Today I spent three hours researching the ancient studies of Ayurveda--all thanks to my sweet friend Melissa who mentioned it on the blog awhile ago. I am pretty sure I have a kapha dosha--lucky me--the kapha dosha is encouraged to stay away from all wheat, dairy, tomatoes, avocados and bananas. Anyone who knows me knows that I basically could LIVE off the aboved mentioned foods. Sigh. But, I think I'm going to try eating the recommended foods and see how it goes. It's pretty simple. I should have more apples and pears than oranges. I should eat barley and quinoa instead of wheat. I should not eat dairy. I should exercise daily (apparently the Vata doshas don't have to do that...sigh again). I should avoid sweets as I tend to over do it. I am just so curious about these ancient methods of taking care of our bodies and understanding them.
Ayurveda is grounded in a metaphysics of the 'five great Elements: earth, water, fire, air an ether)—all of which compose the Universe, including the human body. Ayurveda deals elaborately with measures of healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Ayurveda stresses a balance of three Humors or Energies: vata (air in space - wind), pitta (fire in water -bile) and kapha (water in earth -phlegm). According to Ayurveda, these three regulatory principles— Doshas (literally that which deteriorates)—are important for health, because when they are in balanced state, the body is healthy, and when imbalanced, the body has diseases. Ayurveda hold that each human possesses a unique combination ofDoshas. Ayurveda focuses on exercise, yoga, meditation, and massage. Thus, body, mind, and spirit/consciousness need to be addressed both individually and in unison for health to ensue.
4 comments:
Hey Stella! We work with Ayurveda quite often here at the clinic. I am a kapha dosha and kaphas are known to be laid back... and often times a little too much.
The key word for kaphas is "invigorate". The other two doshas need things to pacify them (due to excess of the system). But kaphas need to be invigorated. They need something to wake them up and get them going.
That's why the kinds of foods that are best for kaphas are spicy, salty, and astringent. I'm happy for this because I LOVE curry and Indian/Thai food! I find that I don't gravitate towards certain foods (like coconut oil, avocados, lots of raw nuts, etc) because they feel "heavy" to me. And that heaviness is what can throw off a kapha.
I too love sweets but now I'm to the point that I feel really cruddy if I eat excess sweets... especially the crappy cheap kind (damn you Peeps!). I find that if I start to crave foods, if I eat or drink something "invigorating" then I am no longer hungry and I'm satisfied.
Since I try to bake my sweets, one thing I like to do is make it kapha appropriate. If you want to do dairy, just put some cardamom in it to make it easier on your body (and yummy too!).
This is very interesting.... I'll have to look into this. I eat way too many refined carbs, which I know (obviously) it bad for me. I'd be curious to know what I should be focusing on eating...
Stella - I believe I shall be hitting the bookstore tomorrow to educate myself on this very thing! I shall report back!
Trace, let me know how it goes. I can't find any books here about it, but I'm moving to a place that has lots of people who practice it. So I'll keep sharing what I know too.
How is the marathon training going?!
The true goal of Ayurveda is to become "tri-dosha" - where you are balanced between the three doshas. When a person is tri-doshic they find themselves naturally eating with the seasons and feeling balanced overall. It's about giving your body what it needs and not trying to pidgon hole yourself into one philosophy of food/living. Now one can be tri-doshic but still maintain a more dominant/constitutional dosha.
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