, such as your body frame temperament, digestive capability, sleep patterns, personality and approach to life, physical stamina and other body habits. It also helps you to identify your predisposition to certain health ailments.
Your Prakruti, like your DNA, does not change. However the various influencing factors of environment, season, age, diet and lifestyle can cause you to enter an imbalanced state called Vikriti. Vikriti is the term used for your current state of balance when doshas have deviated from the natural state that is your Prakriti. Vikriti is in constant flux and ever changing as you are influenced by internal and external factors. The tendency is to become imbalanced in our natural dominant dosha. Bringing Vikriti back to your normal state is the key aim of an Ayurvedic treatment plan.
Take a quick 3 minute test
To get a feel for your dominant dosha, click the link below and answer the questionnaire twice. The first time, think back to how you have always been, your natural tendencies since you were younger and how you are most of the time when you are feeling good - this will give you your prakruti. The second time, tick the answers that represent your current state and be honest here - this will give you your Vikriti. When we undertake a consultation together, we establish your Vikriti and work with all the tools I mention above to gently bring you back to your natural state of balance, your Prakruti.
Balancing the Doshas
For signs of aggravation to look out for and tips to pacify your doshas, please head to my blog and read about Vata dosha, Pitta dosha and Kapha dosha. If you are of a single-dosha constitution, you are likely to have very distinct characteristics. Most individuals, however, are usually bi-doshic, presenting characteristics of two doshas more strongly. For example if you are Vata-Pitta type, then you will have a dominance of Vata characteristics followed by those of Pitta. When your majority and minority doshas score fairly closely, they will both have an impact on your body and mind, your behaviour and health. So both need to be considered when you choose your foods, lifestyle choices, therapies, herbs, oils and practices. As the doshas are predominant in different seasons, the trick is to honour your majority dosha in that season (Vata in Autumn/early Winter, Pitta late Spring/Summer and Kapha late Winter/Early Spring). If you are bi-doshic, try to choose the tastes that will balance both your majority and minority dosha. This is about finding the common ground between your two most prominent doshas. When you have a one to one consultation we can design a food therapy plan for you.
The rare occasion that all three doshas are present in almost equal proportion is referred to as tri-doshic. Tri-doshic types tend to have robust bodies, rarely get ill, they are adaptable, resilient, calmer by nature, optimistic and at peace with themselves. Again, you need to work with the seasons and carefully watch the fluctuations of your doshas to attend to whichever is feeling most aggravated. Do bear in mind that every person has all three doshas, here we are simply referring to the dominant display of the doshas in your Prakruti.
Remember we are complex beings, we cannot be rigid in our approach and your ‘type’ does not limit you or diminish your individuality. Ayurveda is a very personalised system of medicine which treats you as completely unique. One Prakruti is neither superior or inferior to another, but one thing is for sure; you have to learn to love yourself as you are and work to your strengths. A Kapha body type will never be a size 8 and a Vata type may not have the natural stamina of a Kapha type person; Pitta types might never have the flexible attitude that Vata types possess and kapha types may not have the fire, focus and determination that Pitta types do. Your goal and my work with you is to maintain your balance according to your unique mind/body type.