In this blog which is the continuation of our last blog, we shall discuss VATA Dosha in detail including the qualities of the Dosha as well as what happens when the Dosha is out of balance.

As Vata is made of space and air elements, it is about Movement.

Vata controls all the movement in the body. It controls the flow of blood, the flow of lymphatic fluid, the vocal cords when you speak, the motion of body parts like arms and legs, even movement and speed of thoughts.

Qualities of Vata: They are same as qualities of its elements which are cold, light, dry, irregular, rough, moving, quick, changeable.

Here are the Physical Characteristics of people who have Vata Dosha predominance.

Physical Characteristics: Thin, light frame, agile, fast, quick, and extremely mobile. They have dry skin and hair. Their feet and legs are always cold. They are very light sleepers and have sensitive digestion. Also, they experience bursts of energy.  At one time they feel highly energetic and will get everything done in minutes but very soon they will get tired and experience fatigue as they have high speed but low endurance. They sleep lightly and their digestion can be sensitive. Also, they are nibblers. Instead of 3 proper meals a day, they prefer to munch and have small meals frequently. They are like squirrels of the human world. I observe squirrels in the woods in my backyard. They are always moving. Just can’t sit still. If you pay attention to nature you will find a lot of Vata Creatures like squirrels, hummingbirds, deer, rabbits, gazelle, Cheetah.

Emotional Characteristics: Vatas love excitement and new experiences. They will be always ready to start new projects but with a short attention span and love for every new excitement they will move on to the next exciting project before completing the previous one. They have a lot of unfinished projects in their garage. They tend to start everything quickly but finish nothing. If you go to the party, you will be able to spot Vatas easily. They are starry-eyed drawing attention and talking with excitement with someone and within a couple of seconds, they are gone to share their excitement with another person. living the first person wondering what happened. They are very talkative; they like to tell exciting juicy stories and exaggerate things. They are quick to anger but also quick to forgive. When Vatas are in balance, they are energetic, creative, artistic, and flexible. They also take initiative and are lively conversationalists.

When the Vata Dosha becomes unbalanced, this imbalance manifests in the body as weight loss, constipation, hypertension, arthritis, weakness, restlessness, and digestive challenges. Also when unbalanced they worry, become anxious, suffer from insomnia. They feel overwhelmed or stressed easily and when they do are likely to ask, “What did I do wrong?”

 As we had mentioned in our last blog that as per Ayurveda, our mind-body type is determined at the moment of conception. We all are born with a unique combination of the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha Doshas and it stays constant throughout our life. This is also known as our Prakruti—a Sanskrit term that means “nature” Your Prakruti cannot be changed and remains constant throughout your life. Trying to change your Prakruti is like trying to change your height from short to tall or trying to change the color of your eyes from black to blue.

Your unique mind-body constitution or Dosha or Prakruti is the reference point and based on it there will be somethings that will keep you in harmony with your nature while other things might create disharmony and cause you to move out of balance and create disease. The disease is nothing but an absence of ease

There is another term which one must keep in mind and that is Vikruti. It is your current state of imbalance and can change throughout the year and throughout your lifetime. Your Vikruti is influenced by all of your lifestyle, your experiences, and your choices. For example, your Prakruti or mind-body constitution may be Pitta, but if you’ve been busy due to work and (Pitta tend to become workaholics) so you do not eat proper meals and are not getting enough sleep. Hence you start skipping meals, experiencing mental strain due to work pressure, and do not get enough sleep, you may develop a Vata imbalance. We refer to this imbalance as “excess Vata” or “aggravated Vata.”

There is a fundamental principle in Ayurveda, known as the principle of Samanya (similarity) and Vishesha (difference).  This principle of Samanya and Vishesha states that similarity of all substances is always the cause of increase and dissimilarity is the cause of the decrease. Samanya also means similarity or same or equal while Vishesha means dissimilarity or different or opposite.

In simple words, it means that equality will increase and the opposite will decrease so to balance overactive or out of balance VATA, a person will need to bring in things which have opposite qualities than of basic qualities of VATA.

Ayurveda uses 5 senses to bring any imbalance into balance. Taste, Touch, Sound, Sight, and Smell. Sound, Sight, and Smell help to balance out of balance VATA mind while Taste and Touch help to balance out of balance VATA body.

Balancing VATA

By Taste : The best tastes to pacify Vata are sweet, salty, and sour. Minimize foods that are pungent, bitter, or astringent since these tastes increase Vata.
To counterbalance the light, dry, cool nature of the Vata dosha, Ayurveda traditionally recommends foods that are heavy, oily, and warm.

By Touch: Perform Massage with light gentle strokes with heavier, warming oils such as sesame or almond oil.

By Sound: To balance the unbalanced VATA mind, Choose sounds that are warm, relaxing, slow, and grounding, such as cello compositions or Gregorian chants, or traditional classical instrumental music. Music that incorporates slow drum beats or a steady low bass can be especially soothing.

By Sight: Out of balance VATA mind can be balanced with mild pastel colors, colors of nature, earthy tones.

By Smell: Floral, fruity, sweet, and sour aromas, such as basil, orange, geranium, clove, lavender, vanilla, and patchouli can help balance the VATA mind.

Most of the time, the imbalance happens in the mind first, and then it manifests in the body. The key is to be very mindful and listen to our bodies. If you pay attention to the whispers, you will never have to address the screams. The information provided here can be overwhelming so use the grocery store approach. Take what works for you and implement it and leave the rest as not everything is for everyone.