The Doshas

The Tri-Dosha Concept

The Tri-Dosha-Concept is the crystallisation point in which theory and application meet in the praxis of Ayurveda.

The 3 Doshas - VATA, PITTA and KAPHA  are the basic energies according to the Asian way of thinking. For a person grown up in the West the term Immune system is probably more common and easier understood. Every Dosha or immune system is directly appointed to a specific area of the body and responsible for their health. The big difference therefore is that in the West only a single immune system exists that is responsible for the entire body, whereas in Ayurveda there are three, being responsible for very different areas within the body. Only the well-balanced co-operation of all three Doshas will lead to a healthy body and mind. The diversity of humans, the difference in their physical presence, their psychological and mental potentials, their characters, their biological and emotional reactions develop through the different mixing ratios of the Doshas. Every human is unique in itself and therefore has a personal, sole mix of the Tri-Dosha-Concept.

The Doshas therefore determine the constitution of a person, all break down, changing and build up functions and processes in the body. In the Tri-Dosha-Concept, each part of the body will be counted to at least one of the three Doshas, whereby the divisions are roughly as followed: Everything from the neck upwards is counted as Kapha, everything from the neck towards the navel belongs to Pitta and everything from the navel to the feet is counted as Vata. A well-balanced co-operation of these three energies is important in order to keep the entire body and mind healthy and to lead an active, happy life. One can only get ill if at least one of the Doshas are unbalanced. It causes physical and psychological disorder, complaints and illnesses for the particular body parts- but only in the body parts for which it is responsible! The balance of the three Doshas is therefore a sensitive system which can easily be disturbed. Common causes of disorders and imbalance are: uncontrolled, bad lifestyle and nutrition, environmental pollution, mental strain, stress, non or only little physical exercise, social environment and very often straining of the brain, which in Ayurveda is called top-heaviness of thoughts.

In Ayurveda one speaks therefore of a personal relative balance of the three Doshas, as the individual distribution of Vata, Pitta and Kapha is unique in every person and hence should be preserved. With a total balance of the three Doshas of one third each would hence with one single exception  the three Doshas be distributed equally. It is therefore important to preserve their very own balance. Hence, the age of the individual, profession, social life / friends and much more play an important role in the distribution of the Doshas.

The three Doshas - Vata, Pitta, Kapha - derive from the 5 main elements Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth. These also comprise the universe. (To this you maybe also read chapter: Ayurveda a philosophical-religious background.) Therefore the Doshas not only define the individual as a whole, but also put it into concept with the cosmos. A person consists of the same material as the cosmos. A creature is seen as a small cell in a big body universe. The fact that a person is made of the same material i.e. the 5 main elements as the cosmos, which is also its own environment, stands therefore also in direct contact with the it. Through the exchange of fine material and coarse material parts a person is in constant communication with his environment. One can notice them with ones senses such as through the taste of food, breathing, smells, noises or sense of touch.

One problem of life today often is that we became alienated from our senses. We can not trust them fully anymore. The causes often lie already in the upbringing, at home as well as in school and job: Sentences such as Do not touch that!, Dont eat noisily!, Be quiet are part of this as well as standardised chemical ingredients e.g. ready meals, tined food, standard spices, but also analytical measures which are not sensually perceivable anymore and also over-abundance e.g. from advertising, so that a conscious differentiation is not possible anymore,