Ayurveda traces its origins to the Rig Veda, the world’s oldest surviving book in an Indo-European language. The Rig Veda, 3000 B.C., is a cosmological treatise that addresses not only the nature of life but also the foundations of health and causes of disease, including the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha—and the uses of herbs for healing both physical and psychological ailments.
1. Learn how to balance your Vata Dosha
When Vata is out of balance, too much air has accumulated in mind, body, and environment. The result is a sense of un-groundedness. The best way to balance excess Vata is to bring more earth and stability into the physiology. Think relaxing.
- Go to bed and awaken at the same time every day
- Meditate twice a day to quiet the mind
- Practice yoga to connect with your body
- Wear Relaxing fragrances
- Eat three meals per day and favor sweet, sour, and salty tastes
- Perform a slow daily self massage with warm Relaxing herbalized oil
- Drink Relaxing Herbal Tea
- Look for opportunities to create rhythm and routine in your life
- Diffuse Relaxing fragrances into your environment
- Finish things once you start them
2. Learn how to balance your Pitta Dosha
When Pitta is out of balance, too much fire has accumulated in mind, body, and environment. The result is a sense of internal and external combustion. The best way to balance excess Pitta is to bring more space and coolness into the physiology. Think soothing.
- Spend time outside and in nature
- Favor cooling tastes – sweet, bitter, and astringent
- Meditate twice a day to soothe the mind and relax the body
- Schedule some space in your day
- Perform a slow self-massage with Soothing herbalized oil
- Wear Soothing fragrances
- Favor cool, soft colors – blue, green, and white
- Drink Soothing Herbal Tea
- Diffuse Soothing fragrances into your environment
- Try to be more playful
- Engage in non-competitive physical activities
- Eat with full awareness
- Stay cool
3. Learn how to balance your Kapha Dosha
When Kapha is out of balance, too much earth has accumulated in mind, body, and environment. The result is a sense of sluggishness, congestion, and dullness. The best way to balance excess a Kapha is to bring more movement and circulation into the physiology. Think invigoration.
- Awaken at sunrise
- Look for opportunities to create healthy change
- Favor pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes
- Avoid eating when you’re not hungry
- Be spontaneous and try new things
- Wear invigorating fragrances
- Clean out your space
- Drink Invigorating Herbal Tea
- Diffuse Invigorating fragrances into your environment
- Favor bright strong colors – reds, oranges, yellows
- Meditate twice a day to get clear on your intentions and desires
- Perform a vigorous self-massage with warm Invigorating herbalized oil
- Exercise daily!
Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You by Deepak Chopra
Quotes by Deepak Chopra
- “The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.”
- “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.”
- “You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices.”
- “There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.”