Vata Dosha

The Queen of Doshas

We spoke in the last post about the 5 elements and how they constitute the universal make up, including us, we understood that the 5 elements manifest in us yet there's an element or two that are more salient in our constitutional make up, and due to this dominance some imbalances manifests leaving us prone to certain diseases.

today we will talk about the most important dosha, though all elements are equally important and vital, certain elements act as the mover or the carrier of all elements, earth is stable, fire and water spread, Air and ether moves and control the functions of the other elements, think of a bonfire or even forest fires! what keeps it going and ongoing? the movement of air.

Vata translates as air, it's the dosha that governs and gives motion to all of your biological activities. Vata is quick, active, light, cold, dry, mobile, rough, irregular, Vata controls these functions in the body which are all related to movement:

• Digestion
• Assimilation
• Elimination
• Breathing
• Muscle movement
• Joint mobility
• Circulation
• Urination, defecation, and menstruation

On the mental side vata is responsible for

• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Communication
• Energetic flow

If Vata is out of balance you will start to experience physical and mental symptoms such as:

Physical:

• Constipation
• Gas formation or distension in the abdomen
• Dehydration
• Dry and rough skin
• Pains and general body-ache
• Astringent taste in mouth
• Loss of strength, fatigue, low vitality
• Disturbed or lack of sleep
• Tremors and twitches
• Feeling dizzy or spaced out
• Sensitiveness to cold and desire for warmth
• Irrational, Anxious, Nervous, Agitated, Impatient
• Wanting to run away
• Feeling confused, fearful & shaky
• Feeling ungrounded
• Excessive movement or talking

Behavioral:

• Irrational, Anxious, Nervous, Agitated, Impatient
• Wanting to escape from things
• Feeling confused, fearful & insecure
• Feeling ungrounded
• Excessive movement or talking

Sounds familiar? well if you are vata dominant, then some of these characteristics is mainly represented in your overall self, again you have to look at your age, season and environment, because

hectic lifestyle

Being of an old age

living in a climate that is struck hard by vata weather conditions, in cold, dry climates, or as generally felt in late summer and fall.

All causes the Vata dosha to be aggravated, however to determine whether Vata is your main constitution "Prakruti", you need to look at the following table:

Circle what resonates with you from childhood to puberty, think the mind and body traits you were born with inherited from parents and does not change

Height	Very tall or very petite
Weight	Light difficulty putting weight
Bones	Petite frame
Joints	Pointy can see joints and tendons
Muscles	small
Fat	Not much or concentrated in a certain area (hips, buttocks, bosom)
Face	Narrow long
eyes	Small and nervous, dark or grey colors, prone to dryness
Mouth	Thin or dry lips
Nose	Small or irregular (hooked)
Chin/jaw line	Strong jawline, angular
Size at birth	small
Hair	Dry and course, dark
Teeth	Receding gum, irregular teeth
Skin: in comparison to your race or culture	Cold, dark, tans easily, could be dry flaky or dull old to touch
Neck, wrest and ankles	Thin long small and pointy

This is a table I created to assess the levels of each dosha, and above I only shared vata in order to avoid any confusions, look at it and circle the characteristics which represents you, I will share the complete questionnaire as soon as the pitta and kapha parts are covered, my goal is to insure that you completely understand yourself to be able to heal yourself.