What's My Dosha? Ayurvedic Self-Assessment

A person's dosha is placed by reading the lifelong pattern of their body and mind against the qualities of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata is dry, light, cold, rough, mobile, and subtle; Pitta is hot, sharp, light, liquid, and slightly oily; Kapha is heavy, cold, oily, slow, stable, and smooth. Whichever set of qualities describes the body and temperament as they have always been is the prakriti, the constitution. Most people are a combination of two, with one leading. The signs below are the ones the Charaka Samhita and the Ashtanga Hridaya use to describe the three types, and they are read for the whole of life, not the last month; the last month is vikriti, the present imbalance, and is another question.

Build and frame

Vata gives a thin, light frame, either short or unusually tall, with prominent joints, tendons, and veins, a narrow chest, and difficulty gaining weight however much is eaten. The gait is quick and light, and the joints crack. Pitta gives a medium frame with moderate, well-defined muscle, a body that gains and loses weight easily, and a warm hand. Kapha gives a broad, solid, well-proportioned frame with heavy bones, a deep chest, rounded features, and weight that comes on readily and leaves slowly. The walk is slow and steady.

Skin, hair, eyes, and nails

Vata skin is dry, cool, thin, and rough, darkens easily, and cracks in winter; the hair is dry, thin, often curly or frizzy; the eyes are small, active, and dry; the nails are brittle and ridged. Pitta skin is warm, soft, slightly oily, fair or reddish, with freckles and moles, and it flushes, sunburns, and breaks out; the hair is fine, straight, and inclined to early greying or thinning; the eyes are medium, sharp, and penetrating, with a reddish tinge to the whites; the nails are soft, pink, and flexible. Kapha skin is thick, smooth, cool, pale, and oily, and it ages slowly; the hair is thick, wavy, lustrous, and abundant; the eyes are large, calm, and moist with white sclera; the nails are strong, thick, and smooth.

Appetite, digestion, and elimination

This is the most reliable reading, because it is agni, the digestive fire, that the doshas most plainly shape. Vata hunger is irregular, forgotten one hour and urgent the next; digestion is variable, with gas and bloating; the stool is dry, hard, and infrequent, and constipation is the lifelong tendency. Pitta hunger is strong and punctual, and a missed meal brings irritability and a headache; digestion is quick and sharp, with a tendency to acidity and burning; the stool is soft, loose, frequent, and yellowish. Kapha hunger is mild and steady, and a meal can be skipped without distress; digestion is slow, with heaviness after eating; the stool is formed, regular, and often once a day.

Thirst follows the same order: Vata variable, Pitta strong, Kapha low. Sweat is scanty in Vata, profuse and strong-smelling in Pitta, moderate and cold in Kapha.

Sleep, energy, and climate

Vata sleep is light, short, and easily broken, with many dreams of flying, running, and fear; energy comes in bursts and is spent quickly. Vata is aggravated by wind, cold, and dryness and craves warmth. Pitta sleep is moderate and sound but short, with dreams of fire, conflict, and colour; energy is strong and sustained until it is overspent. Pitta is aggravated by heat and sun and craves cool. Kapha sleep is deep, long, and hard to wake from, with dreams of water and calm; energy is slow to start and lasts all day. Kapha is aggravated by cold damp weather and sleeps well in it, and craves warmth and dryness.

Temperament, speech, and memory

Vata is quick, creative, enthusiastic, and changeable, grasps new ideas fast and forgets them fast, speaks rapidly and at length, worries readily, and spends money as fast as it comes. Its fault under stress is fear and anxiety. Pitta is sharp, focused, ambitious, and orderly, learns with precision and remembers accurately, speaks pointedly and argues well, and leads by nature. Its fault under stress is anger and criticism. Kapha is calm, steady, patient, and affectionate, learns slowly and never forgets, speaks slowly and melodiously, holds on to people and possessions, and saves. Its fault under stress is attachment, lethargy, and greed.

Placing the constitution

Count the qualities that fit across all of the headings. A person who is mostly one column is a single-dosha prakriti. A person who is two columns in roughly equal measure is a dual type, and dual types are the majority: a Vata-Pitta person is thin, warm, quick, and sharp; a Pitta-Kapha person is solid, warm, and steady; a Vata-Kapha person is light of frame yet slow of digestion, cold, and the hardest to read. A person who answers from the last month rather than from a lifetime has found their vikriti, and if it differs from the lifelong pattern, that difference is what needs attention. The classical pulse reading, in which Vata moves like a snake, Pitta like a frog, and Kapha like a swan, and the tongue, body odour, and a person's response to food and season complete what the questions begin.