Vata dosha
Attributes
Slim build. Either quite small or very tall. Long limbs. Small facial features sometimes with a protruding nose. Dry lips and skin, small eyes, likely dark in colour. Bony. Curly hair or dry hair. Cold hands and feet.
Excitable, speaks fast, poor memory, curious, people pleasing, loves chatting, creative, optimistic, loves to move and dance around, loves feeling free and does not like to be controlled, too much routine is not good for them as they can become quickly obsessed with it but they need some, irregular appetite, obsessive, easily emotional, disorganised (often late for things), fast thinking.
Aggravated (these are things you might see in someone with vata imbalance, but this might not be their original dosha but we must treat the imbalance first).
Anxiety, insomnia, dry skin/eczema (can lead to asthma), weight loss, bloating, chronic fatigue/ ME, paralysis, motor neurone disease, dementia, osteoporosis and bone disorders, aching joints, weak bones, dizziness, insecurity, hyperactivity, cramps, palpitations, chills; poor circulation, talking too fast, difficulty in swallowing, dryness of the throat, constipation, OCD, eating disorders.
Main causes of Vata imbalance
Habitual use of food having identical properties to Vata dosha such as dry, cold, light or rough foods
Inadequate quantities of food; fasting; excessive weight loss
Excessive exercise (specially aerobic)
Inadequate sleep; not sleeping at night and sleeping during the day
Excessive talking and laughing; keeping bad company
Prolonged exposure to loud music or loud sounds
Suppression of natural urges such as hunger, thirst, urination, elimination, yawning, burping, flatulence, accidents, obstruction of marma points
Horse riding
Excessive fast travel (planes, trains and automobiles)
Excessive exposure to the sun
Excessive meditation; isolation
Exposure to cold and windy conditions
Excessive thinking
Excessive concentration; excessive exposure to electronic media
Treatment for Vata imbalances
Oleation (internal and external) - application and massage using warm oils
Ingestion of foods which are sweet, sour and salty (mashed potato, broths, soups, stews, lightly spiced curry, coconut oil, creamy foods, warm and wet foods)
Warm oil bath (applying oil to the body before bathing)
Drugs of hot potency (in order to induce heat such as ginger or black pepper)
Comfortable activities such as singing, listening to light music, walks, parks, children, non-competitive activities
Exercise:
Vata should do gentle exercise that is warming and relaxing, such as flowing yoga practices (not hot yoga), walking in nature, swimming, dancing, cycling.
Relation to the chakras:
Vata links with these chakra as vata sits in this part of the body and they are made of the same element:
Anahata chakra / heart chakra
Primordial element - air
It is the chakra of devotion, love and trust
There is a connecting pathway from heart to throat chakra
Vata has the strongest emotions and connection to this area.
As vata also occupies the throat chakra when vata dosha feels unable to express themselves and the emotions coming from their heart chakra often a blockage is created in the throat. This can take the form dryness, soreness or lack of speech/inability to think of words.
Vishuddha chakra / throat chakra
Throat region
Primordial element - space
Chakra of communication, the inner meets with the outer
Poor expression and communication can block chakra
By opening the chakra, one feels love and connection to self and others and it helps in improving creativity.
Jobs for Vata
Vata tends to enjoy and excel in jobs relating to people. Particularly either working in direct contact with clients on a daily basis or regularly working in a team where tasks are completed together.
Vata loves communication so any job involving this may be appropriate.
Vata is often creative so being in this field of work also might be good for them.
Vata like to be physical so a job containing physical activity might be good, but not with too much repetition.
Vata needs more time when doing paper work and organising as this is challenging for them, a job where this is the majority of the workload would not be appropriate.
Vata gets overwhelmed by things easily and so needs a good work/life balance. They are better suited doing part-time work or self employment.
Vata needs to feel autonomy and freedom, so a flexible working schedule where they can decide works a lot better to sustain a job.
They are good at persuasion and so jobs in sales can be fulfilling for them too.
Pitta dosha
Attributes
Medium build. Medium height. Strong body. Medium facial features. More likely to have lighter coloured eyes (hazel or green) that are piercing. Oilier hair, sometimes light brown or ginger or bold. More likely to go grey prematurely. Lighter skin with moles and freckles, easily sunburned.
Organised, confident, intelligent, quick-witted, powerful, takes leadership, strong mental capacity for learning, ambitious, driven, efficient, has high expectations, focussed, visual appearance is very important to them.
Aggravated (these are things you might see in someone with pitta imbalance, this might not be their original dosha but we must treat the imbalance first).
Increase in body temperature, craving for foods with pitta qualities (oily, sharp, hot, light, unpleasant in odour, mobile and liquid), irritation of eyes, excessive sweating, increase in desire, hyperactivity, quick temper and frustration, night sweats, nightmares, uncontrollable feelings of desire, jealousy and being excessively goal orientated, excessive desire for a luxury lifestyle and fear of loss of such lifestyle, excessive self criticism and judgment, desire for excessive control of food, activity, lifestyle, anger and aggression, self harm, blood disorders, high blood pressure, headaches, loss of hair and eye site, IBS, loose bowel movements, burning sensations, inflammation, rashes and allergic reactions,