Saturday, March 22, 2014

Knowing your families doshas will help you be more understanding

I feel like it is important to talk about the other doshas in your house, the last two blogs were “if you are a Vata dominant person (air) raising a Pitta” (fire) and “if you are a Pitta raising a Kapha” (water). Both of these are important to know, as I explained in the bogs. It is also very helpful to know what dosha your spouse is, knowing your families doshas will help you have more compassion and be more understanding to your families needs. Let me just give you a little understanding about the doshas.

Ayurveda,  which translates as "knowledge of life," dates back 5,000 years to the ancient Sanskrit texts, It's a system of healing that examines physical constitution, emotional nature, and spiritual outlook in the context of the universe. According to the philosophy, universal life force manifests as three different energies, or doshas, known as Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (water).We're all made up of a unique combination of these three forces. Though everyone has some of each, most people tend to have an abundance of one or two of the doshas. This unique combination is determined at the moment of conception, and is your own personal blueprint. As you move through life, the proportion of each of the three doshas constantly fluctuates according to your environment, your diet, the seasons, the climate, your age, and many other factors. As they move into and out of balance, the doshas can affect your health, energy level, and general mood.


So, maybe you are not a Pitta raising a Kapha, or a Vata raising a Pitta. If you are a Kapha dominant person with a Vata in the house, this can be kind of tricky, because the things you crave and eat, the Vata dominant person should stay away from, and visa versa. Kapha and Vata doshas are opposite ends of the pole. A Kapha dominant person won’t feel like eating when he gets up in the morning, but he must, or the digestive (fire) system won’t turn on. Vata (air) dominant people want to eat, the air has kept the fire burning bright all night and they are hungry, but this does not mean they will, Vata dominant people can keep getting side tracked until they have forgotten a meal completely. This would never happen to a Pitta dominant person, I have talked at great length about how if you don’t feed a Pitta, YOU WILL BECOME THEIR MEAL! A Kapha falls out of balance slowly, while a Vata will fall out of balance after a physical or emotional trauma, and a Pitta dominant person can fall out of balance by exerting too much ambition and being hyperfocused.


Kaphas foods will only imbalance the Vata dominant child and make them more dry (hair, skin, stool) than they already are. On the other hand if Kaphas try to keep up with what a Vata eats they could find themselves in trouble with weight gain and food rotting in the gut. As a Kapha you must stay away from sweets and eat lighter meals, because of your slower metabolism if you overeat too often your metabolism can’t keep up, and your food will literally start to rot in your gut. Because of this undigested food  Kapha dominant people will sometimes put off a stenchy smell (skin, breath, and all body eliminations including sweat). Skipping an occasional meal is good for a Kapha dominant person, whereas it would imbalance the Pitta and Vata


If you are a very active Kapha dominant person, this is good, it is one of the best ways for Kaphas to stay balanced. However if your Vata dominant child becomes overly obsessed with sports this could cause an imbalance. Vatas minds are chattering all the time making them anxious, if they are overloaded with sports and lessons the anxiety can be overwhelming. They need time to quiet the mind.


Teach your Vata dominant child (spouse) to meditate this will help disengage them from anxious, repetitive thinking. Vata dominant people are so susceptible to depression and anxiety, however, you can help them find balance in life by helping them follow a rhythm: eating three meals a day at regular times, warm moist, and heavier foods with sweet, sour, or salty tastes, this will nourish tissues, and emotions.


The main thing for a Kapha to know about raising either of the other two doshas is this, if your Pitta dominant child is out of body, feed him, if your Vata dominant child is out of body, get him on a schedule
Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist
Certified Yoga Instructor
and Ayurveda Consultant
These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Knowing your child's dominant dosha can save you some grief

Maybe you are a Pitta raising a dominant Kapha child, this could drive any well rounded Pitta to madness! Kaphas are dominated by the water element, which makes them slower than the other two doshas, slow to make a decision, slow to get angry and slow to forgive, they also walk and talk on the slow side. Do not mistake their stockiness for chubbyness they have strong frames and are naturally athletic. As adults they need to exercise regularly to manage their tendency to gain weight because like everything else their metabolism tends to be slow and their appetite for both food and stimulation is less intense than vata or pitta types. Because of this they do better with smaller meals of fresh raw and light foods with bitter, astringent, and pungent tastes, this will help dry up the water that makes them feel sluggish, and they could fast a meal once a week and be good with it. Eating your main meal around noon is good for all doshas, but especially for balancing Kapha dominant people.

Kapha dominant people should stay away from sweets, the sweet taste just creates an imbalance of kapha energy that can lead to weight gain (meat and dairy products are also considered sweet). Instead, try an after-meal cup of ginger tea, to boost the digestion and metabolism. Also dried fruit, fresh berries, apricots, and apples can bring the kapha back into balance, and reduce dependence on heavy sweets. Raw, unprocessed honey is thought to have special heating properties that can reduce excess weight. Take a scant teaspoon followed by sips of hot water after each meal. According to Ayurvedic texts, the older the honey, the more effective it is for weight loss. Never cook honey though; these same texts note that overheated honey is indigestible.

Kaphas dominant people are  innately stable, compassionate, and loyal.  They benefit from exposing themselves to new environments, people, and occasionally fasting. They appreciate doing things in a methodical, step-by-step manner, and prefer a regular routine When imbalanced they can become unmotivated, stubborn, and complacent even when change is necessary.

It is important to let them be who they are and not force your pitta opinions on them, if you try to make them think the way you think, they will find a way to be just the opposite, even if they know you are right. Give them plenty of time to get ready to go places, or to get their chores done. If you try to rush them they will just become stubborn, then you won’t be able to move them at all. My daughter, Heather, tells of her 14 year old daughter that takes so long in the shower that it was messing up the family routine. finally, instead of trying to get Jesica to hurry faster they started having her start her shower earlier, giving her more time to shower. Now Jesica is happy she can shower in peace, without getting ragged on, Mom and dad are happy the family routine is in order.

I don’t pretend to understand people with dominant Kapha,  their natural sense of stability can become stagnation that resists even healthy change, they can take up to a year to decide to come to a yoga class, once they are there sometimes I really have to push them to get them to keep moving. They   sometimes quite because they don’t want to put in the effort, they will always take the easy way out.

Yet, if they are in balance once they have made a commitment, their slow and steady nature will keep them on the sure path until they reach their goal for a naturally balanced and healthy body. Although I don’t pretend to understand them, I have learned to appreciate their calm nature, and groundedness, they love everyone, if you need a loyal friend, a Kapha dominated friend is the best to have. Do yourself a favor and love a Kapha today, it will come back to you a hundredfold.
Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist
Certified Yoga Instructor
and Ayurveda Consultant
These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.