The Three Doshas of Ayurveda

The functioning of the human organism, as stated by the core principles of Ayurveda are controlled by three humours, also referred to as doshas. These three humours make up one's bodily constitution and its study and application has thereby come to be known as the Tridosha theory.

The doshas are the Vata, Pitta, and the Kapha and the central concept of Ayurvedic medicine lies in the theory that good health exists when there lies a finite balance between these three fundamental humours, with any sort of imbalance, however slight, leading to a modicum of disease or ill health.

Of the three, Vata is the key. Being the wind element, the other two doshas in the Pitta and Kapha cannot move from their centers until and unless the air within the body carries them forward. The Vata dosha affects the windy humour, gout and rheumatism, and is primarily present within the chest, thoracic and throat regions through its five sub-doshas. 

Pitta in turn is the bilious humourm, or that secreted between the stomach and intestine and flowing through the liver, and permeating the spleen, heart, eyes and skin. Its chief quality is heat, and is the energy principle which uses bile to direct digestion and hence, metabolism.

The final dosha in the Kapha represents the body fluids principle which relates to lubrication and the internal carriers of nutrients within the blood stream, and comprises the mouth, tongue and lower back regions from a primary perspective.

Through birth and prolonged specific behaviour, one dosha may be dominant, or a combination of two, and less rarely, some people have all three doshas in relative balance. All Ayurvedic physicians believe that these ancient ideas, based in the knowledge discovered by the Rishis and Munis, exist in harmony with physical reality. These Ayurvedic concepts allow physicians to examine the homeostasis of the whole system. 

An Ayurvedic doctor may thus establish one's dominant body type through the feeling of the pulse, before administering any form of treatment.

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