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Know your constitution to stay healthy! The Ayurveda way …

Writer's picture: Bharathi VenkatachalapathBharathi Venkatachalapath

Updated: Aug 5, 2019

Have you ever wondered on why your siblings or kids have different liking for food or why they react to certain stimuli or food differently or why they think differently or simply have varied predominant emotions than you do?

Well, all these complexities have been very well simplified in Ayurveda on the basis of Individual Body constitution, the Prakriti!


Prakrti/body constitution, in Ayurveda, has an important role in better understanding an imbalance/ disease and managing the disease along with maintaining a healthy life.

The Sanskrit term Prakrti, means, "nature", "creativity", or "the first creation".

Prakrti, is your basic constitution that is determined at the time of conception. Based on the predominance of the bio humors, Vata- Pitta- kapha, each individual is unique with specific body constitution and mental makeup. This explains the concept of Individual’s DNA profile discussed in western medicine.

Different persons can have different combination of Vata, Pitta and kapha as their Prakrti and that is how Ayurveda can explain the subtle differences between individuals and explains why everyone is unique and that two persons can react very differently when exposed to the same environment or stimuli.

For example, Individuals with Vata predominant prakriti can have indigestion with raw foods and beans, while individuals with Pitta predominant prakriti usually are sensitive to spicy and citric foods.

Prakrti, Ideally remains fixed throughout our life. But unfortunately in an effort of our body, to maintain equilibrium with the constant changing environment, our Prakrti will in turn be affected. This leads to Vikrti/imbalanced state. If the doshas/bio humors in the vikrti stage, differs largely from one’s constitution, then the person will be prone to disorders depending on the predominant doshic involvement.

The profound premise of Ayurveda is that through constitution based diet and lifestyle, not only can we prevent diseases, but we can also better understand ourselves and the environment around us, live a long healthy life in balance and harmony

Just like a traditional physician checks temperature and blood pressure routinely as the first step in assessing your condition, an Ayurveda practitioner performs pulse and tongue assessments to determine your Prakrti and Vikrti and maps a customized treatment strategy accordingly.

Hence, in our journey to perfect health and longevity, it is important that we understand our Prakrti and consider the necessary steps to maintain balance of your doshas.

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