good monday morning to you m’loves!
did you play nicely with the other boys & girls this weekend?
saturday i went downward dog into my doshas with a six-hour workshop on the ayurveda world, a 5,000 year old indian science of balancing the body and the mind.
i was introduced to ayurveda years ago, and have always tried to incorporate its principles into my life. i truly believe it has helped harmonize the woes in my brain and in my gut.
my results always conclude undeniably vata: forever cold {even in 9o degree heat}, extreme bouts of fatigue, always on the go, prone to worry, flexible, and most productive in the hours of 2am to 6am {ding! ding! ding!}.Â
but there are other parts of vata that do NOT resonate at ALL: loves excitement and new experiences??? methinks a big, fat NO! the only thing new and exciting this girl wants is a “maybe” a fresh, new pillow case for tonight’s largesse, sleep. but only if it’s white and organic cotton. anything else is too deviant and nonsensical for me.
vatas loves to be social. are you kidding me? i wouldn’t see it in the theaters because i thought “the social network” was a horror flick. i have terrible social anxiety, and quell it with minimal outings and bread baskets.
vatas tends to be spontaneous. um, hello? i have three filofaxes, a wall calendar, a desk planner, and the icalendar. i sync them all up each morning and night. it’s like taking a hit of crack cocaine matching all my appointments up.
but all is good. i have learned that my need to schedule my day down to 15 minute increments, and my propensity to work, work or nap, nap over whooping it up on the town is apparently my way of balancing my crazy dosha.
there are two other doshas. pittas are intense perfectionists, warm in body temperature, ample in energy and often outspoken with a sometime fiery tongue. a kapha is calm, peaceful and kind. kaphas often like to lay around the house for days, solo, not doing a single thing. they are loyal, but sometimes almost to a fault.
i’ve only touched on the mindful aspects of the doshas. how we can use certain foods to stabilize our systems is another remarkable tool of ayurvedic science. for instance, pittas need to balance their fire with cool foods, and kaphas need to invigorate their lethargic tendencies with spicy foods. i love it!
do you know your dosha? do you already intuitively balance it out with foods and activities?
monday happy m’loves.
What a great post Katie and that worshop must've been amazing! I haven't thought about ayurveda much since moving here, but it was a big part of my previous yoga life and I have seen ayurveda doctors in India and LA, I can't remember my type, but think I was supposed to eat spicy foods…so slothful lethargy must be a long-time trait! I am so impressed by your calendar-ing. I wish I could be more like that!
xoxo Mary Jo
p.s. thank you for your insanely sweet comment on my interview–I blush!
You'd never guess I am mainly a Pitta 🙂 but since I run cold like you … I have a little Vata in me! See you in spin tomorrow, it's on my planner that I carry around and on our calendar at home 🙂 he he he he!
I'm mostly pitta with a dash of kapha.. Love the ayurveda!
Teach me more! All of this sounds so incredible and I'm definitely unfamiliar with it. My guess is that I might run cold but in reality, pitta sounds more my style. How can I learn more about all this?
So I took an online test and it confirmed my Pitta suspicion. And when I read the foods I should eat and those I should avoid, I was like "yup, that's me."