Each of us has a unique and recognizable constitutional type which, according to Ayurvedic Medicine, is as permanent as our genetic pattern or blood type. By knowing your body type, you and your health practitioner will understand how climate, food, herbs, medicines and other people will affect you natural energy field. This leads to harmony with Nature. Since disease (or dis-ease) is usually the result an acute or long term imbalance, by knowing your Ayurvedic body type you can learn to take the appropriate healing action. What follows is an introduction to recognizing the Ayurvedic 5 Element body types.
The 5 Elements is a different paradigm from the scientific method to which we are accustomed. You could say that methods of thinking are tools for extracting a particular kind of information or outcome from viewing Nature. According to scientists there are 105 elements in the periodic table. Each one has a different atomic weight according to its structure. Using that approach and the knowledge it has given, we have been able to build airplanes and send rockets into space. But I am certain that most people make no use of that table of elements in order to live their daily life since it is so complicated.
Many different cultures around the world have developed paradigms or mind tools which, like the modern scientific method, give access to Nature and make available various kinds of useful knowledge. Until recently most of us did not know how to use those tools since they came out of a different cultural context. To make a comparison let us say Nature is like a computer. At the engineering level computers are extremely complicated. In fact when they first came out only a few elite engineers could use computers at all. Eventually, new and easier layers were added to the computer until finally the user-friendly Macintosh interface was developed. Using that, someone with no engineering background can use a computer with ease. It is exactly the same with Nature. The world surrounding us is much more complex than any computer. We can interface with nature using complex models like the scientific model. In fact, just like our computer which can run many different programs, we can use many different paradigms to work with Nature. Each approach will give us different capabilities. But in recent years we have been prejudiced to think that only the complicated scientific model is “the truth” and that previous models from older cultures have been superseded or made obsolete. The fact is that many of the more original ways of thinking are deceptively simple. Their power lies in that simplicity!
The Ayurvedic model also has a periodic table of elements. There are only 5 elements to recognize: Earth (solid), Water (liquid), Fire (burning), Air (gaseous) and Space (accommodating). These are the fundamental elements of the universe as we perceive it at the most basic level of perception. You could think of these elements as the fundamental conditions of matter. Our senses are made to easily recognize these five states. When matter is so subtle that we only perceive the experience of emptiness and accommodation, that is Space. When within that we experience movement and perceive a subtle substance through touch, that is Air. When matter gives off heat and light and causes intense transformation, that is Fire. When matter is liquid, fluid and dissolving it is Water. When substance arises with solidity and hardness it is Earth. That’s it! There are only these five states in Nature as we perceive it with our unaided senses. So think of this as the simple Macintosh user-interface to Nature.
Not only is the backdrop of Nature made of these five elements but everything that exists in Nature is made of some mixture of these five. Our bodies are also created with an exact and permanent combination of the five elements which is called our constitutional type. By a further process of simplification the five elements present themselves to us as three basic energy fields: Vata (Space and Air), Pitta (Fire and Water) and Kapha (Water and Earth). In other words the Space and Air manifest together, Fire acts within Water, Water and Earth combine. Kapha then is recognizable in us as our substance, Pitta is seen as our heat, digestion and power of transformation and Vata as our Nervous System and subtle communication system. As an oversimplification this gives rise to three basic body types. Vata is thin, nervous, erratic, cold, dry and high strung. Pitta is medium build, muscular, hot, intense, angry, impatient, controlling, powerful and transforming. Kapha is larger or heavier, nurturing, substantial, emotional, caring, enclosing and conservative. At first it may seem an oversimplification to think there are only three kinds of people. But that generalization reflects the organization of Nature. Five elements give rise to three types which could be thought of as the Air, Fire and Water types. Air types are cold and high strung, Fire types are intense, warm and aggressive, Water types are nurturing, calm and heavier. If you only could choose one, which are you? Remember the point is simplicity, like the Macintosh.
Another way to think of the same three types was described by a psychologist named William Sheldon in the 1930’s. Although he was unaware of Ayurveda, he called the three types Ectomorph (Vata), Mesomorph (Pita) and Endomorph (Kapha). Morph means body. Ecto means skin. The Ectomorph is thin and nervous, they receive too much information and often find life too intense. Meso means bones and muscles. The Mesomorph sees life in terms of power and force. Because they are ruled by fire, if they miss a meal they become upset and are almost always warm or hot. Their solution to most situations is force, directness and clarity. Endo means the gut and lymphatic system. Endomorphs are soft and yielding. They seek approval and avoid violence and confrontation. Their tendency is to enclose and nourish. They seek comfort and avoid pain. Now the secret in all this is that everything in Nature is either Air, Fire or Water. Do you remember the childhood game scissors, paper, rock? One of them always is in control. Rock breaks scissors, paper covers rock, scissors cuts paper. Similarly, Vata, Pitta and Kapha are always going out of balance in Nature. Sometimes it is too hot, sometimes too wet, sometimes too dry. Our body, like Nature is a microclimate. If we eat too much heating food and are a Fire type and it is a hot day, we may develop a heat imbalance. So knowledge of our Body type is the prerequisite to knowing how to stay in balance with Nature. The variables are: food, climate, surroundings and of course other people who embody the energy of Air, Fire or Water. Think of each of them as food or energy which will either balance of imbalance you over time. The effects are gradual but lead eventually to the conditions that lead to dis-ease.
Of course, there is much more to the system of Ayurveda than the first step of learning your primary body type. The five elements Vata, Pitta and Kapha lead to a simple and natural view of Nature. It is a powerful user-interface to the biocomputer of our body. The next step is the secret connection between your Vedic sidereal horoscope. The same body type which you can learn to see as an expression of the five elements can be seen in your Vedic horoscope determined by the stars positions at the time of your birth. That is why the horoscope describes you as a Fire sign or Water sign and so forth.
A knowledgeable Ayurvedic astrologer will know what you look like before they see you. A knowledgeable Ayurvedic doctor will know how to correct the imbalance they see in you. They will both know your body type from the balance of the five elements in your chart and from your visible bodily characteristics. The same natural interface works from the outside in Ayurvedic medicine and the inside in Vedic astrology. Both sciences are important tools to help you learn to live in harmony and balance with Nature. The benefits are health, greater success in relationships, business and all of life’s complex interactions.
* Please note these reviews are written by individuals, and in no way reflects the view of Yoga Directory Canada®.
