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Ayurveda sees the human body as it is made from the nature—from the five elements

Earth: bones and teeth

Water: blood, lymph

Fire: Metabolism

Air: Oxygen

Ether: Spaces between matter; vibration or sound

When these five elements pair up, they form the doshas (harmful effects).

Vata: It is made of air and ether. A balance here is responsible for heart beat, locomotion, and working of the nervous system.

Too much vata could lead to upsets such as high blood pressure and too little of it could lead to conditions such as constipation.

Pitta: This is made of fire and water. This is responsible for functions like digestion and body temperature.

Too much pitta could lead to ulcers and acne and too little of it could lead to indigestion

Kapha: It is made of water and earth. This is responsible for immunity. Too much kapha would mean a runny nose, bad cough and too little of it means poor concentration.

Every human being is made of these doshas and it can even define the characteristics of individuals, depending on which dosha is predominant in the person. So a Vata type will be creative, nervous, a Pitta type is confident and raring to go and a Kapha type is possessive and patient.

Doshas and food:

An ayurvedic practitioner’s main aim is to try and bring in the required balance of these doshas. Prana which means the energy of life is obtained from food and the atmosphere—both of which contain these elements.

That is why the food we eat and the environment we are in decides our health. An Ayurvedic practitioner uses various methods to keep this in balance:

1)    Acupuncture

2)    Aromatherapy

3)    Diet

4)    Herbal medicine

5)    Massage

6)    Pancha Karma

7)    Sound therapy: chanting mantras

8)    Yoga