These tests typically involve a series of questions related to physical characteristics such as body type, energy levels, skin type, sleep patterns and mental and emotional tendencies, like decision-making style, handling stress, and reactions to change. Through answering these questions, you can gain insight into which dosha is most dominant in your body and mind.

Click to read my article about doshas in Ayurveda: 3 Doshas

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is a holistic medical system that originated in India thousands of years ago. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit, and aims to achieve balance and harmony in all aspects of life. The fundamental principles of Ayurveda revolve around the idea that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between three fundamental energies or doshas – Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

3 Doshas: Vata, Kapha and Pitta

It is important to note that everyone has a unique mix of all three doshas (vata, kapha and pitta), but one usually dominates. By understanding your dominant dosha, you can comprehend your tendencies and make lifestyle changes that support your health and well-being. Ayurvedic medicine believes balancing the doshas is crucial for optimal health and well-being. Dosha tests can be a valuable tool in this journey by providing a starting point for identifying imbalances and making changes to support your health.

Autumn Wellness Tips

It is all about BALANCE! That is why we crave warm-cozy afternoons, with a cup of tea in front of a fire with a soft blanket – all the things that are the opposite of what the season brings -so that we can balance! Check out Ayurveda’s tips for autumn, to live in harmony with this beautiful season so that you can thrive and bring health-immunity and longevity rather than feeling overwhelmed, dried, depressed or tired. Try these, share with family and friends and let me know if you feel a difference in this season in your energy, digestion and wellbeing.

Holistic Wellbeing

In my upcoming Zenfitgourmet Holistic Women’s Wellness Program we will learn and practice these routines together for 12 weeks. You will have my help and group’s support to establish them in your daily life without a struggle. We will also make an Ayurvedic Cleanse included in the program for free to make the most out of this season and feel lighter and more energetic than ever.

Leave a comment now please, which of these habits are most challenging for you to keep up?

There is no good or bad dosha, there is the original one and with nutrition and lifestyle choices we try to keep that nature cause that’s where we feel our best. So raise your hand below in the comments, if you recognize yourself in the qualities of Vata, the dosha of air! 

Me? I am a combination of Vata and Pitta and a little bit of Kapha. So I have many of these qualities in my life. Are you like me?

You are Vata Dosha Type of People (or have Vata imbalance) If you have

ELEMENTS: AIR & ETHER

QUALITIES: DRY, LIGHT, COLD, ROUGH, SUBTLE & MOBILE

RESPONSIBLE FROM: MOTION, ELIMINATION, PERCEIVING TOUCH, SPEECH, BREATHING

Vata Body

– Dry and rough skin, hair, nails, stools. Gas and Bloating – sensitive stomach
– Slim-slemder body
– Irregular appetite and thirst
– Irregular bowel movement
– Constipation
– Cold hands-feet
– Joints crack

Vata Mind (Happy Times)

. Quick learner. Enthusiastic
. Creative
. Quick
. Adaptable 
. Sensitive and intuitive

Opposite Qualities That Balance:

– A diet with more of the sweet, sour, and salty tastes
– Cooked foods – boiling, poaching, stewing (with ample oil/ghee)
– Food with unctuousness/ moisture/oiliness
– Warm food and drinks

When in Balance:

– Uplifts others with his/her lightness and angelic – presenceCreative and intuitive
– Enthusiastic and active
– Communicative
– Extroverted, cheerful

Diet: Similar Qualities That Imbalance and Aggravate

– A diet with more of the sweet, sour, and salty tastes
– Cooked foods – boiling, poaching, stewing (with ample oil/ghee)
– Food with unctuousness/ moisture/oiliness
– Warm food and drinks

When Aggravated or Imbalanced

– Feeling overly active, nervous, coldBloating, gas, burping, constipation
– Racing mind
– Feels like not fully processing thoughts, desires and feelings
– Cold emotions like fears, worries, anxiety
– Mind is in the air
– Hyper sensitive
– Chronic Fatigue
– Insecure, panic attacs
– Nervous breakdown
– Anxious, babbling, unregulated

Vata Mind (Not So Happy Times)

– Nervous. Anxious
. – Memory problems
– Hyperactive
– Fearful
– Uncertain, indecisive
. Can’t finish tasks
. Not consistent

Other

– Loves change
– Can’t stay still, moving all the time
– Not resilient, gets tired easily
– Light sleep, wakes up frequently
– Not good on financials, spends money easily
– Irregular meals

3 Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha

Each dosha has its own unique qualities and appearance. According to Ayurveda, doshas govern the function of all the organs in the body. When a person’s doshas are out of balance, this leads to ailments such as skin problems or digestive issues. In order to restore balance, it is necessary to identify the predominant dosha in a person and take steps to correct imbalances in other doshas.

VATA

PITTA

KAPHA

PITTA DOSHA

ELEMENTS: FIRE & WATER

QUALITIES: SLIGHTLY OILY, SHARP, HOT, LIGHT, FOUL SMELLING, SPREADING & LIQUID

Opposite Qualities That Balance:

– Room temperature or warm food and drinks
– Sweet, bitter,and astringent tastes
– Cooling foods (cooling by nature like coconut)
– Cooked foods – by sauteing steaming, boiling, stewing etc
– A little raw is ok, but not recommended as a main meal

Diet: Similar Qualities That Imbalance and Aggravate

– Pungent, sour, and salty tastes in excess
– Oily, fried food
– Spicy (hot) food
– Sour like yogurt, vinegar
– Alcohol
– Fermented foods (like pickles)

Lifestyle That Aggravates Pitta

-Anger
– Fasting, hunger, less food intake, skipping or not eating on time
– Staying awake late at night
– Not sleeping enough
– Working in hot environments, near heat / fire
– Excessive exposure to heat and sunlight
– Excess sex

In this part of winter it gets cold, dry and rough so we need more warmth and softness through warmer water/tea/soups, spices, oils, and layers of clothes!

However, we need to make sure not to overdo with spices and acidic foods and drinks like pickles, alcohol, onions-garlic, as it would create too much heat trapped in our digestive system which might create too much acidity, heart burn and other digestive and eventually other health problems.

Ayurvedic Daily Routine for Winter

A healthy daily routine for winter is key to wellness as every season. In Ayurveda, this is the season of Vata and moving into Kapha. They both require warmth and a gentle fire in the digestive system. This means lighter meals and healing teas. Fresh ginger is a very good friend these days, to be used as tea with lemon and honey or cooking your soups and stews with it. It is your insurance to apply what is needed at that time of the year.

Here is what Ayurveda suggests for a healthy daily routine:

1. Start your day with warm water and a few drops of lemon or lime juice. Have 2 tbs of aloevera to support alkaline, too. Don’t  start your morning with coffee on empty stomach which creates so much acidity
2. Try regular abhyangha (oiling-self massage) with warm sesame oil before showers and avoid keeping body too dry
3. Go for exercises that gives you rejuvenating energy like yoga, brisk walks, easy jogs rather than exhausting ones.
4. Make cooked warm breakfasts like oatmeals, porridges or simply cooked apples with warming spices (see next) and do not start with cold cereals, dry and hard crackers, frozen smoothies, raw fruits (especially heavy ones like banana)
5. Use warming spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, oregano, thyme, turneric, black pepper, fresh ginger. However do not over do the “spicy” as it creates too much fire and acidity.
6. Make your lunch the biggest meal of the day and have light, cooked dinners with vegetable soups and stews. Use ghee or olive oil.
7. Avoid dinners with heavy, oily, fried and with animal protein and using cooling oils like coconut oil. 
8. Take it slow like nature. Slow down, rest more and get cozy with a blanket and sweet tea or golden milk! Sleep about 8 hours. Make sure not to exhaust yourself, running around, not sleeping 8 hours

8 Winter Wellness Tips

Winter Wellness Tips

What do you think about the tips above? Do you also feel like these will make you feel better these days? Enjoy this wonderful season and just make sure to be in synchronicity with Mother Nature

If you need a helping hand to go through these transitions and apply the daily routines, join one of my programs like 10 Day Online Ayurvedic Winter Cleanse, or Winter Yoga and Ayurveda Weekend Retreat, or 12 Weeks Online Holistic Coaching Program Zenfitgourmet.

All you have to do is grill the apples with some coconut oil or ghee, in a toaster or oven and when they are soft, sprinkle some magic!

Just like the sweet potato recipe a few posts before, you drizzle molasses, or maple syrup, almond butter or tahini, coconut shreds, sesame, vanilla, top with pecans or walnuts. You can also grill the pecans/walnuts slightly with the apples.

This week, I am on a strict Post Covid cleansing program where I stopped eating any snacks! This is to really fire up my digestion, increase the power of Agni (digestive energy). So I am drooling looking at this delicious snack now and can’t wait to eat it again once I am stronger in my tummy!

Do you love snacking like me? Well be careful if your digestion is not strong enough, if you keep having bloating-gas or a white coating on your tongue which might be a sign of “ama” i.e. accumulated toxins. You might need to do a cleanse and see and Ayurvedic specialist.

I am starting my 1-to-1 Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Coaching as of next week, so contact me if you need help!