Connecting Ayurveda and Yoga - by Rochelle Juni
The ancient Indian health science of Ayurveda speaks of three basic constitutional types or doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. These loosely correspond to ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. Pitta is dominated by the energy of fire, Vata by the energy of air, and Kapha by the energies of earth and water. Very few people are clearly dominated by only one dosha. Most are a combination of two or three doshas with varying strengths of each. The three basic constitutions differ from each other in terms of stability of joints, habits of movement, and flow of energy.
Vatas tend to have longer, thinner limbs and torso. They have a tendency to lock their joints in order to support themselves rather than using muscle action. Their joints tend to be very unstable. Vata energy levels are highly variable tending to come in spurts. They like fast movement but can wear themselves out very quickly. They often feel ungrounded.
Pittas have very balanced bodies with fairly stable joints and strong, but often tight, muscles. They seem to have inexhaustible energy but have a tendency to overheat themselves and overdo. They sometimes injure themselves because they push themselves so hard. They have difficulty finding relaxation and ease.
Kaphas tend to have thicker, heavier looking bodies with larger muscle mass than the other two types. Their joints are often very supple due to their watery nature. Many Kaphas use their supple joints instead of their muscles to create movement. They have a slow, even energy with tremendous endurance but less desire to exert themselves. They have difficulty feeling lightness in their bodies.
Knowing the dominant dosha of a student can help design a better yoga practice. For instance, many Kaphas are content sitting on the floor in forward bends and twists which are very easy for many of them since they have a great deal of suppleness in the joints. Unfortunately, this just feeds into their habits of not exerting themselves and relying on their natural suppleness. It would be better to have them do more standing poses with movement so that weaker muscles can be stimulated and strengthened and lightness created.
Vatas love fast movement and change. However, without strong muscles, movement will create even more instability in their joints and increase their feeling of disconnectedness. Asking them to stay longer in the poses, soften the joints (rather than lock them) and stimulate the muscle action will help them develop greater stability and strength. Four limbed poses such as downward dog and incline plane as well as the standing poses will give them a feeling of groundedness and solidity.
Pittas tend to work the poses to death with muscles fully engaged. They would benefit from staying somewhat less time in the poses but bringing greater awareness to balancing the muscle actions in a soft and relaxed way, using the breath. Working less hard in the pose while bringing greater awareness to balancing muscle action will enable them to release tight muscles and allow greater movement. Supine poses such as bridge as well as standing and seated forward bends and twists can help them find the ease and softness they need.
Eischens Yoga utilizes the principles of Ayurveda to help students customize their yoga practice. Recognizing that bodies are different allows us to be more accepting of what our bodies can and cannot do and gives us the tools to move toward wholeness in both body and mind.