Know your Prakriti and Know Yourself

Prakriti is an important concept of Ayurveda that explains individuality. Prakriti makes every person unique therefore no two persons can be exactly identical. Anatomical, physiological and psychological characteristics differ from one person to another depending on his/her Prakriti. A person's prakriti is considered to be normal for that person and any derangement of the doshas of the person's constitution leads to diseases. As such, the job of an Ayurvedic physician is to detect the extent of derangement and bring back the doshas to the normal state which can be done using medicines, diet, lifestyle changes, or environmental changes.

According to ayurveda, there are three biological elements present in our body. They are vata dosha, pitta dosha and kapha dosha. Based on the predominance of individual doshas, there are seven types of prakriti.

Vata Prakriti
Pitta Prakriti
Kapha Prakriti

Prakriti in Combination, (who have combination of the doshas in different proportions)

Vata - Pitta Prakriti
Vata - Kapha Prakriti
Pitta - Kapha Prakriti

Combination of all doshas

Vata- Pitta - Kapha Prakriti

Prakriti expresses a unique trait of an individual that is defined by specific and permanent composition of Dosha right from birth. Prakriti remains constant for each individual throughout his/her lifetime.

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Body characteristics and Prakriti

Characteristics	Vata	Pitta	Kapha
Body Frame and Body weight.	Thin Frame Low Body weight	Medium Moderate body weight	Broad Overweight
Type and colour of hair	Dry, Thin, Prone to Break	Soft, Early Greying, Brown	Thick, Oily, Dark
Skin type and complexion	Dry, Rough, Cracked	Soft, Thin, Tendency for Acnes & Freckles	Thick, Oily, Cool, Clear Complexion
Size and colour of teeth	Protruded, Big, Gums Emaciated , Cavities	Moderate in Size, Yellowish, Soft Gums	Strong, White
Nails	Brittle, Dry, Cracked	Soft, Pink	Thick, Strong, Shiny
Eyeball	Small, Dull, Dry	Sharp, Shiny	Big, Attractive, Thick Eye Lashes
Mental activity	Quick, restless	Smart intellect aggressive	Calm , stable
Memory and grasping power.	Quick Grasping but Poor Retention	Moderate Grasping and Retention	Slow Grasping but Good Retention
Bowel movement	Dry, Hard, Constipated	Soft, Loose	Thick, Oily
Sleep pattern .	Interrupted , less	Moderate	Sleepy, Lazzy
Communication Pace	Talkative	Sharp, Incisive Communication with Analytical Abilities	Less Vocal; with Good Communication Skill
Wealth	Spends without thinking much	Saves, but spends on valuable things	Prefers more savings
Social Relations	Make less friends , prefers solitude	Good no of friends	Love to socialize , Relationships are long lasting
Walking pace	Quick, fast with long steps	Average steady	Slow with short steps
Body Energy	Become low in evening , fatigue after less work	Moderate ,gets tired after medium work	Excellent energy throughout the day not easily fatigued
Eating habit	Eat quickly without chewing properly	Eat a moderate speed	Chews food properly
Body temperature	Less than normal, hands and feet are cold,	More than normal, face and forehead hot	Normal, hands and feet are slightly cold
Intolerance of weather conditions.	Cold Intolerant	Heat Intolerant	Tolerant to Both Heat and Cold
Joints	Weak ,noise on movement	Healthy with optimal strength	Heavy weight bearing
Reactions under adverse situations.	Anxiety, worry, Irritability	Anger, Aggression	Calm, Reclusive, Sometimes depressive
Nature	Fearful, moody, unpredictable	Aggressive, Jealous, Impatience	Calm, Attached, Likeable
Mood	Changes quickly, have a frequent mood swings	Changes slowly	Stable constant
Quality of Voice	Rough with broken words	Fast, commanding	Soft and Deep
Pace of performing work	Quick, Responsive	Moderate, Understanding	Slow

In Prakriti like vata - pitta, vata - kapha, vata - pitta - kapha, we can see the characteristics of respective prakrti in different proportions.

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Prakriti and Lifestyle Diseases

By knowing your Prakriti you can be aware of the do’s and don’ts for daily routine. To be in a healthy state you should be aware of what type of disorders or ailments your body may have in the future, so that you can change your lifestyle. There is a correlation between specific Prakriti and lifestyle disorders which is depicted below.

Diseases/symptoms specific to Prakriti

Vata prakriti

Liver cirrhosis
Alzheimer’s disease
Type 2 diabetes
Chronic renal failure
Atherosclerosis
Osteoporosis
Backache, Joint aches and Cracking joints
Depression

Pitta prakriti

Heart disease
Metabolic syndrome
Osteoporosis
Depression
Acidity
Gastric ulcers
Liver cirrhosis

Kapha prakriti

Atherosclerosis
Alzheimer’s disease
Type 2 diabetes
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Heart disease
Asthma
Obesity
Metabolic syndrome
Chronic renal failure

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Knowing the prakriti of a person can lead to inculcation and adoption of lifestyles of a person that will result in prevention of chronic diseases and more healthy high quality life for an individual.

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Prevention & Lifestyle

Vata Prakriti

If Vata is predominant in the personal constitution, fasting should be avoided. Strenuous physical exertion and working in air-conditioned rooms should also be avoided, as well as strong chiropractic treatments. Vata types should try to stay in warm and humid locations to create a quiet, safe, and comfortable environment.

Oil baths, regularity, good food and beverages, and consistent peace and quietness are healing for the Vata type. In particular, gentle and relaxing massages with sesame oil, classical music, dance and meditations are recommended.

Pitta Prakriti

The ideal environment for a pitta individual is cool and dry. Cold weather sports like skiing and ice-skating or early morning exercise is best. Sweet scents, melodic music, and sweet emotions are also good “medicines” for pitta. A daily, 10–20 minute, gentle self-massage with warm coconut oil will cool the heat of pitta and support you to surrender and “go with the flow” rather than using your will to force the flow.

Similarly, if it is known that a person has Pitta prakriti, steps can be taken right from childhood to make sure such a child inculcates habits that make him/her more patient and not lose one's anger. In addition, spicy or acidic food may not be served to such a child since pitta prakriti individuals have more propensities to develop gastric ulcers and related disorders.

Kapha Prakriti

If a person has kapha prakriti then he should be encouraged to participate in sports and physical activity. Since kapha prakriti persons have a natural tendency for reduced movement, inculcation of habits that leads a kapha prakriti person to participate in sports from childhood will lead to a healthier life and will prevent most of the chronic diseases related to obesity that a kapha person is otherwise susceptible to.

Click here and know your Prakriti with a complete health score by using our AI

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Food According to Different Prakriti

Vata Prakriti

Foods to be favoured

The foods which are beneficial to Vata Prakriti are those that are sweet and hot in nature. Since Vata Prakriti people have variable digestive capacity, it is recommended to them to follow an appropriate dietary routine. Food should be consumed in small quantities. Ginger and garlic shall be used to maintain proper digestive abilities. Food good for Vata prakriti are as follows:

Cereals such as wheat, sesame, oats
Pulses such as black gram, green gram.
Milk products such as curd, ghee, butter, cheese.
Oils such as sesame oil, castor oil, cod liver oil.
Vegetables such as white gourd, drumstick, onion, garlic, asparagus, radish, carrot, ripen cucumber, pumpkin, ajmoda (celery), eggplant, pointed gourd, sponge gourd, changeri (Indian sorrel)
Fruits such as mango, coconut, grapes, dates, pineapple, almonds, figs, All sweet fruits, apricots, bananas,grapefruit, lemons, mango, melons, oranges, pomegranate, ripen monkey jack.
Spices: Jeeraka (cumin), ardraka (ginger), sharshapa (mustard seeds), ajwain (Tachyspermum ammi), methika (fenugreek), dhanyaka (coriander), bay leaves, tulsi (basil), keshara (saffron), hingu (asafoetida), ela (cardamom), lavanga (cloves), saunf (fennel), krishna maricha (black pepper)

Foods to be reduced

Food which are dry, cold and astringent in properties should be avoided.

Cereals such as barley, horse gram.
Pulses such as sprouted pulses, peas, masur, chana.
Almonds, walnut, apples, pear, water chestnut
Vegetables such as dry leafy vegetables, potato, bitter gourd, tinda (Citrullus vulgaris), aluka (yam), manakanda (Alocasia indica), mushrooms, torai (Luffa acutangula), peas, palakya (spinach), chaulai, (amaranthus), karela (bitter gourd)
Fruit such as jamun, cucumber, watermelon.
Spices such as chillies, pepper.
Honey and sugarcane juice are not beneficial.

Pitta Prakriti

Foods to be favoured

Food which are cold, dry, sweet and bitter are beneficial to Pitta Prakriti.

Cereals such as wheat, barley.
Pulses masoor, greengram, channa.
Ghee, butter, fresh buttermilk.
All madhur (sweet) fruits, sinchitika (apples), narikela (coconut), phalgu (figs), draksha (grapes), ripen amra (mango), naranga (ripen oranges), pears, sauvira (sweet plums), amalki (emblica)
Vegetables - (sweet) & tikta (bitter) vegetables, shatavari (asparagus), trapusa (cucumber), ajmoda (celery),leafy greens, mushrooms, okra, kalaya (peas), patola (pointed gourd), makoya (solanum nigrum), kakdi (snake cucumber), karela (bitter gourd)
Fruits - All madhur (sweet) fruits, apples, narikela (coconut), figs, grapes, ripen amra (mango), naranga (ripen oranges), pears, sauvira (sweet plums), amalki (em
Old jaggery.
Spices such as coriander, rock salt, Jeeraka (cumin), ardraka (ginger), sharshapa (mustard seeds), ajwain (Tachyspermum ammi), methika (fenugreek), dhanyaka (coriander), bay leaves, tulsi (basil), keshara (saffron), hingu (asafoetida), ela (cardamom), lavanga (cloves), saunf (fennel) , krishna maricha (black pepper)
Meat of goat.

Foods to be reduced

Food which are hot, pungent and sharp (teekshna) in properties are not beneficial to Pitta Prakriti.

Pulses such as blackgram, horse gram, sprouted pulses.
Sour curds and buttermilk.
Beef, mutton, sea fish.
Vegetables such as brinjal, drumstick, green leafy vegetables.
Fruits such as oranges, lime, tamarind, unripe mango.
Spices such as garlic, pepper, chillies, asafoetida, black pepper, ginger, celery seeds

Kapha Prakriti

Foods to be favoured

Food which are light, hot, dry, pungent in properties are beneficial to Kapha Prakriti.

Cereals such barley, corn
Pulses such as masur, horse gram, green gram.
Oil such as mustard oil, sesame oil.
Vegetables such as bitter gourd, drumstick, snake gourd, onions.
Fruits such as pomegranates, lemon, apricots, amra (mango), almonds, walnut, apples,pear, water chestnut, water melon
Spices such as dry ginger, black cumin seeds, garlic, pepper.
Old wine and substances such as honey.

Foods to be reduced

Food which are sweet, cold, heavy in property are not beneficial to Kapha Prakriti.

Cereals such as fresh rice.
Pulses such as black gram.
Buffalo’s milk, curd, ghee, butter.
Oils from animal fat.
Vegetables such as sweet potato, cabbage, yam, Indian spinach
Fruits such as banana, guava, grapes, coconut, jackfruit.
Mutton, egg, freshwater fish.
Sugarcane juice, jaggery.
Freshly prepared beverages.
Spices such as coriander.

Prakriti takes the concept of personalized medicine further and enters the arena of personalized preventive health or personalized preventive medicine. Such personalized preventive health will result in healthy and more productive lives for a person, which has also the potential to reduce the burden of disease as well as increasing cost faced by health systems due to the rising incidence of chronic diseases.