I met Shruti last week. A slim, very talkative girl, who works as copywriter in a leading advertising company. From the looks she appeared as a healthy individual, however, her anxious movements signalled something is wrong. After a half an hour of consultation, I got to know, she was suffering from anxiety as her job was too stressful and on top of it, she was having an irregular schedule & appetite. After deep analysis, I could figure out that she had a vata dosha and I prescribed medicines to her accordingly.
To those of you who may not be aware of what is vata dosha, let me explain this in a simple manner.
In our body there are three types of doshas called Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata spends energy, Pitta manages it and Kapha stores it. Our body type determines how we use our energy.
It is for this reason that Vata tends to be underweight and depleted, Pitta tends to be medium weight and focused, and Kapha tends to be overweight and congested.
Dosha affects our body physically, mentally and spiritually. If one dosha gets affected then the other two too goes out of control.
For limiting our discussion to vata, let us discuss what are the traits of those who have vata dosha and what can be their likely ailments along with remedies
According to experts, Vata governs all movement in our mind and body. It controls our blood flow, elimination of wastes, breathing and the movement of thoughts across the mind. Since Pitta and Kapha cannot move without it, Vata is often considered the leader of the three Ayurvedic doshas in our body. Needless to say, it is very important to keep Vata in good balance.
Those people who have vata dosha usually suffer from the following ailments
- Nervousness, anxiety, panic, fear
- Twitches, tics, tremors, spasms
- Dry or chapped skin
- Constipation, gas, bloating, dry, hard stools
- Difficulty tolerating loud noises
- Light, interrupted sleep
- Excess thinking or worrying
Apart from ayurvedic medicines which are a sure shot remedies for curing vata dosha, there are certain home remedies/precautions which can also be tried. For example they can take food items that are naturally sweet, sour and salty in taste.
In addition to it, freshly cooked warm food is recommended. They can take warm spices like ginger, black pepper, cinnamon but cayenne pepper has to be avoided.
Reasonably high intake of ghee can be taken by those who do not have heart related problems.
Overall they should eat meal in a peaceful environment. They should avoid food intake which is cold or very hot. Raw food like salads, carrot sticks, raw fruit etc has to be avoided especially in the mornings and the evenings . Carbonated drinks, deeply fried food, hard alcohol, canned or frozen food has to be strictly avoided too.
If you need to understand what kind of dosha your body has, you to need consult your ayurvedic doctor and explain your symptoms so that the correct dosha can be diagnosed and cured accordingly.
Dr. Sandhya Bhat, AyurCentral Chandra Layout,
No. 97/97, 1st Main Road, 1st Stage,Opp. HP Petrol Bunk, Chandra Layout, Bangalore – 40. Ph: 8880088811
