Friday, March 03, 2006

Weight and Ayurveda

My one bone of contention with Ayurveda is that according to my dosha, I should be a skinny nervous little thing who struggles to gain weight. Instead I am a strong, hefty, tall-ish thing who has struggled with being overweight since conception. Any guidelines I've seeked for dealing with weight issues as a Vata have come up blank... until now!

I've discovered a web page with very reasonable Ayurvedic weight-controlling guidelines for all doshas. Lo and behold, I should be doing things differently than I originally thought -- despite being a Vata, I should be eating Kapha-pacifying foods (cooking fruits and vegetables whenever possible, though), and Vata-calming practices like yoga and massage. Starting today I will follow a new way of eating and living and keep you posted on how it's working for me.

I hope this site is helpful for anyone who's been reading my blog and who has weight issues like me : )

9 comments:

Rahab Jaleh Darien Bogdarama said...

Finally someone has had a problem that ressembles mine and found a solution to it :) I'm aleady checking out the website, just can't thank you enough

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

Hello Rahab!

I'm so pleased that this information has been helpful to you. I am noticing so much lately that all body types and constitutions can have weight issues, not only Kaphas (in fact, several Kaphas I know have a perfectly healthy body weight!), so it seems there are several factors that affect weight despite our dosha. Did you read my post on liver and pitta? You might like it...! : )

Best of luck and thank you for visiting. ~Fran

Anonymous said...

i too am a vata with a thyroid disorder
i am following a vata diet including the ghee, in hopes that this will help slim me down..i believe that fat is necessary for losing fat...

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

Yes, that is a difficult one isn't it! As a Vata with overweight issues, I've been adding Kapha-friendly foods to my diet despite it being aggravating for Vatas, but am also adding healthy fats (particularly flax oil, avocado, and raw nuts and seeds) and pungent spices for digestive fire.

Best of luck! :-)

Ayurvedic Treatment said...

Wow, Thank you! What a great Blog.

I've been looking through these links over the past few days and still have more to read about Ayurvedic treatment for weight control

Thank You!! So much for fine information ..

DronningUnica said...

Does anyone know of an European online shop where I can buy the spices such as gotu kola, amalaki, and shilajit?

Thank you so much for this site! Positively helpful!

DronningUnica said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm fairly new to Ayurvedic ways of thinking (and eating) and I'm struggling to get to grips with which body type I am. Depending on which online quiz I do I get very differnt results. Is there a simple rule of thumb to work out what body type I am so that I can start to really learn and think about which Ayurvedic suggestions apply?

Thanks for this!

Claudia Davila said...

I've had the same issues trying to determine my dosha as well! To make matters more complicated, different ayurvedic practitioners might give you different assessments as well...

Personally I think your mind and body are the best at determining what needs balancing. Read up on the different attributes of each dosha and you'll get to know where you're off balance.

For example, if your face is often red, or you're susceptible to pimples, or have a strong appetite but get heartburn, or have a short temper, then your Pitta needs calming. If you're always cold or stretched thin or low energy and your skin is dry and you can't concentrate, your Vata needs grounding with things like warm milky chai with spices and a warm bath and heavier foods, etc.

Integrate the concepts behind Ayurveda more and more, and you'll instinctively be able to assess your own needs and what needs balancing. Hope this helps!