PURA VIDA / LIVING CR
Ayurvedic Medicine
Part 1: Discover Your Dosha by Laura Méndez
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yurvedic medicine is much more than just medicine. This 5,000-year-old practice began in India and has since spread across the world, shaping and improving the lives of many people all over the world. The core focus of Ayurveda is on prevention. It's based on the concept that general health and wellness rely on a delicate balance between mind, body, and spirit. In Ayurvedic medicine, balance is everything — and it's achieved by harmonizing the three doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha. The ancient health science of Ayurveda is built around the five elements of ether, air, fire, water, and earth. The unique combination of these elements come together to make up the doshas, or constitutions.
WELLNESS
Each dosha has a number of corresponding qualities that are expressed in the physical, emotional and mental aspects of one’s being. All of us have some aspects of each dosha, but one or two doshas tend to be predominant, giving us information about everything that happens in our bodies, from our digestion to even our emotions. As I mentioned before, the three doshas are represented in everybody but in different amounts. Some people may have a constitution that is more dominant in pitta, while another may be more like a vata-pitta dominance.
The idea is that by knowing your body and knowing what to do to balance yourself, you can get all of your doshas back to harmony, and hence, to health. Dosha quiz Take this quiz to discover your dosha. In the next issue of Howler, I will talk about how to interpret your results! 1. Which of these best describes your physical frame? a. Small b. Medium c. Large 2. Which best describes your skin? a. Oily and soft with freckles or pimples b. Thick, oily, cool skin c. Dry 3. Which best describes your hair? a. Straight and fine b. Thick and lustrous c. Dry and curly
All of us have some aspects of each dosha, but one or two doshas tend to be predominant.
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