Tips on how to balance the Kapha

       The key to balancing Kapha is stimulation. Kapha dosha is steady and slow. Kaphas need the stimulation of new sights and sounds, new people and events. They must stay active, without activity, Kaphas can become lethargic and dull. Even their digestive system is slow. When food is not digested completely (or if it is too heavy, oily, or indigestible to begin with), toxic residues called ama can clog up the system and eventually lead to disease. To balance the Kapha:

Meditate twice a day to get clear on your intentions and desires

Perform a vigorous self-massage with warm Invigorating herbalized oil

Exercise daily! This is the best way to avoid stagnation and the accumulation of toxins in the body. Kaphas are generally strong and well muscled, they tend to be natural athletes when they are young; but adult responsibilities makes most Kaphas sedentary. Which is sad because Kaphas benefit from exercise more than anyone else and should keep active at all ages.

Eat a Kapha-pacifying diet—it is important not to overeat if you are a Kapha type, because the tendency to become overweight is definitely present. Hot ginger tea taken at meals makes slow digestion more efficient, as does a teaspoon of whole fennel seeds chewed after the meal. If there is a lot of congestion, Ayurveda recommends favoring dry foods and astringent (puckering) tastes. Dry toast, apples, crackers, turmeric, and many raw vegetables are good for avoiding excess Kapha buildup and toning the digestive tract.

Reduce sweetness. Kapha is the only dosha strongly identified with a taste—sweetness. Irrespective of calories, Kaphas will gain weight and go out of balance if there is too much sweet food in the diet. Avoiding ice cream, milk, sugary desserts, wheat bread, and butter (all considered sweet in Ayurveda) will often make a dramatic difference with the runny nose, blocked sinuses, allergies, and lethargy that Kaphas suffer from when out of balance. Over the long term, too much sweetness causes diabetes, a serious Kapha disease. There is one natural sweetener—raw honey—that is actually good for Kapha. Taking a tablespoon or two (but no more) every day helps release excess Kapha from the system.

All beans are good for Kapha types except for soybeans and soybean-based foods such as tofu, which should be eaten in moderation.

Favor lighter fruits such as apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries, and apricots. Reduce heavier fruits like bananas, avocados, pineapples, oranges, peaches, coconuts, melons, dates, and figs.

In general, all vegetables are recommended but reduce consumption of sweet and juicy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini.

All spices except salt are pacifying to Kapha. Use pungent spices like pepper, cayenne, mustard seed, and ginger freely in your diet.

Reduce intake of all nuts and seeds. Favor pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

fresh, organic white meat chicken, turkey, eggs, and seafood are acceptable. Limit consumption of red meat.

A Kapha diet should be lively and full of energy to help spark the digestive and metabolic systems. Eat your largest meal at lunchtime and a smaller meal at dinnertime. Allow at least 3 hours to digest before bedtime.

Use small amounts of extra virgin olive oil, ghee, almond oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, mustard oil, or safflower oil.

Grains: Favor barley, corn, millet, buckwheat, rye. Reduce intake of oats, rice, and wheat.