In the ancient healing system of Ayurveda, identifying and understanding your dominant dosha is the key to living a healthy, happy life. Read on to learn more about the three distinct doshas and how to determine your dominant one.
In the same way that each person’s fingerprint is one of a kind, every one of us is born with a unique combination of bioenergies, known as doshas, that manage all the functions in our body. According to Ayurveda, India’s 3,000-year-old traditional healing system (and possibly the world’s oldest one), determining your dominant dosha helps provide a blueprint for your optimal health — one that you can follow for the rest of your life.
Keep reading to discover your prominent dosha and find out how your overall health will benefit once you do.
What Are Doshas?
“Dosha” is a Sanskrit word that has several meanings, but in Ayurveda, it’s translated as “weakness” or “functional energy.” According to certified nutritional consultant, educator, and author Divya Alter, people in the West often interpret “dosha” as one’s physical body type.
While your dominant dosha does determine your body type, Ayurvedic practitioners say it actually informs so much more about you — such as your personality traits, metabolism rate, and overall constitution. As governors of our health, energy, and mood, our doshas are essential to our physiology, and define our physical, mental, and emotional characteristics.
“They’re bioenergies that cannot be measured with modern scientific tools,” Alter tells DailyOM. “However, we can perceive them, just like we can perceive the mind’s movements.” All three doshas are present in everyone, but expressed in unique ways, she says. “The distinctive combination of the doshas at your time of birth defines your constitution or natural disposition (prakriti).”
Most people have a predominance of one or two doshas, while some have an equal proportion of all three. But your dominant dosha — typically the first to get knocked off balance when you’re under stress — is reflected in the way you look, think, and operate. “It is important to understand what your constitution is because it is your original blueprint for perfect health, and it guides you to proactively and continually maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Alter explains.
Though further research on an Ayurvedic approach to wellness is needed (for example, to see if it could be helpful in treating COVID-19), there are studies showing it may be a useful complementary treatment option for heart conditions, hypertension, and dementia.
Interested in learning more? Check out Beginner Ayurveda for Self-Care
What Are the Three Dosha Types?
According to Nisha Patel, an Ayurvedic doctor and Panchakarma specialist, understanding the doshas requires learning about the five elements of the body: akash (space), vayu (air), tej (fire), jaal (water), and prithvi (earth).
“Our body consists of these compounds, which not only make up our body, but almost everything in this world,” Dr. Patel tells DailyOM. “Doshas are the binding agents of the five elements of the body.”
Your dominant dosha — typically the first to get knocked off balance when you’re under stress — is reflected in the way you look, think, and operate.
There are three distinct doshas, one of which is likely your dominant type. No one dosha is superior to another, since each type of functional energy has a specific role to play. Plus, our doshas, or energies, shift based on our emotional state and health status. Alter describes the three doshas as follows.
1. Vata Dosha
Vata dosha is the harmonious union of the air and space (or ether) elements in nature.
“It takes on these characteristics in the body: dry, light, cold, rough, and mobile,” meaning if you have a predominantly vata constitution, these qualities are expressed in you both mentally and physically, Alter says.
For example, your hands and feet may tend to get cold easily; your skin might be cool and dry to the touch; and your sleep might be irregular or light. Vata is the circulatory energy that governs all the movements and processes in your mind and body — including blood flow, elimination, breathing, speech, and more.
2. Pitta Dosha
Pitta dosha is the body’s expression of fire and water, although the former is dominant and protected by a smaller amount of fluidity.
“It takes on these characteristics: hot, penetrating, light, and spreading easily,” Alter says.
That explains why those with a predominant pitta dosha are often natural-born leaders who are passionate and direct. Pitta manages transformation, digestion, appetite and thirst, metabolism, energy production, and more.
3. Kapha Dosha
Kapha dosha is the combination of the earth and water elements. Its qualities are described as slow-moving, moist, oily, heavy, smooth, and steady, so if you’re predominantly kapha, you might favor a solid, steady routine or you may have lustrous skin.
Kapha is the binding energy that provides structure, support, and stability; moderating weight; growth; lubrication of the lungs; and tissue formation.
How Do I Know My Dosha Type?
The best way to determine your body type and dosha imbalance is to see a skilled Ayurvedic doctor or practitioner, Alter says (the National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine (NIAM) is a good resource for finding one). There are also a number of online resources — including this dosha quiz by John Douillard.
You can also try to determine your prakriti for yourself using the chart below. Circle the best answer from each category and the dosha with the most circles is your predominant dosha.
“If a person has both vata- and pitta-dominant attributes, that means their prakriti is vata pitta,” explains Patel. “If it is more kapha and pitta, it’s kapha pitta, and so on.”
Vata
- Body build: Lean, thin, narrow, wiry
- Height: Taller or shorter than average
- Skin type: Thin, dry, cold
- Nail type: Dry, thin nails that may crack easily
- Face shape: Long, thin, small
- Eye size: Small relative to the size of the face
- Digestion: Easily thrown off
- Voice: Deep or weak
- Sleep style: Light
Pitta
- Body build: Athletic, medium build with developed muscles
- Height: Medium, neither particularly tall or short
- Skin type: Shiny and glowing, but prone to rashes and acne at times
- Nail type: Moderately thick nails that don’t crack easily
- Face shape: Sharp and angular with prominent bones, especially the jaw or cheekbones
- Eye size: Medium-sized and oftentimes deep-set
- Digestion: Strong
- Voice: High-pitched, sharp
- Sleep style: Moderate
Kapha
- Body build: Well developed, solidly built
- Height: Stocky, stout, either tall or short
- Skin type: Smooth, soft, moist, and cool
- Nail type: Strong, thick nails that don’t crack easily
- Face shape: Round, large
- Eye size: Wide, big
- Digestion: Slow
- Voice: Soothing and deep (they’re often great singers!)
- Sleep style: Heavy
What to Do if You Have Dosha Imbalances
In Ayurveda, when your unique distribution of doshas no longer matches your natural makeup (the inherently dominant dosha or doshas you have at your first breath), that’s when you’re more susceptible to disease. Now that you’ve determined your prakriti, you can make the appropriate diet and lifestyle changes to your daily routine when you’re feeling unwell or sick.
“Remember, your current dosha is what you need to work on to bring yourself back to your unique balanced dosha state [prakriti],” says Alter.
For example, those with vata and pitta imbalances should eat sweet foods (aim for naturally sweet fare like fruit, starchy vegetables, and grains over highly processed foods with refined sugar), while those who want to pacify and keep their kapha dosha in check should go for foods like onions, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers.
While Alter believes that the fastest way to manage your doshas is with the right Ayurvedic diet, it’s not the only way of keeping them balanced. Lifestyle changes can also help. Balancing a vata dosha might call for nature walks, grounding yoga, and massages, while pitta is balanced by slowing down, meditating, reducing workloads, and avoiding activities like intense exercise in the heat. On the flip side, balancing a kapha dosha requires intense exercise, in addition to mentally stimulating activities like reading, playing games, or listening to upbeat music.
In Ayurveda, optimal health means everything is at equilibrium. According to Patel, that encompasses a great appetite, easy digestion, and regular bowel movements. “You also need peaceful sleep, energetic mornings, and a feeling of lightness to be a healthy person,” she says. “The doshas protect the body as long as they are in their normal states.”
Focusing on a holistic and balanced approach through Ayurvedic principles can be a powerful way to view your health — and live your life.
