The Nature of Your Imbalance
Your Present Nature
Your present nature is not your constitution. It’s the altered balance of the three doshas in the body right now. Any experience we take in through our five senses alters this balance.
Knowing your Constitution is useful for making your lifestyle a preventative approach to health. But it doesn’t necessarily help you approach a presenting imbalance.
A dosha in balance makes music. A dosha out of balance makes noise.
Knowing the Nature of Your Imbalance
Feel into the qualities and symptoms of the imbalance you’re noticing. What dosha appears to be most noticeable?
Vata Imbalance
In the Body
Restlessness, Nerves, Gas, Constipation, Dry Skin, Excess Weight Loss
In the Mind
Forgetful, Anxious, Worried, Spacey, Lack of Focus
Pitta Imbalance
In the Body
Indigestion, Diarrhea, Oily Skin, Fever, Rash, Ulcer
In the Mind
Judgmental, Critical, Anger, Resentment, Jealousy, Sharp Tongue, Hard Personality, Volatile Personality, Impatience
Kapha Imbalance
In the Body
Cold Pale Skin, Moist Clammy Skin, Mucous Build Up, Weight Gain (Excess), Excessive Sleep
In the Mind
Slow Information Processing, Stubbornness, Lethargy, Cloudy Mind, Overly Sentimental or Emotional
What Dosha Needs Attention?
Remember: Dosha is a Sanskrit word that means “Imbalance”
When you are taking the Ayurvedic approach to lifestyle choices, through sensory therapies, your intention will always be one of two things:
1. Balancing an imbalance you’re presently experiencing
2. Keeping your most dominant natural Dosha (constitution) in a state of harmony
One set of practices speaks to an imbalance that is presenting itself right now, the other is a more preventative approach to lifestyle.
The purpose of studying this wisdom is to empower you with the understanding of what balance feels like for you so that you can train yourself to notice imbalance the moment it begins to manifest at the subtle level of energy.
The quicker you can spot imbalance, the quicker you can apply a balancing sensory experience.
By prioritizing energetic balance above all other desires, we can intuitively develop our own unique lifestyle rhythms.
Learning to Spot Imbalance
Building the skill of knowing which symptoms to look out for, and intuitively feeling into the doshic nature of your imbalances, takes time. Have patience with yourself.
Knowing the 20 qualities is helpful in diagnosing any energetic imbalance and applying the energetic remedy.
Ayurveda is simply a practice of treating the qualities of a presenting imbalance with a sensory experience that brings the opposite (balancing) qualities into the body.
