9/22/2017 www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.

html

The Tridoshas

basic concepts

What are the Tridoshas?

Vata dosha - Responsible for all Movement in the Body
Pitta dosha - Responsible for all Metabolism in the Body
Kapha dosha - Responsible for all Structure & Lubrication in the Body
Why should I care?
What is the Normal State of the Tridoshas?
What causes the Tridoshas to become Imbalanced ?
Balanced & Imbalanced
Two kinds of Imbalances
Like increases Like
Example of Vata increasing Lifestyle and Foods

What are the Tridoshas?

Ayurveda's concept of the Tridoshas is unique to medical science. Ayurveda says the
body is made up of tissues (dhatus), waste products (malas), and doshas (loosely
translated to Energetic Forces). It is the Tridoshas' job to assist with the creation of all of
the various tissues of the body and to remove any unnecessary waste products from the
body. It is also the Tridoshas that influence all movements, all transformations, all
sensory functions, and many of the other activities in the human body and mind.

Return to Menu.

Vata dosha
The Vata dosha is the most important of the three doshas. This is for two reasons.
First, if Vata becomes imbalanced for long enough and sufficiently enough, it can also
cause the other two doshas (Pitta or Kapha) to become imbalanced. It can even cause
both Pitta and Kapha to become imbalanced; this is called a Tridoshic imbalance and is
the most difficult to overcome. Secondly, Vata is the main driver or mover of the body,
including the other two doshas, all the tissues (dhatus) and all of the waste products
(malas).
Vata provides the following functions:

All eliminations: fetus, semen, feces, urine, sweat, and a few others
Assists with all the various metabolisms in the body (called Agni in Ayurveda)
Controls all of the various movement of body (both physical & mental),
including such things as respiration, heart beat, motivation and contraction of
muscles
Relays all sensory input from the various sense organs to the brain

Return to Menu.
http://www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html 1/5
9/22/2017 www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html

Pitta dosha
The Pitta dosha is associated with fire or heat. Wherever there is transformation,
there is Pitta (doing its job). Whether it is in the GI tract, liver, skin, eyes or brain doesn't
matter, for these are all locations where Pitta works.
Pitta provides the following functions:

Metabolism - at all the various levels

from digestion of food to transformation of all other material
Thermogenesis - maintains the proper body temperature
Vision - converts external images into optic nerve impulses
Appetite - the feeling of hunger and thirst
Comprehension - of information into knowledge, also reasoning and judgment
Courage & Braveness - to face the situation
Complexion - gives color and softness to skin

Return to Menu.

Kapha dosha
Kapha is the heaviest of the three doshas. It provides the structures and the
lubrication that the body needs. These qualities help to counterbalance Vata's movement
and Pitta's metabolism. A big, heavyset football play or wrestler is a person with a
predominance of Kapha.
Kapha provides the following functions:

Strength - to perform physical tasks

Moistness & Lubrication - to prevent excessive friction from occurring between the
various parts of the body
Stability - to add the necessary grounding aspect to both mind and body
Mass & Structure - to provide fullness to bodily tissues
Fertility & Virility - to produce healthy offspring

Return to Menu.

Why should I care?

Because by learning how to balance the Tridoshas, the following goals can likely be
achieved:

Prevention of many diseases before they take hold

(In other words, keep healthy folks healthy)
In many cases, slowing down or reversing the disease process
(particularly the case in many auto immune disorders)
Assistance in becoming totally healthy: physically, mentally, and spiritually
(In other words, maximize your full potential)

What is really nice about Ayurveda is that learning to balance the Tridoshas is easy.
Much of Ayurveda is common sense; it is based upon the laws of nature. The tools one
http://www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html 2/5
9/22/2017 www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html

uses to balance the Tridoshas are lifestyle management and the proper nutritional
protocols.

Nutritional Protocols? What is this term - Nutritional Protocols? Wouldn't some

people call this diet? Sure, some would; however, we definitely would not use this word. I
wouldn't want to be on a diet, would you? On the other hand, learning to eat tasty, well-
balanced meals that are easy to digest and even easier to cook -- now that's something I
like!

Ayurveda goes into great detail explaining all of these different aspects of the body,
how the functioning of the body can go wrong, and what to do in order to correct the
problem. Likewise, it also explains how each individual can create a customized
nutritional protocol and lifestyle plan that can prevent disorders from occurring in the
first place.

Return to Menu.

What is the Normal State of the Tridoshas?

When the Tridoshas are balanced, the individual experiences health on all levels:
mental, physical and spiritual. This is much more than the mere absence of disease.

The following areas help to define what Ayurveda considers as health.

Happiness - sense of well being

Emotions - evenly balanced emotional states
Mental Functions - good memory, comprehension, intelligence, and reasoning ability
Senses - proper functioning of eyes, ears, nose, taste, and touch
Energy - abundant mental & physical energy to perform
Digestion - easy digestion of food and drink
Elimination - normal elimination of wastes: sweat, urine, feces and others
Physical Body - healthy bodily tissues, organs, and systems

Return to Menu.

What causes the Tridoshas to become Imbalanced?

Balanced & Imbalanced

Each of the three doshas have certain quantity, qualities, and functions. When all of
these are balanced, it is called normal or balanced (Dosha Shamya). This condition is
conducive to well-being, health, and wellness. However, this balanced state is not stable;
it is always changing. The Doshas will become either increased (vriddhi) or decreased
(kasaya). Both of these states lead to ill-health or disease. However, increased Doshas
have much more power to cause problems than do decreased Doshas. The important
point here is to understand that each dosha has a set of qualities (gunas) associated with
it which can increase or decrease in quantity.

Qualities of Vata Dosha

http://www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html 3/5
9/22/2017 www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html

Cold, Light, Dry, Rough, Hard, Mobile and the Ability to penetrate fine particles

Qualities of Pitta Dosha

Hot, Sharp, Slightly Oily, Penetrating, Liquid, Light and can be sour and foul smelling
when excessively increased

Qualities of Kapha Dosha

Cool, Heavy, Dense, Stable, Oily and slimy

Return to Menu.

Two kinds of Imbalances

Natural - imbalances

Natural imbalance is due to time and age, which are mild and normally do not cause
any problems. Vata, Pitta, and Kapha increase and become predominant during one's
life, during a season and during certain times of day. For example, Vata is predominant
during the latter part of one's life, during the fall season and during late afternoon, as
well as during the last part of night and the last part of digestion. Whew!! I know that's a
lot of stuff! Hang in there! Pitta is predominant during middle age, during the summer
season, at midday, at midnight and during the middle part of digestion. Kapha is
predominant during childhood, during the spring season, in late morning, at the first part
of evening and during the early part of digestion.

Unnatural - imbalances

Unnatural imbalances of the Doshas can be caused by such things as: inappropriate
diet, inappropriate lifestyle, trauma (like a car accident), viruses, parasites, etc. While
some of these items are beyond our control, the type of lifestyle we live and the foods
we eat are within our control.

Like increases Like

To learn how to reduce the Tridoshas, it is first necessary to understand what causes
the Tridoshas to increase. The reason, according to a simple rule in Ayurvedic principles,
is: "Like increases Like, while Dislike (opposite) decreases Like." For example, if you are
cold and you eat ice cream, you will become colder; or if you are hot and you eat chilli
peppers, you will become hotter. These examples, which seem so obvious, are the basis
for much of what is done in Ayurveda that allows its exceptional results. Herein lies one
of the true beauties of Ayurveda: its principles are so simple, so basic, that it naturally
appeals to common sense.

Example of Vata increasing Lifestyle and Foods

So if we engage in either lifestyles or consumes foods that have Vata qualities one
will be increasing the Vata dosha in themself. Some examples of Vata increasing

http://www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html 4/5
9/22/2017 www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html

activities are the following: running outside in the fall while dressed lightly when it is
cold, dry with lots of winds blowing, going to rock concert after skipping a meal and not
having slept all night, eating popcorn while driving in traffic with the music blasting,
never taking time to rest, relax and take it easy. Basically any activity that is nerve
racking and/or highly stimulating is going to increase (aggravate) Vata. Example of Vata
increasing foods would be things that have the above mentioned qualities and/or taste
bitter, astringent or pungent like: popcorn, rice cakes, beans, cayenne pepper, coffee and
alfalfa sprouts.

Therefore, note that whatever one does that has the above mentioned qualities
(food,lifestyle,relationship) in it will cause that dosha to increase(aggravate).

And the name of the game in preventing disease is not to aggravate any of the
Tridoshas; to keep them calm and happy. So all you need is to understand what factors
increase and decrease each of the three doshas; Vata, Pitta and Kapha and follow those
recommendations when necessary to avoid disease and promote overall health. Really
it's actually quite simple. Most of us can follow those Lifestyle suggestions for reducing
each of the three doshas, and simply follow a Tridoshic nutritional program. Tridoshic
meals can be very easy to cook, checkout some of our Tridoshic Recipes. If you want to
understand more about each doshic you can read each of the three pages Vata, Pitta,
and Kapha.

Return to Menu.

Copyright 1996 by Ayurvedic Foundations

Last Updated on: .

http://www.ayur.com/dosha/tridosha.html 5/5