Health education from India
Ayurveda is a health education from India. The oldest medicine in the world. The Ayurveda assumes that everyone is born with a completely individual constitution. This is a fixture that forms the personal basis for your health.
Three dosha’s
Ayurveda is based on three constitutions they call doshas. Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata represents the air and ether element. Pitta the fire element and Kapha the Earth-water element. The three doshas are in each person, but with some the air-ether element is stronger, with the other the fire element and for another the Earth-water element. Sometimes a second dosha is also strongly represented and then you talk for example about Vata-Pitta or Kapha-Vata. Or about an air-ether-and fire element domination or an Earth-water and air-ether element domination. The most dominant dosha is the first one mentioned.
Digestion
These constitutions are so important because they determine how your digestive system works and how to bring your own digestion in or out of balance. Your digestive system is the foundation of your health. You need all the elements for digestion, but fire is the most important one. Therefore they also say in Ayurveda that you should never drink cold water with your food: the fire of the digestion is initiated and you kill that with water. It’s better just to wait till half an hour after the meal.
Self care model
The Naturopathic practice Gottswaal works with these doshas, only we have converted them to an animal. The deer represents Vata (air-ether), the tiger Pitta (fire) and the elephant (Earth and water). The animal represents the properties of the dosha. The deer is fast as lightning, the tiger is fiery and the elephant calm. Read more about Ayurveda and this self care model on our website.
Would you like to find out which unique constitution belongs to you; do the constitution test!