Have you ever wondered which body types go together well in a relationship? Match making is quite an intriguing topic when you consider all the qualities that are at play between the dosha types. Infinite scenarios pop into my imagination of opposites attracting or repulsing and similarities nourishing or consuming each other’s features. Yet, I can’t ignore the fact that there is something that can overcome all differences and similarities equally. There is something quite simple about the whole ayurvedic match making scene.

I’m going to start breaking that down from the basics.

As many of you know, ayurvedically, we consider people being a combo of three body types, or doshas, called vata, pitta and kapha i.e. wind, fire and phlegm respectively… WHAT!?? That doesn’t sound very scientific nor attractive!

But is is…. If you look at these words as metaphors, you see that wind causes movement, fire creates change and phlegm is like glue. It holds us together. Our bodies, functionally, are movement, change and cohesion. We could be talking about catabolism, metabolism and anabolism but never mind, let’s get back to our topic of relationships….

The most prominent dosha expresses its presence in physique. However, physique is not as important when it comes to hooking up with each other. It is the mental part, the psyche of each that defines the best match.

Where the mind is concerned, we are compartmentalising our individual features in sattva, rajas and tamas. A bit like vata, pitta and kapha but not quite. Together called gunas, they determine what mood we are in. Rajasic mind would be that of action: thoughts run. Tamasic mind would be still, like in that replenishing sleep or in that blissful millisecond during meditation. The mind oscillates between two opposite states. Sometimes its active sometimes it isn’t. The balance keeps us healthy. Where’s the sattva then?

Sattva, referring to balance and love, is like a superimposed setting on rajas and tamas. Action and inaction need to happen in harmony and controlled from a perspective of loving kindness. Sattva is not a state of mind on its own. It is either harmonious movement (sattvic rajas) or harmonious rest (sattvic tamas). We cannot exist in between.

Sattvic control is sometimes lost. We stop being nice. When we are challenged in any way, sattvic attitude helps us to monitor and evaluate the situation with reason and react appropriately.  But when sattva is lost and we lose our cool, reactions become disproportionate and damaging.

In social engagements we tend to behave well and maintain that sattva, ‘cos we like to be nice or at least, polite. But it so happens that occasionally someone can irritate the hell out of us and the cool is lost. Each of the dosha types would then start, at least in theory, behaving like wind, fire or phlegm….

Body types tend to behave in a similar way to their metaphor. Therefore, if you are a “windy” person, you would literarily move a lot. Vata folks like to express themselves in creative movement and often end up being artists. They are adaptable, curious and excited about everything.

“Fiery” folk burn bright. They are acute in mind and analyse and process information fast. Pitta’s are on top of their game of achieving what they want.

“Phlegmy” countenance promotes strong bonds. Kaphas stick solidly with their convictions whilst they express a motherly feeling of comfort and safety.

When vata people are controlled by sattva, they are a delight to hang out with, they have a sense of humour and creativity. When sattva is lost, they become needy, anxious, twitchy, garrulous and unbearably unreliable. Sattvic kapha and pitta could balance this unsteady lover but, if they also have lost it, kapha would withdraw in passive aggressiveness and pitta would get angry and shouty. Not a great match for vata in either of the cases.

Pitta folks are witty, they take action and can get loads done very quickly. They enjoy intellectual conversation and are quite passionate. They love vata because of the creative side that balances pitta’s regimental attitudes. Kapha gives pitta some cooling time and make them calm from their intense emotions. There is, however, the dark side of pitta which makes them a bit too intense and terribly irritable when sattva leaves the room. They judge, can’t take criticism and use attack as their defence. Not a good match for fragile vata nor resentful kapha. Or worse, another pitta!

When kapha is in balance they are supporting, protective, motherly, highly empathetic and solid in their beliefs. Perfect for a volatile vata, right? Not so when kapha withdraws from the world, is unresponsive, possessive and envious. Neither vata nor pitta wants to hang out with an uninteresting and sulking kapha.

Kapha folks would most definitely benefit from the company of a determined warming pitta to get them moving as they tend to be a bit too solid and grounded. Vata also helps them to feel blood running in their veins.

But, once pitta loses control they find kapha as irritable as hell in their slow pace. Sattvic pitta instead, is clever and has made a mental analysis to starts walking slower and softer and withholds the urge to lead and compete all the time.

I could go on and analyse all doshas under every gunic influence. However, the point is that every doshic type can be of both support and destruction to each other, depending on which gunic state they are in. When sattva rules, and may it rule forever, the combination of any dosha type becomes a celebration of each other’s unique and best features. In relationships, whether friends, family or lovers, the most important and the only important thing to remember is to practice maintaining sattva in movement and in stillness, in action and in inaction.

And lastly, we remember that no one is just of one dosha type. The combinations and permutations of each type are as many as there are humans. We are all a unique mixture of wind, fire and phlegm and it would be impossible to find watertight matches based on them because their good can turn to bad and ugly whenever sattvic control is lost. Any dosha type under the influence of sattva has the potential of turning the sattva back on in the partner and create a positive feedback loop where love shines brighter and brighter.

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We are witnessing something unique happening to humankind and nature around us. Observing the process unfold moment by moment is humbling. Scary as this all might seem we are already noticing the nature starting to react when there is a reduced interference and less obstacles and containment of its forces. I just saw a video of hundreds and hundreds of monkeys in Thailand able to run around the town free from human threat. I also saw images of canals in Venice running crystal clear water. We are seeing a rapid change at global level as a collective experience and I think this might be something to appreciate especially if nature is concerned. The situation is not pleasant from where I stand as a business owner however, I am curious to see what impact this all has on nature. Mother Earth is being given a moment of respite. Let’s wait and see how she will express her true beauty of abundance once humans stop trying to rule over her

Another observation of mine about this situation, looking at the maps of epicentres of the virus, is that the virus has mainly hit areas of the first world, or industrial world. Looks like the third world countries have suffered much less impact from the virus, as of yet. This might be because there are no clear statistics from these areas but still, it makes me wonder. It’s difficult to guess what will be, however, the way the virus is propagating seems to be testimony of the reduced level of immunity that first world populations possess at this moment in comparison to the developing countries. This is a generalisation, but I cannot help but conclude that this could be the evidence of our reduced defences due to poor dietary and lifestyle habits, stress and environmental toxins. Our bodies are becoming impoverished soil that cannot efficiently fight the pests attacking it.

Considering this is a whole new scenario for anyone on this Earth there is no advice from me that would pacify your minds. Still, we can manage the symptoms of the virus and its consequences in a best possible way. Here’s a couple of tips from me to lessen the symptoms and pain.

• Don’t resist. The more you resist and get involved in fear and pain the more they grow in intensity. This doesn’t mean you don’t act to help yourself and others. Follow the general hygiene guidelines given and adhere to the instructions to restrict further spreading and try not to get involved in the fear game and accept the situation as it is
• Coronavirus has features of vata disorder. Breathing difficulties and dry cough require the following remedies
• Stay warm, especially in the kidney and lung area. Make sure lower back is not exposed and that you wear a scarf or halter neck pullover
• Avoid honey. It is drying/dehydrating and makes wheezing worse. Use maple syrup or raw sugar as a sweetener
• Take turmeric. It is, amongst all other things, a natural antihistamine and dilates bronchi, the air passages in the lungs. Take it in medicinal dosages (5g/teaspoonful) with some fat and black pepper. Turmeric latte will do with 1 tsp of ghee or coconut oil and a pinch of pepper. Mix in a blender
• Take liquorice. It can be used as a sweetener in powder form, as a tea (I recommend Pukka Herbs Peppermint and Liquorice) or eaten as bars
• Avoid alcohol. It can give you a temporary relief as it relaxes the nervous system and makes it easier to breathe but it also reduces your immunity and messes up the bacterial balance
• Fast in the evenings after 5pm. Digestion takes all your energy, but you need it for healing. Eat at 9am, 12pm and 5pm. You don’t have to limit calorie intake, just not eat in the evening
• Sip hot water every ten minutes. This will keep the gut moving, hydrates you properly, detoxifies and reduces tension in the body
• Keep a hot water bottle near your lungs to help breathing

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At first, I myself found this system to be complicated. But the more I studied it, the more I understood that the healing principle of nature is actually very simple. It can be applied anywhere, anytime and it can be practiced by anyone. As we are all creatures of nature, we all practice Ayurveda all the time, even without being conscious of it. We each have an innate and instinctive way of finding balance so that we can be content and thrive, and this healing dance we perform is pretty simple to understand.

My mission has become to try my best to convey the principles of Ayurveda in the simplest, most accessible way, without having to bring into conversation Sanskrit terms and deeper theory which to many might sound esoteric.

To start explaining what Ayurveda is, let’s put it in one sentence and start breaking it down for what it means in actual practice:

Ayurveda is a timeless universal system of medicine that aims to regulate digestive and metabolic activity by feeling the environment, both internal and external.

Feelings are important

I think the best way to start deciphering this is to look at the feeling aspect. By feeling the environment, living cells adjust to their environment with their sensors. The environment can be for example hot or cold, dry or moist. By sensing these qualities, the cells regulate their metabolism, they act according to what they feel.

Natural practice of medicine is the medicine of feeling, sensing the environment. Plants and animals go about their lives by perceiving how the environment feels. Their activities are determined by the amount of heat, exposure to light, dryness or humidity etc. They feel these qualities and make adjustments based on the their level of comfort. If the temperature outside the cell is too hot, then the metabolic activity is lowered to cool the cell down. If the environment is dehydrated, mechanisms to promote hydration are turned on.

Complex organic entities as animals, with collections of tens of trillions of cells, also act from this same principle. When we feel cold we naturally tend to behave consciously and/or unconsciously in a way that restores the perfect balance of body heat. When we are dehydrated and the skin is dry, we instinctively know to hydrate and moisturise more.

The aim of regulating is to find perfect balance with the environment, a feeling of ease and comfort. True healing therefore starts from feeling, and Ayurveda involves studying feelings with a high degree of sensitivity, so that we can feel qualities as accurately as possible, inside and out, and create a perfect balance of opposites.  Ayurveda operates, therefore, from the natural truth that adjustment and adaptation are the keys to survival and to thriving in the world.

Individual feelings

Ayurveda also takes into account the individual point of view, because every feeling is unique to individuals. We each perceive our environment differently. Some are sensitive to heat,  while others suffer cold easily.  Some like dry air, others prefer humidity. The regulating activities change from person to person as we all have different metabolic needs. The healing protocols therefore have to follow these individual needs.

Changing feelings

Adaptation happens through what we choose to eat and do. We need to change our diets and lifestyles from time to time because life is a process and the qualities around us change constantly. We experience different qualities between day and night and also between seasons. The qualities of these time periods determine how our cells must adapt. We need to apply different behavioural patterns so that they match the metabolic needs of these time periods. Once these needs are satisfied, we feel in balance, healthy, strong, energetic and able to digest and metabolise what we put in our bodies.

Soul is the feeler

The last thing I want to mention about feeling is that this activity happens at the soul level. When we feel we connect with the soul, we put the mind activity aside and let the qualities be experienced in a deeper level of our existence. The universal Soul, or the cosmic consciousness, is the great experiencer which gives us the understanding and intuition on what direction we have need to move in with our diet and lifestyle. The problem is that to large extent we are conditioned not to feel, to suppress our deepest guidance from our soul and instead rationalise foremost with our minds. This leads to a problem with regards to true healing because the mind is always conditioned and influenced by whatever life experiences we’ve gone through or whatever media information we are exposed to. That said, the mind can be useful in true healing as well but only if it is used to serve and reason out whatever soul level connection has  already been made.  It should never be a primary tool. Healing is feeling. The soul most accurately feels the qualities of comfort and pain.

Agni – Digestive fire

Accurate adaptations guarantee the perfect flow of our digestive and metabolic fire. In Ayurveda we call this fire agni. The fire is heat. Too much or too little heat disturbs the digestion. The digestive tract is covered with mucous. Mucous is wet and cold. Too much of these qualities increase mucous and the healthy cover of mucous becomes too thick, compromising absorption of nutrients. Too much dryness wears the mucous layer down causing irritation and consequent inflammation. An irritated digestive tract is reactive and unable to digest hard proteins like lactose and gluten. Wet, cold, thick and sticky mucous lining can be repaired by ingesting dry, warm, and light food items (e.g. fasting, spices, legumes). Dry and irritated mucous, in contrast, likes hydrating and smooth food items (e.g. smooth soups, banana, avocado).

Good agni – good adaptation

The importance given to the digestive fire in ayurveda is maybe it’s strongest point of value in comparison to allopathic mainstream medicine. Although the trend is changing slowly towards understanding that food and good digestion is medicine, there is very little emphasis in general practice in how we digest our foods. Good and bad digestion depend on degree of adjustment to the conditions around us. Conversely, how we digest determines our capacity to adjust. Nourishment naturally depends on what we eat but more importantly it depends on how we digest and especially absorb our food. If digestive capacity is low, erratic or too high then even the best foods high in every possible cancer fighting phytochemical can become toxic. This is why good digestion is the main aim of this system of natural medicine.

Adjustment happens always and everywhere

The principle of natural healing is always the same: the opposite qualities balance each other. This is a universal, scientific truth that has stood the test of time. This is the way nature balances itself. This system is not dependent on humans, it was not invented by humans and it will continue to be practiced by plants and other animals in the possible event of human extinction (if humans leave any organic life behind).

Healing naturally through Ayurveda, therefore, is essentially straightforward: we balance opposites and stay in tune with natural cycles. The medicine practiced from place to place needs to be in line with the qualities affecting the bodies and minds. The advantage we have as humans is that we can combine spontaneous natural healing with our own conscious actions, or in reverse, consciously slow down or stop the healing process. The choice is ours. By choosing a natural healing diet and lifestyle, we aim to have a long life without disease and die without pain. These are priceless gifts that Ayurveda and other natural systems of medicine allow us to enjoy.

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