Types of Constitution - Prakriti

There are two classifications of a person in Ayurveda. One relates to the body, and the second relates to the mind. Your nature is determined by this combination of body and mind types, and this is known as your Prakriti. Prakriti means "Constitution".

Guna Prakriti - Mental Constitutionn

Vedic philosophy classifies human temperaments into three basic qualities: satva, rajas and tamas. relative predominance of either satva, rajas, or tamas is responsible for individual psychological constitution.

Satvic Mental Constitutions:
The people in whom satvic qualities predominate are religious, loving, compassionate and pure minded. They have good manners, behavior and conduct. They do not get easily upset or angry. Although they work hard mentally, they do not get mental fatigue. They are creative, humble and respectful of their teachers. Worshipping God and humanity, they love all and care for people.

Rajas Mental Constitutions:
The people in whom rajas qualities are predominate are egoistic, ambitious, aggressive, proud, competitive, and have a tendency to control others. They like power, prestige, position, and are perfectionists. They are hard working people, but are lacking in proper planning and direction. Emotionally, they are angry, jealous, ambitious. They have a fear of failure, are subject to stress, and soon lose their mental energy. They are loving, calm and patient only as long as their self interests are served. They are good, loving, friendly and faithful only to those who are helpful to them. Their activities are self- centered .

Tamas Mental Constitutions:
The people in whom tamas qualities predominate are less intelligent. They tend towards depression, laziness, and excess sleep, even during the day. A little mental work tires them easily. They like jobs of less responsibility, and they love to eat, drink, sleep and have sex. They are greedy, possessive, attached, irritable, and do not care for others.

Deha Prakriti - Body Constitutionn

Every individual has a unique combination of the three doshas- Vata, Pitta and Kapha. To understand this individuality is the foundation of Diagnosis and Treatment in Ayurveda.

Vata Qualities:
vata is dry, light, cold, mobile, active, clear, astringent, and it is dispersing. All of these qualities can manifest in an individual. For example, if a person has excess vata in his or her constitution, because of the dry quality, he or she will have dry hair, dry skin, tendency towards constipation. Because of the light quality, the person will have a light body frame, light muscles, thin and underweight. Because of the cold quality, the person will have cold hands, cold feet and poor circulation. They hate the cold season and love summer. Because of the mobile quality, these people are very active. They like jogging and jumping and don't like sitting in one place. the subtle quality is responsible for the emotions of fear, anxiety, insecurity and nervousness.

Pitta Qualities:
It has hot, sharp, light, liquid, sour, oily and spreading qualities. Because of the hot quality, the pitta person has a strong appetite and warm skin. The body temperature is a little higher than the vata person. The second quality of pitta is sharp, therefore the pitta person has a sharp nose, teeth, eyes, mind and while talking uses sharp words. They also have very sharp memory. Because of the oily quality, they have soft warm oily skin, straight oily hair, and the feces are oily and liquid. They have a tendency to gray prematurely, a sign of early maturity.Pitta girls get earlier menstruation and reach puberty earlier. Because of the light quality, pitta people are moderate in body frame, and they do not like bright light. Because of too much heat in the body, they tends to loose his hair in early youth and have a receding hair line, or bald head. The next quality of pitta is strong smell. When they perspires, under the arm pit there is a typical sulfur smell, and if he doesn't wash his socks, they will have a strong smell. They are often wise, brilliant people, and can have a controlling, dominating personality. They have a tendency towards comparison, competition, ambition, and they have a quality of aggressiveness, so naturally they criticize. Pitta people tend to get inflammatory diseases, while vata predominant people tend to get neurological, muscular and rheumatic problems.

Kapha Qualities:
kapha will have heavy, slow, cool, oily, liquid, dense, thick, static and cloudy qualities. Because of the heavy quality, these people have heavy bones, muscles and fat. They will have a tendency to put on weight. Because of the slow quality, they have slow metabolism and digestion. They walk slowly and talk slowly. They don't like jogging and jumping. They love eating, sitting and doing nothing.Kapha is cool hencekapha people have cool, clammy skin. Kapha people have thick wavy hair, and big, attractive eyes. They have slow but prolonged, steady memory. Kapha people are forgiving, loving and compassionate. thekapha person has a sweet tooth and loves candy, cookies and chocolate.

   Your constitution can be determined by an Ayurvedic physician or in the absence of an Ayurvedic physician, you can diagnose your own tendency towards a particular constitution. You can discover if your constitution leans towards vata (wind), pitta (fire) or kapha (water). This can help you to know how an imbalance is likely to occur in yourself.

   Suppose you have a kapha (water) dominant constitution then you may have a tendency to overweight,over-emotional nature or suffer congestion in the chest. So you should modify your diet, life style, daily routine and other activities accordingly, for example, avoid sleeping too much in the day or eating too many sweets, to maintain your health and also to cure the diseases .Thus it is very important to know the personal Ayurvedic constitution.

Now your prakriti can be determined on-line.

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Diagnosis in Ayurvedic system of medicine can not be complete without defining the constitution of an individual. Because treatment differs according to Prakriti of an individual. This ebook is very useful for patients, students, practioners, researchers and for all of you, who are interested in Ayurvedic Science.
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