Understanding Kapha: How to Stay Healthy And Energized 

The ancient Asian philosophy places a very high essence on the existence of a human’s being based on three major Doshas. According to them, the Doshas make up the basis on which the body can be said to be optimally well and functioning; the physical, physiological and mental well being of an individual is said to be fully dependent on these Doshas.

The Ayurvedic philosophy claims that the three Doshas; known as Kapha, Vata and Pitta, are all made from the basic 5 universal elements present in nature. Kapha is commonly known to be made of earth and water while Vata is made of air and space and Pitta is widely known to be made of fire and water.

A simpler explanation for this will be that Pita is known as the transforming force of the body such as in fire and Vata is the driving force of that body such as in wind, while Kapha is known as the Dosha that fully connects these other two Dosha’s to each other in the body by fully nourishing the body.

Without a complete balance of fully effective Doshas, it is believed that the human body cannot be in its best health wellbeing without the occurrence of any kind of illness or health. However, it is also highly known that theses three Doshas cannot be present in equal parts in a particular individual; they usually present themselves in varying ratios in that particular individual. As such, a person can be known to have more of a particular Dosha type in him and is subsequently called to be of that Dosha type.

Each of the Dosha types is known to perform certain specific functions in the body. For instance, there is a specific Dosha associated with the mental and emotional wellbeing of an individual, there is another directly connected with the physiological functions of the body and another with the physical wellbeing of that individual.

The Kapha Dosha

The Kapha Dosha is made of the Earth and Water as its major element components. As such, it is directly related to the basis that is said to hold the body together through the body cells, and other structural components of the body. Kapha Dosha has certain specific qualities attributed to it and they are; oily, soft, cold, heavy, steady and slow. These qualities all combine together to help perform the major function of the Kapha Dosha; which is to help protect the body from external threats.

Physical characteristics of people with the Kapha Dosha

As earlier stated, some people are known as the Kapha people because they have a relatively high ratio of the Kapha Dosha predominant in them. In recognizing these set of people, there are certain attributes to look out for.

Generally, since the Kapha is associated with structures in the body and is responsible for the protection of the body, the Kapha people are known to be well built physically with a lot of stamina; they have big bones and strong muscles. They are also mostly known for their large and soft eyes, glowing skin and lush hair. In a balanced state, Kapha people have stable digestion but a slow metabolism and they sleep well.

Other characteristics of the Kapha people

Kapha people are generally known for their slow and graceful approach to life. They move slowly, eat slowly, and are known to have a slow and balanced pulse rate. Although Kapha people have a great body build and stamina, they still tend to avoid extreme physical activity and they have a huge appetite, especially after undergoing one.

The Kapha people live in a well balanced and harmonized emotional state with no sudden disrupt of this inner peace in them. This makes them live longer than the other Dosha types. They are the conservative types, they do not make decisions in haste and they remain calm and consistent in their decision making. Generally, they are known as a peaceful, forgiving and loving species of individuals.

What can an imbalanced Kapha result to? 

A disrupt to this balanced nature of a Kapha person may lead to various complications in them. For one, they will have an irregularity in their sleep pattern. Popular diseases associated with an imbalance in the Kapha people are oftentimes directly associated with the water component of the body.

Since it is responsible for the fluidity content of the body, its imbalance will cause diseases in almost all the systems of the body such as the musculosketal system(joints), Cardiovascular system (the heart), the respiratory system (lungs and bronchi) and also the digestive system. An imbalance is also closely associated with Non Communicable diseases such as obesity, heart failures and depression.

How to stay healthy and energized as a Kapha

In order to maintain a healthy state of health as a Kapha, there are natural lifestyles that can be adopted.

• Pay special attention to your diet intake; your diet intake consists of everything you take into your body. As such, endeavour to cut down on your intake of dairy, sugar and salt contents. Rather, you should increase your intake of water, vegetables, fruits and legumes.
• Special attention can be placed on increasing your intake of natural products and herbs; products such as shilajit resin, ginger or ashwagandha are natural supplies of certain nutrients that may not be found in your everyday meal and as such its intake should be encouraged.
• Maintain a standard form of physical activity
• Maintain an air-free space, cleared of various clutter types
• Have favouritism for bright colours to warm the heart.

Conclusion

A full understanding of the Dosha types will help you to successfully categorize your body into its Dosha type. The Kapha Dosha, once fully understood is a type that can be easily maintained and energized without undue special activities. Following these natural steps will help to create the balance needed by the body for its optimal well being.