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Prakriti & Vikriti

by Alex Duncan

We each have a birth constitution, or prakriti (prakriti literally means 'nature'). Our prakriti refers to which Dosha or Doshas dominate in our body-mind makeup. The three Doshas give rise to seven basic constitutions: three pure types, 'Vata', 'Pitta' and 'Kapha', where only one Dosha dominates in the person's makeup; three dual types, 'Vata-Pitta', 'Pitta-Kapha' and 'Vata-Kapha', where two Doshas are dominant; and finally one mixed type, 'Vata-Pitta-Kapha', where all three Doshas dominate. About half of the population are pure types, while the other half are dual types; mixed types are few and far between.

Knowing your prakriti is very important as it determines which Doshas are most likely to become aggravated and cause ill health. Our prakriti is like a blueprint that predisposes us to certain physical and mental traits, both positive and negative. While prakriti is fixed at the moment of conception and can't be changed, we do have the freedom to choose whether to work with or against it.

Ayurveda offers individualised long-term health regimes that are designed to help us live in harmony with prakriti, thus preventing or minimising the premature occurrence of chronic and degenerative diseases. Thus Ayurveda places utmost importance on preventative medicine, or right living. Now let’s talk about Vikriti, or imbalance.

When the Doshas are balanced—neither in excess nor deficient compared to our prakriti—we experience health. When one or more of the Doshas becomes perturbed, ill-health, or vikriti is the result. In fact, the fundamental cause of all disease is simply the result of imbalanced Doshas.

Each Dosha has a primary site in the body. Vata's seat is the colon, Pitta's the small intestine and Kapha's the stomach. The first thing that happens when a Dosha becomes perturbed is that it accumulates at its primary site, whereby an increase of its attributes are observed. If left unchecked, the Dosha continues to accumulate until it becomes aggravated displaying a further increase of its attributes. Eventually, the aggravated Dosha can no longer be contained in its primary site and overflows into either the sites of neighbouring Doshas, or into the primary tissues of the body—the plasma and blood stream. These three stages: accumulation, aggravation and overflow mark the initial stages of the disease process. 

Note that a Dosha can either become excessive or deficient. When deficient, it is usually due to an excess of another Dosha, for example excess Vata creates excess dryness which reduces unctuousness (wet/oily) thus results in deficient Kapha. Generally though, one is only concerned with reducing excess Doshas as they are the root of the problem, and exert a stronger negative force than a deficient Dosha. Hence, when speaking of an imbalanced or perturbed Dosha, we really mean a Dosha which is in excess compared to normal, i.e. compared to prakriti.

Signs of excess doshas

Let’s familiarise ourselves with some typical signs of accumulating and aggravated doshas.

As vata accumulates in the small intestine it causes distension, gas, constipation, insomnia, fatigue, and dryness. This is usually accompanied by desire for warmth and nervous emotions like fear and worry.

If vata becomes aggravated, we might experience light-headedness, increased constipation, abdominal pain or spasms, further accumulation of gas with tummy-rumbles, as well as upper abdominal distension.

Eventually, aggravated vata will overflow into other sights causing things like dry skin, pain or stiffness in the joints, lower back pain, convulsions, spasms, headaches, dry coughs, intermittent fevers, continued abdominal pain with constipation and painful bowel movements, and general fatigue. Besides the colon, when vata is aggravated it has an affinity with the kidneys, lungs, bones & joints, nerves, ears, and mind in general.

The keyword for vata aggravation is pain.

As pitta or bile accumulates in the small intestine, it causes burning sensation, fever, hyperacidity, a bitter taste in the mouth, as well as giving a yellow or orange colour to the urine or stool. This is usually accompanied by a desire for cold things along with hot and bothered emotions like irritability, frustration and anger.           

As pitta becomes aggravated, one may experience increased acidity, acid regurgitation, burning pain in the abdomen, excessive thirst, loss of strength and difficulty sleeping.

Eventually, aggravated pitta will overflow into other sights causing Inflammatory skin diseases, conjunctivitis, gingivitis, dizziness, headache, high fever, bilious vomiting, and diarrhoea with burning sensation. Besides the small intestine, when pitta is aggravated it has an affinity with the blood, liver and eyes.

The keyword for pitta aggravations is inflammation.

As kapha or phlegm accumulates in the stomach, it causes lassitude, heaviness, pallor, bloating, indigestion and desire for light food. This is often accompanied by heavy emotions like attachment and greed, as well as fear of loosing their stability or security.

As kapha becomes aggravated, it causes loss of appetite, indigestion, nausea and increased salivation, as well as heaviness in the head and heart and excess sleeping.

Finally, aggravated kapha will overflow into other sights causing coughs, difficult breathing or gasping for air, swollen glands, low grade fevers, vomiting, as well as swelling of joints and mucus in the stool. Besides the stomach, when kapha is aggravated, it has an affinity for the lungs, lymph, plasma, kidneys, spleen and pancreas, as well as all the bodily tissues except the blood and the bones.

The keyword for kapha aggravations is congestion.

It is important when thinking ayurvedically to allocate your symptoms to the dosha or doshas that seem most likely to have caused them, as this radically simplifies life. Instead of dealing with umpteen different symptoms and a handful of ailments, we reduce our list down to three factors. This is the beauty of Ayurveda.

Alex Duncan, Ayurvedic Educator, lives in the South of France where he runs Gardoussel Retreat www.gardoussel.com offering Ayurvedic consultations and various Ayurveda & yoga workshops and retreats. Contact Alex on (France): +33 (0) 4 66 60 16 78.