Introduction
Ayurveda

Ayurvedic Constitution

LIFE • LIGHT • LOVE

After thirty years of using herbs I feel strongly that it is important to learn the energetics of the tastes and to choose our herbs and foods according to our desired goal. Our goal is to favour the foods and herbs that balance and strengthen our constitution. To know which tastes will get us back into balance when we have taken a learning journey into imbalance. Many diseases can be remedied through interventions that balance the constitution. This knowledge can be used to educate people on health choices and lifestyle decisions. It is truly a wholistic approach that reaches deep into the body and psyche of an individual and offers them wise counsel in every area. This is a remarkable system and I encourage you to study it further if you find it appealing.

I have purposely chosen to use the English names of wind, fire and water.

Western medicine has made a deliberate attempt to separate religion and medicine. Ayurveda sees the two as inseparable. In my practice I did as much or more emotional and spiritual counseling as suggesting herbs and other physical regimes. Disease is usually an opportunity to examine our life a little deeper and see where we may have wandered from our path.

By the end of this section you will be able to:

1. Recognize your own unique Ayurvedic Constitution.
   
   
2. Define other's constitutions.
   
   
3. Design a program for each constitution.
   
   
4. Define what to do to imbalance your constitution.
   
   
5. Recognize the four pillars of healing and be sure they are all present when healing.

Do This!

Exercise 5:  Personal Constitution Questionnaire:

Print the following, making one or two extra copies. Then go through the questionnaire and check the choice or choices that best describe you.  There might be two in one category that describe you, so check both. Total the columns to see which is your own unique Ayurvedic Constitution (you may be a combination of two or even three constitutions, with one in dominance). 

The more times you do the questionnaire, the more you develop a sense of the three constitutions. It is helpful if you can do the questionnaire with a supportive friend who knows you well.

PHYSICAL
	Wind (Vata)	Fire (Pitta)		Water (Kapha)
Frame	thin	moderate		thick
(compactness)	irregular
Bones:	light	medium		heavy
Shoulders:	narrow	medium		broad
Chest	thin, small	medium		broad
	narrow			well developed
Body weight:	low, thin	moderate		heavy
	difficult to	hard to		gains weight
	gain weight	gain weight		easily
Skin:	dry, cold	oily, warm		oily, cool
	brownish	pink		white
Head:	narrow	medium		broad
Hair:	dry (dandruff)	oily (thin)		slightly oily
	kinky, curly	blonde, straight		thick, wavy
	brownish, dull	greying, bald		strong
Teeth:	crooked	gums bleed easily		strong
Lips:	thin, small, dry	med., soft, red		full, smooth
Eyes:	small, active	sharp		large
	busy	penetrating
		intense, burning		attractive
	dry	bloodshot		watery
Eyebrows:	thin, dry, scaly	moderate		thick
Hands:	small, thin, dry	moderate		large, thick
	cold, rough	warm, pink		oily, cool, firm
Appetite:	variable	excessive		moderate
	low blood sugar	feed me NOW		can go without
Hungry Every:	two hours	four hours		six hours
Reaction to	quick, low dosage	moderate		slow
medicine:	side effects	sensitive to aspirin		high dosage
	nervous reactions			effects slow
Thirst:	variable	excessive		scanty
Elimination stool:	dry, hard	soft, oily		thick, oily
	constipated	loose		slow
Movement:	one a day, maybe	two to three a day		one a day
Urination:	scanty, difficult	profuse, yellow		moderate
	colourless	hot, strong odour		milky
Sweat:	rarely, dry	lots, strong odour		moderate
Menstruation:	scanty, painful	moderate to		regular
	cramps, irregular	heavy
Physical activity:	very busy, manic	moderate		little
Endurance:	low	moderate		lots
Sleep:	restless	little		deep
	dead tired	but sound		prolonged
	or insomnia
Climate preference:	warm, wet	cold		warm, dry
Diseases:	neurological	bleeding		common cold
	M.S., Parkinson	hemorrhage		excess mucus
	neurosis	inflammation		respiratory
	depression	infections		swelling
	anxiety	fever, ulcers
	pain
Pulse:	Left wrist-women		Right wrist-men
	rapid, irregular	moderate		slow, full
	snake (slithers)	frog (hops)		swan (glides)
Felt strongest under:	index finger	middle finger		ring finger
(Take your pulse early in the morning, on an empty stomach, after a bowel movement and/or urination.)
Totals:	____________	_____________		____________
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL
	Wind (Vata)	Fire (Pitta)		Water (Kapha)
Mind	restless, active	intense		calm, slow
	lively, curious
	easily influenced	influential		not easily
				influenced
Emotions:	fearful, anxious	impatient, angry		indifferent
		jealous
		warm		love, affection
		enjoys contact
Beliefs:	changeable	fanatical		steady
Memory:	recent, good	sharp		slow, but
	long term, poor	selective		prolonged
Dreams:	fearful, flying	colourful, intense		romantic
	running away	combative		watery
Speech:	quick, talkative	sharp, convincing		slow, definite
Money:	poor	moderate		rich
	spends on anything	spends on quality		spends on food
Quality:	inventive	engineer		manager
Sex drive:	mental	active		moderate
	more in the mind	easily aroused		slow to arouse but
				stays aroused
Occupied path:	auditory	visual		proprioceptive
Remembers:	sound	sight		feeling
Reaction:	fear	anger		tension
Totals:	____________	_____________		____________

Introduction
Ayurveda