Conscious Eating Part 5

Physical Characteristics of Vata People.

People with a vata const.i.tution are generally thin, flat-chested, have noticeable veins and muscle tendons, and have difficulty gaining weight. The quality of dryness of the vata energy leads to a tendency to have dry, cracked skin and a thinness of the body. Such people tend to be more dark-skinned as compared to others of the same racial background and they tan easily. The skin of a vata person chaps easily and is p.r.o.ne to eczema and psoriasis. Oiling the skin is both balancing and healing for a vata, especially if done regularly. Rubbing oil on the skin, especially sesame oil, seems to balance the vata tendency for roughness, dryness, irritability, and lightness. This also seems to be emotionally soothing for those with a vata const.i.tution.

The hair of vata people tends to be dark, coa.r.s.e, and curly. Because of the quality of variability, head hair may be oily or dry in different places. The nails of a vata person are usually rough, irregular, and show marked ridges or depressions. The color of the finger just below the nails may look slightly bluish or gray in color. Nail-biters are often vatas. Irregularity also shows up in the teeth. A vata's teeth may be bucked, crooked, and uneven. Teeth tend to be brittle and overly sensitive to hot and cold. The jaw is often out of alignment with the rest of the mouth. Gums may recede early in life, and there may be an astringent or bitter taste in vata mouths.

Because of the vata quality of coldness these people crave the sun. Their circulation is usually poor and so their skin is cool to touch. Their innate coldness leads to scanty sweating. They love external heat sources such as the sun, saunas, and hot springs. Vata people love warm climates and more easily go out of balance in the windy, cold time of the year, such as in the fall and winter. A smart vata will dress warmly and may put cayenne powder in his or her socks and shoes during cold weather.

Vatas may be tall or short with narrow shoulders and/or hips. They tend to have long fingers and toes. The vata quality of irregularity leads to unbalanced body proportions and structural abnormalities, such as deviated septums, scoliosis, or bowed legs. The irregularity of a vata may also manifest as fluctuations in weight. These are also the people who seem to be able to eat almost anything without gaining weight.

Typical eye colors of vatas are grey or slate blue. They may also be dark brown or black. Vatas are erratic eaters. They often are in a hurry to eat but may take more food than they can eat. They also may eat too much and have trouble digesting it all. Their appet.i.tes are variable from day to day, and they often need to have snacks between meals. If breakfast is missed they usually function poorly because of the vata tendency toward hypoglycemia. The vata tendency to irregularity does not easily hold blood sugar levels stable. Unless vatas eat a heavy breakfast, they will usually want to eat an early lunch. Those with a vata const.i.tution have a harder time fasting unless they get juices every few hours.

Vata people tend to have irregular bowel function. Sometimes they have constipation and sometimes diarrhea. Their tendency to be irregular and to become dry gives some vata women irregular menstrual periods. Sometimes vata women miss their periods or they have scanty flow. Cramping with their periods is sometimes accentuated, as muscle spasms and cramping is a vata tendency.

Food Needs of Vata People.

Vata people can eat a raw-food diet if they eat heavier, oily foods such as avocado and soaked nuts and seeds, both of which have water to balance their dryness and oil to balance their lightness. Heating herbs help vatas by giving their raw food the warmth it needs. Since vatas have a tendency to be cold and to get cold, warming up food to 110-118 F in the sun or the stove is an especially good practice for a vata who likes raw foods. Vatas are unbalanced by the dryness of dried fruit but can eat some if they add back the water element by first soaking the fruit. Vatas should eat at regular intervals and not go too long without eating. Blending raw vegetables into a liquid soup form is good for vatas in that it supplies the water element in an easily digestible way while still preserving the enzymes. This blending process and soaking of nuts and seeds helps to minimize the gas that vata people tend to have because of the inherent air quality of their basic const.i.tution. In general, vata people are best maintained in balance with soupy, oily, salty, and warm foods. This is particularly true for those vatas who have been successful on a raw-food diet.

Psychophysiology of Vata People.

The vata psychophysiological type tends to be active and restless but often has low endurance. They have fluctuations in their energy and a tendency to expend energy quickly-they love to burn it up as soon as they get it. The tendency is to overextend themselves and burn out like a match which flames brightly and then exhausts itself. Exercise often tires them out. Like their energy, their pulses tend to be fast, thin, and irregular. Their s.e.xual activity tends to mirror this as well. They may have intense interest in s.e.x which peaks when it is expended in lovemaking. They have a tendency for s.e.xual overindulgence which often leads to exhaustion.

Creativity comes easily for a vata person. They have alert, active, and restless minds that verbalize rapidly. Sometimes they can become mentally fatigued easily. They are quick to understand things intellectually. Vata people often are the visionaries, artists, and people who theorize. They love excitement and variation in lifestyle. When in balance, a vata person is vivacious, energetic, talkative, gregarious, and enthusiastic.

Their sensitivity to subtle energies, desire for harmony, and open-mind-edness make it easy for them to pursue a spiritual life. Sometimes their will power is weak and needs to be exercised to increase it through balanced, harmonious discipline. Vatas tend to have quick memories and forget easily. They think predominantly in words. Often they are very sensitive to changing environmental activity and are affected by noise and pain. Loud music may actually be painful to them. I often think of vatas as people whose nervous systems have less insulation. They are knocked off their "center" the most easily compared to the other dosha types. Balancing vata in general can miraculously clear up many nervous system imbalances.

Vatas also have a tendency to insomnia. They either have difficulty falling asleep or they awaken early. They dream frequently and often have flying dreams or dreams that are intense and active. Because of the sensitivity of their nervous system they tend to be nervous, anxious, and fearful. Vatas may be irritable and anger easily, but it is an anger that fades quickly. Vatas' active minds require continual stimulation. They make friends easily, but often the relationships are not sustained. Often these people appear to be "s.p.a.ce cases." Vatas are receptive and open to spiritual development. It even comes easily for them, but they have a tendency for poor follow-through. They may move from one stylish social group, or experimental activity or group, to another.

Spiritual Challenge for Vata People.

One of the most important spiritual challenges for people with vata const.i.tutions is learning how to regulate their energy and balance their lifestyle so they do not fall into the unbalancing syndrome of overextension of their energies and the resulting chronic exhaustion. As a medical doctor I have instructed my vata clients in developing and mastering a balanced, regular, harmonious lifestyle. They become quite pleased with the improved quality of their health and spiritual life. Balance is one of the most difficult achievements for a vata. It is, however, stability that allows them to manifest their vision.

How to Recognize an Imbalance in the Vata Dosha.

I can often recognize an imbalance of vata on the psychological level as nervousness, fear, anxiety, insomnia, pain, tremors, and spasms. This vata imbalance may also reveal itself in its drying tendencies as rough skin, arthritis, emaciation, stiffness, constipation, general dryness, thirst, insomnia, excessive sensitivity, and excitability. Vatas have a tendency to manifest large intestine disorders and to suffer from excessive gas. A vata disorder may also manifest in the muscle system with low back pain or in the nervous system with sciatica, paralysis, and various types of neuralgias. Almost any sort of psychosomatic symptom can be connected to a vata imbalance.

These vata imbalances more often manifest during weather conditions such as cold, windy, stormy weather. I once was able to solve the problem of insomnia of one of my vata patients by suggesting that this person turn off his fan at night. The wind from the fan was causing a vata imbalance and the consequent insomnia.

It seems that with vata people, anything excessive such as strenuous exercise, mental work, extreme diet changes, grief, anger, suppression of natural urges, severe weather conditions, or any activities taken to the limit will cause an imbalance. A calm, stable environment will usually bring a vata person back into balance.

Several of my predominantly vata clients have found that to successfully live in the world they need to pay constant attention to keeping their lifestyle and diet balanced. I have found that high-functioning vatas approach their vata const.i.tution as a spiritual challenge. When they don't, pure vata types have difficulties adjusting to society. To ill.u.s.trate with a case example, when one of my patients first came to me she was a typical, thin, high-strung, anxious vata who was in constant turmoil with her husband. She was unable to commit herself to the role of mother and frequently spoke about "skipping out" as she had done in the past. She was using marijuana and other stimulating drugs. She was on a heavy flesh-food diet and she ate at irregular intervals. She often tackled projects in the work world that would overwhelm her. She was depressed and angry with herself and her work. After eighteen months of nutritional and dietary work, homeopathy, family therapy, and meditation training, her life was transformed into a model of balance and harmony that she could hardly believe. Her marriage became a happy one, she began to enjoy her motherhood, she meditated on a regular basis, she changed to a balanced, vegetarian, 80% raw-food diet, and got off drugs. She stopped taking on those stressful extra projects and focused on making her home her own Garden of Eden. A key component in her success was increased self-understanding, which included an understanding of her vata const.i.tution, and committing herself to not creating stressful situations on any level in her life. By seeing her vata const.i.tution as a spiritual challenge rather than a limitation, she turned her chaotic, unhappy life into one experienced by her as blessed.

Another vata const.i.tution patient who came to see me was already on a spiritual path and quite aware of her vata const.i.tution. One major balancing factor for her was sticking to an 80-90% raw-food, vegetarian diet. She was extremely sensitive, and when she wandered from this diet, her mind and body would go out of balance. One typical characteristic of vatas is what I call time disease. They tend to overextend, stress out, and go into crises. A major improvement in this person's vata-balancing effort occurred when she became strong enough to refuse to let herself be overworked by the demands of the spiritual group she belonged to. Healthy vatas usually have learned to "say no" and have become experts in their own time and stress management strategies.

My const.i.tutional type is kapha-vata. One way my vata manifests is in the musculoskeletal system. By doing stretching and breathing exercises regularly, I have found a way to keep my vata balanced. Traveling is a vata stress for me so it is a time when I pay particular attention to hatha yoga and other vata-balancing factors. Because travel is potential stress for my const.i.tutional type, I have found that the day after I arrive at my destination it's best to eat lightly and only do light yoga and exercise. When I travel, I keep myself warm and avoid cold breezes that are unbalancing to vata. These might seem like little things, but to me they have meant the difference between feeling great and full of energy or suffering with a stiff neck or some pulled muscle.

Summary of Ways to Unbalance Vata People.

Avoid calm, soothing environments.

Be excessively physically and mentally active with travel, overscheduling, overworking, excessive fasting, or extended periods of any extreme.

Live chaotically without any regular schedule or rhythm connected with the natural Earth cycles, such as working a graveyard shift, eating irregularly, and being on the run.

Don't get enough sleep, rest, or meditation.

Live in a windy, cold environment.

Use cocaine, speed, and other drugs.

Overly act out or suppress feelings.

Eat dry, frozen leftovers; cooling, light, bitter, astringent, and pungent foods.

Engage in worry, fear, and excess mental activity.

Summary of Ways to Balance Vata People.

Live in a warm, moist, tranquil environment with a minimum of wind. Keep warm.

Live moderately and in a balanced, regular way in harmony with Earth cycles. Always be gentle to oneself. Avoid all physical, emotional, and mental excesses.

Eat warm and moist foods that have some oil content and do not stimulate gas (avoid beans). Avoid drinks and foods that have been chilled, frozen, or have ice cubes.

Eat foods that have sweet, salty, and sour tastes and are not light and dry (avoid dried or dehydrated food).

Get adequate sleep.

Meditate regularly to maintain a calm mind.

Try to make the environment as secure and safe as possible.

Kapha Dosha.

Images of Kapha Dosha People.

KAPHA CHARACTERISTICS ARE ALMOST OPPOSITE the characteristics of vatas. The symbolic animals are the elephant, bull, horse, sea turtle, or lion. Kapha dosha people have physical characteristics similar to that of most football linemen. Kaphas are the quiet, heroic work horses of the world who do their job without complaining. Kapha men and women are the quiet, family-oriented, homebody and homebuilder type people who are comfortable with the status quo. They tend to store and steward their energy in every aspect of their lives, whether it be body or money energy. They have pack rat tendencies in that they collect and hold onto everything, including possessions, money, the past, people, energy, words, and their weight. Kapha possesses many of the qualities of earth and water combined, such as we experience with mucus or mud. Kapha is inert, thick, heavy, sluggish, stable, viscous, sticky, cold, and slow-moving. A "couch potato" is an image that fits a kapha who is in a kapha imbalance.

Physical Characteristics of Kapha People.

Weight is one place kaphas regularly tend to store energy. Kapha females and males have a difficult time losing weight. Females tend to gain weight in the lower part of their bodies, such as the hips and b.u.t.tocks. Kapha women tend toward water retention, especially premenstrually. The menstrual periods of kapha women are usually regular without excessive blood flow, and generally not too difficult.

Kaphas have heavy bone structures with wide shoulders and hips. Fingers and toes are usually short and squarish in relation to the rest of the body. The tendency to store energy is reflected in kapha's thickness and tendency to be heavy, to gain weight easily, and to store it most obviously in the hips and downward in the body. They are well-proportioned in terms of the relative sizes of body parts, and their joints are well-lubricated.

The skin of a kapha person is well-oiled, tans easily, and is smooth and thick. There may be a few freckles and an occasional mole. The skin may be cool but not cold, because kaphas usually have good circulation. Kaphas usually perspire moderately. Typical kapha hair is oily, slightly wavy, thick, and brown or dark brown. Nails are strong, large, and symmetrical, as are the teeth. The tongue of kaphas is rarely coated. A sweetish taste may be present in their mouths when they become unbalanced. Kapha eyes are often large and liquid, blue but also milk chocolate in color. Like their physical attributes, a typical kapha pulse is slow, full, rhythmic, and strong.

Exercise is very beneficial for kapha people. They tend to do poorly if they do not get sufficient or regular exercise. Paradoxically, they are not motivated to exercise until they actually begin to experience the sense of well-being regular exercise gives them. They often have good muscle tone and coordination and are the best able to endure vigorous exercise of the different dosha types.

In the realm of s.e.xual activity kaphas tend to have a lower s.e.x drive compared to the other doshas since they inherently like to conserve their energies; but, as with exercise, when they actually reap s.e.xual satisfaction this encourages them to engage in s.e.x more often because the experience was positive. Kaphas, as part of their homebuilding energy, are also very fertile.

The sleep of a kapha person is usually deep and long. They are the longest sleepers of the three doshas. They characteristically awake refreshed and alert. However, if they take naps during the day, they usually awake groggy and slow. Rarely do they have insomnia. Their dreams are usually calm and peaceful.

Food Needs of Kapha People.

The digestion in a kapha is slow and regular. Digestion is especially slowed if oily or fatty foods are ingested. Kaphas have a tendency to move their bowels one time per day. Their appet.i.tes are moderate, and they are the least thirsty of the three dosha types. Excess water may throw them into imbalance. My experience is that these people do better on less than the commonly recommended eight gla.s.ses of water per day. In my laboratory I'm able to test for optimal hydration. Often those with a kapha const.i.tution who drink six to eight gla.s.ses of water per day test as overhydrated. Because I eat primarily fruit and vegetables, if I, as a kapha-vata, drink more than four gla.s.ses of water per day I test as overhydrated. Excess fluid may precipitate a kapha imbalance, especially if it is a time of day when the kapha forces are strongest, such as 6 AM to 10 AM and 6 PM to 10 PM.

Kaphas are balanced by a diet that is light, warm, and dry. Oily, fatty, fried, salty, sweet, cold, and heavy foods create a kapha imbalance. The all-American diet of high fat and sugar content plus excess salt is the worst for kaphas. Fast foods are a disaster for them. Most dairy products are also unbalancing for a kapha const.i.tution. Raw foods with an abundance of bitter and astringent greens with some heating and pungent herbs const.i.tute the best type of diet because of kapha's tendency to gain weight and have slow digestion. The lighter kaphas eat at each meal, the easier their digestion and the better their health will be.

Psychophysiology of Kapha People.

The typical kapha personality is calm, quiet, steady, relaxed, and serious. They are the easy-going types who are the most unlikely to become upset by stress. Intellectually, they may at first be slow to comprehend, but once they grasp a concept they are able to work with it and hold on to it. In concert with their mental activity, they tend to speak slowly and carefully. They may be temperamentally disinclined to talk in that they do not initiate conversations easily unless they feel they have something of use to say. The voices of kapha people are often low and sonorous. There is a certain sweetness about kaphas in tone, voice, and manner.

Tolerance, calmness, forgiveness, and love are predominant kapha characteristics, as are righteousness, generosity, patience, humility, steadiness in relationships, and stability of mind. There is a tendency to avoid confrontations. Kapha people often withdraw when confronted. There is a turtle quality about the social interaction of a kapha. Sweetness in their human interactions will lure them out of their sh.e.l.l.

Sometimes kaphas tend toward complacency and avoidance of change. They have a tendency toward inertia, as is typical of a tendency to store energy rather than expend it. But once the ball is rolling they can have strong emotions. They tend to procrastinate if they feel under pressure. Kaphas take a long time to make up their minds, but once committed to an action or a friendship, they are very loyal to the commitment. An imbalance of the kapha personality may manifest as pa.s.sivity, inertia, oversensitivity, possessiveness, or greed. Overattachment and greed are the two most common kapha imbalances.

Kapha types tend to experience their world and express themselves through their senses and emotions. They are linked to the material world. They tend to acc.u.mulate possessions. Their tendency to familiarity, long-term commitments, and the material world makes them be home- and family-centered in their desires and skills. A kapha mind retains information well, but kaphas are not particularly the theorizers of the world. They are good at settling down and running things once they are built, but they are not inventors of machines or explorers who discover new lands. Kaphas think in terms of stabilizing systems rather than creating systems. They are conciliators. This makes them good managers and bureaucrats. The tendency to resist change sometimes makes them inflexible. Kaphas are the solid citizens of the world who enjoy their lives and do not make too many waves unless they are pushed too far.

Spiritual Challenge of Kapha People.

A main spiritual task for a kapha is overcoming the tendency for inertia and complacency in a way that brings them into an active personal interaction established in the moment with people and the Divine. Kaphas may become stuck in the orthodoxy of a particular form of spiritual ritual or routine and lose the meaning and pa.s.sion for the Divine in the process. The key task is learning how to use their groundedness and their tendency for form to support and sustain an active, dynamic, expanding spiritual life that will transcend the form in order to keep them in communion with the Divine.

How to Recognize an Imbalance in the Kapha Dosha.