Body Type and Doshas

Ayurveda derives its healing philosophy from the fact that our body is composed of all the five elements (Panchamahabhoota) in Nature — Ether, Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Earth. These elements and their combination or proportion determine the constitution of our body. They are accordingly clubbed into three ‘humour’ or body types or what Ayurveda calls the Doshas. There are three types of Doshas (Tridoshas) and when joined with the ‘Universal Force’ that resides in each living creature, these Doshas make up the bio-energy of each body. These bio-energies or Doshas are:

Vata: This is composed of air and governs all bodily movements.

Pitta: Pitta is composed of fire and water and governs heat, metabolism, digestion and other transformation processes of the mind and body.

Kapha: Kapha is watery humour that binds the elements in the body.

A large part of our illnesses may be attributed to a lack of adequate attention to our body signals caused by an imbalance in the Doshas resulting in the accumulation of toxins and blocking of energy points in the body. The curative process in Ayurveda, therefore, includes removing these blockages and toxins by making us listen to our body signals and accordingly taking corrective steps based on our Dosha.