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YOUR AYURVEDIC CONSTITUTION GUIDELINES: 1. There are 3 doshas or constitutions in Ayurveda: vata, pitta and kapha.

Remember that all of us are a combination of all 3! Its their proportions that differ. Most people have 2 dominant doshas (one usually being stronger, the other secondary). You may however have only one significantly dominant dosha or all 3 could seem to have a similar influence on your physical and mental constitution. If in any category you feel that you belong partly to one constitution and partly to another, write down both. 2. When evaluating yourself, try to be as honest as possible, avoiding the temptation to see yourself as you would like to be rather than as you really are. Have a friend or family member go through the points with you. Remember there is no right or wrong answer in this test as there is no better or worse constitution. 3. Please, answer the questions according to how you have reacted in general throughout your entire life, not how you react in present! Select the description that describes you best overall. How you react in the present may be greatly influenced by any imbalances you have at the moment that may have nothing to do with what your original nature is (eg. A vata person on a life-long fast food diet may develop heaviness, excess fat and lethargy that are caused by imbalanced kapha. When kapha is brought back to balance, the natural features of vata will become visible again.) Sometimes, when in doubt, it helps to refer to your childhood as during that period your constitution is usually at its purest, not being altered yet by external influences and habits (eg. Remember if as a child you were rather chubby or very skinny etc) 4. If in any category there have been great changes at various times in your life, please select vata as your answer, even if vatas description in this category doesnt accurately describe you as you are today (eg. You had periods of insomnia, perhaps stress related, followeg by periods of heavy, deep sleep, oversleeping etc. that again was followed by periods of light sleep with a tendency to wake up easily. This irregularity indicates vata). 5. When in doubt, remember the basics: Vata is cold, dry and irregular. Pitta is hot, oily and irritable. Kapha is cold, wet and stable.

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE 1. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Body frame VATA Thin, poorly developed, very tall or very short - usually narrow shoulders and hips, arms and legs may seem unusually long or short, long fingers and toes - any irregularity and disproportion in the body is usually due to vata Low, prominent bones - difficult to gain weight - some may overeat poor food and become fat but its easy for them to lose weight once they get good habits PITTA Medium frame, moderately developed, muscles visible - generally the body is proportional and balanced KAPHA Large frame, stout, thick, muscles not visible - balanced bone structure, wide-set shoulders and/or hips - fingers and toes tend to be short and squarish

2. Body weight

Moderate - usually gain and lose weight easily - they tend to deposit fat evenly all over the body

3. Pain, nerve disease Disease tendency 4. Skin* Dry, rough, cool, thin, cracked, veins visible - skin usually cold to the touch and may have a grayish hue - often have cold feet and hands - skin is dry all over or in patches, cracks easily - often chapped lips - may have wrinkles

Inflammation, infection, heat, fever

Heavy, obese - can only maintain moderate weight with regular exercises - gain weight easily, esp. in the lower parts of the body (rear end and thighs) and lose it with difficulty Mucus, congestion Thick, oily, cool - skin is cool but not cold to touch - they have good circulation and rarely suffer from cold hands and feet - not prone to skin disorders - lips are full and moist Pale, white - enjoy sun and burn only after overexposure - tan evenly - may have a few freckles Thick, oily, wavy, dark or light - mostly brown, dark brown or chocolatey - thick and slightly wavy

Moist, soft, oily, warm, moles, freckles, acne, pink, wrinkles - light coloured, often with pink or coppery hue - warm to touch - skin is delicate and irritable, prone to rashes and pimples - early wrinkles - lips are deep red - blush easily 5. Brown, black, dull Fair, red (ruddy, flushed), Complex - tend to be naturally dark yellow ion or tan easily - tend to get freckles in the - they adore heat and sun and burn easily cant get enough of the - may suffer from sun sun allergy 6. Hair Brown, black, dry, kinky, Soft, oily, fine, yellow, red, wavy, scanty, coarse or early greying, balding rough in texture - red hair is always a pitta - usually very curly, tends influence to tangle - light-coloured (blond or

brown) or grey/white at an early age - usually thin, delicate and straight 7. Joints Thin, crackling, unstable Medium, soft, loose 8. Teeth Protruded, cracked, Medium size, soft, pink, spaces, thin and receding bleeding gums gums - prone to cavities - often uneven teeth, some - gums tend to bleed easily larger than others - either too close together or very far apart - sensitive to cold or sweetness 9. Active, dry, black, brown, Medium size, sharp, Eyes** small, thin, unsteady penetrating gaze, green, - unusually far or close grey, red or yellow sclera together - light in colour, hazel, - grey, violet, slate blue green, red, light or electric or very dark brown blue - eyes that differ in colour - burn with intense fire and - dry and scratchy radiate energy - easily irritated sclera turns red 10. Constipation, hard, dry Loose, soft, oily Eliminati - some vatas suffer from - rarely constipated, on*** constipation lifelong usually defecate regularly - tendency to hard, dark- and frequently coloured stools with - stools usually yellowish tendency to gas and and well formed but bloating sometimes loose and may - some vatas experience seem hot or burning, esp. variations periods of after spicy meal constipation followed by - intense yellow or orange diarrhoea stool indicates excess pitta 11. Rare, even in heat Profound Sweat - has a natural need for - may sweat even in cold external heat sources, but weather hardly ever sweats - may have sweaty palms - overweight vata perspire more 12. Nails Hard, brittle, rough Soft, strong, well formed - may differ in size from - pink colour with a copper one another hinge - often have marked ridges or depressions - may be bluish or grayish - biting nails is a vata habit 13. Coated Occasionally coated Tongue - coating usually thin, - coating yellow, orange or

- may be prone to dandruff or split ends - often dull and lusterless

- oily sometimes to an excess but with good luster Thick, moves smoothly Large, white, full - gleaming teeth that rarely need attention

Big, wide, prominent, blue, thick, oily, white sclera - large and liquid - sometimes blue but most often milkchocolate - calm, cool and stable - may have tendency to itchiness Oily, thick, slow, heavy - usually regular, move their bowels once daily - sometimes slow in elimination - stools most often well formed but rarely hard

Moderate - consistent even in climatic extremes

Strong, large, symmetrical - tend to thickness and may seem somewhat pale in colour

Rarely coated - if coated white or

grayish or pinkish in colour - may wake up in the morning with bitter or astringent taste in mouth 14. Irregular Menstrua - may miss periods, esp. tion when exercise too much or lose weight - cycles often longer than a month - scanty flow, with clogs, dark blood - constipation (sometimes alternating with loose stools) and severe cramps right before bleeding - PMS: anxiety, interrupted sleep, nervous tension, mood swings 15. Physical strength and enduranc e Low stamina - active and restless but with low stamina - vigorous exercise tires them quickly and makes them feel hungry - often they spend more energy than they have because they love spending which leaves them exhausted - muscle tone usually poor, must develop muscle coordination

red - irritable, may bleed - prone to canker sores - in the morning may have sour or metallic taste Regular - cycles usually regular but bleeding lasts longer and is heavier than for other women - cycles may be closer together than 4 weeks - blood is intense, bright red and may feel hot (when imbalanced-bluish, yellowish or blackish) - loose stools before or during periods - medium cramps - PMS: irritability, intense food cravings, acne, skin problems, headache Medium - good stamina and endurance but tend to overheat easily - feel hungry and thirsty after exercise - naturally compulsive and competitive, may push themselves to or over the limits - muscle tone and coordination average

greenish-white, thick and curdy - sweetish or soursweetish taste in the mouth after waking up Regular, effortless - average quantity of blood, usually light in colour - imbalanced mucus in blood - mild cramps, dull rather than intense - prone to water retention - PMS: water retention, bloating, swollen breasts, vaginal itches, slow digestion, lethargy

Very good endurance - excellent muscle tone and coordination - very good at heavy work out but usually not interested in it, aversion to spending energy - once motivated, enjoy regular activity which makes them feel really good - rarely feel hungry after exercise

Total
* You skin colour depends greatly on your racial background. Compare yourself with the members of your family or others who have the same racial mix as you do (a Scandinavian who seems dark-skinned to his family will still look very pale to the lightest of black Africans) ** Some people may have brown spots or patches in their eyes. They indicate accumulated toxins in the system and should be ignored when examining your eyes colour, only the underlying colour is to be considered. *** For the purpose of this question, anyone whose bowels do not move regularly, at least once a day without straining or use of laxatives can be considered constipated. Loose stools passed 3 or more times a day constitute diarrhoea.

2. BEHAVIOUR CHARACTERISTICS 16. Activity VATA Very active, talkative, nervous, short bursts, chaotic, hyper-active, PITTA Moderate, purposeful, goal setting, focused - moods play a secondary KAPHA Lethargic, stately, slow in reactions - stable, not easily

need to move all the time (at least some body parts) - fluctuating moods 17. Variable, erratic, low Appetite - always eager to eat but feels full very quickly - variable appetite one day excessive hunger, next may lose interest in eating - may get dizzy or faint unless given a snack between meals - dislike (or even hate) fasting 18. Thirst Variable 19. Hate to miss breakfast Breakfast - find it difficult to function without breakfast, begin to feel anxious or sleepy by midmorning - most feel best with light breakfast and early lunch - tend to rely on coffee or caffeine to wake up and get going 20. Creativity Personali ty strength 21. Anxiety, insecurity, fear, Personali unpredictability, sadness ty weakness 22. Generally poor, short term Memory good, long term bad - remember easily and forget easily - on emotional level: easy to burst into emotion when provoked but also quick to calm down, quickly forget what made them angry or upset 23. Sleep Insomnia, light - light sleepers, may toss and turn and have trouble falling asleep - may wake up several times at night for no

role when focused on goals or completing tasks Excessive, strong, good - good appetite and enjoys eating - always ready to eat, regardless of the time of a day, hates to miss meals - snippy or irritable if fails to eat when hungry - need to eat regularly - rarely fond of fasting Excessive Dont mind skipping - they do OK without a breakfast but by lunch they begin to feel hot and testy, and calm down only after a meal - may suffer from heartburn if not eating for too long - enjoy stimulants and tend to misuse coffee or tea Leadership, problem solving Jealousy, irritability, aggression, impatience, annoyence Moderate, clear, long term good - remember easily, forget with difficulty - if aroused into anger or rage, can go on in this emotions for a long time

changeable moods Slow, steady - moderate and stable desire for food although may be prone to emotional eating or overeating - can go entire day on juice alone without feeling any physical distress Slight May skip breakfast - do best with light breakfast but may skip it entirely - not much perturbed even if they miss a lunch - not naturally attracted to stimulants but may enjoy coffee or tea in the morning Loyalty, calm, contentment Greed, attachment, selfcenteredness Slow to memorise but once learnt dont forget - need to be told things more than once before they sink in but once learnt,they remember for a lifetime - takes a while to irritate them but once you do, they will never forget it Heavy, deep, long, excessive, difficulties waking up - drop off to sleep quickly and sleep heavily but wake up rested and

Short and sound - go to sleep easily, sleep lightly, wake up alert - even if wake up at night, fall asleep easily - restful sleep, can get by

apparent reason - ability to sleep varies from night to night - often wake up in the morning feeling unrested - sleepwalking or sleep talking - grinding teeth at night 24. Hot Climate - sun enlivens vatas, they preferenc tend to lose strength es during winter 25. Sex drive Fantasies - vatas think a lot about sex and sometimes find their fantasies enough without physical contact - passion gets quickly inflamed, and peaks quickly - sex appetite varies from day to day - may fall into sexual overindulgence which leaves them exhausted - tend to change partners often - low fertility A lot of dreams but forget easily, often violent, intense, active dreams, motion, flying or being chased - in the mornings remember they dreamt but may only remember fragments - periods of dreamlessness may alternate with periods of vivid dreaming Talk quick, talkative, can talk about anything to anyone, chaotic, continuous - often rising pitch in the voice at the end of a phrase

with minimum sleep for many nights without feeling ill effects - may have trouble sleeping due to overworking Cold - find hot climate intolerable - love to sleep with open windows, even in winter

alert - if permitted, they will go on and on sleeping, saving energy that way - rarely have sleep related problems

Warm - not greatly disturbed by any climate, may enjoy them all - prefer warm but not humid weather Intense Steady desire - hot blooded, ample - enjoy sex without being sexual desire particularly fascinated - know what they want and by it when they want it, readily - once sex captures their put desires into action attention, their appetites - if the sexual gratification intensify greatly is interrupted or delayed, - slowly aroused to may get angry passion but remain - average fertility passionate long time once aroused - very fertile

26. Dreams

Usually remember dreams, passionate, intense dreams, involving heat, light or other energy - theyre usually in control of the dream situation - usually dream in colour

Cool, calm, quiet dreams, uneventful, peaceful - usually dont bother to remember dreams although are likely to recall those that are more emotional

27. Speech

Concise and one-pointed, cutting, assertive, argumentative, convincing - know the message they want to deliver and response they want to get - intense voice, can often

Slow and cautious talkers, melodious, definite, reticent - dont volunteer much on their own - initiate conversation only when having

- tend to stray from the subject - responses are quick and not thought over - conversations may resemble monologues - weak vocal cords due to overuse 28. Fear, anxiety, insecurity Character - reaction to a situation is istic usually immediate and if emotion not displaying fear, it is (how you still at its source typically react in a stressful situation) *

display impatience with the listener

something important to say - voice lower in pitch and intensity but more melodious and sweet - pleasant to listen when you can get them to talk

Disinterest in change often resulting in ignoring a situation (like an ostrich, they hope that by ignoring something, it will go away) - it takes a lot to arouse them but once aroused, they may feel intense fear or anger for prolonged periods of time 29. Sensitive, react quickly to Strong and forceful in their Calm, steady, quiet, Personali environmental changes dealings serious, mostly enjoy ty traits - exceptionally - efficient, organized, pleasures of home and changeable, resist any perfectionists family regularity - logical thinking - patience, fortitude, - make friends easily but - dedicated to practical humility that in excess they may not last long side of life can turn into passivity, - love to travel for fun - domineering attachment, - flexibility derived from - courageous, believe in possessiveness and hyperadaptibility fair play greed - detachment - when angry, can be cruel - stable personalities - chaotic and spacey and hurtful sometimes too resistant - find it difficult to - make friends easily but to change concentrate on anything sometimes base the - study each subject and often fail to complete friendship on its utility cautiously before anything they start - dedicated to selfcommitting themselves - see a need for selfdevelopment that - once committed, see it development but rarely sometimes turns to egostubbornly through consistent with one expansion - make friends slowly but program - strong opinions, can fall their friendships last - can become fanatic into fanaticism - less motivated for selfabout something but even development that doesnt last too long - steady, unshakable - their faith often arises faith in what they choose from insecurity to believe - compassionate - maternal types 30. Think predominantly in Visually oriented, like to Think with their Predomin words visualise almost everything emotions and feel ant mode - very good sense of they think about connections between of hearing, so good that - no difficulty in creating words and forms

Anger, irritation, rebelion - reaction is slower, not impulsive, with possible intense emotion of anger, irritation or criticism in the background

perceptio n and expressio n**

sometimes a loud or dissonant sound can be physically painful - first struck by and preferably remember sounds 31. Mind Creative, good original theorist - not afraid to connect old thoughts in a new way - tendency to jump from idea to idea makes it difficult to convert theory into practice - mind is restless, curious, with short attention

fantasy images - tend primarily to remember images

- emotions often influence their thinking - often correlate memories with how they felt at the time

Methodical and efficient planners - enjoy putting new ideas into practice - mind is aggressive, perceptive and intelligent

32. Difficult to create habits Lifestyle - even natural habits like eating or sleeping pose difficulty for vatas, everything is irregular - financial responsibility does not come naturally, tend to spend money like water Total

Great managers - not interested in theorising or engineering but give them an enterprise and theyll make it run smoothly - if imbalanced, managing abilities are impeded by inflexibility and resistance to change - mind is calm, slow and steady Planners and organisers Enjoy habits, sometimes - calculate their too much expenditures wisely, spend - always have money sensibly saved, just in case - not afraid to spend - feel that money is made money but can resist for accumulation impulsive spending - once develop a habit, it - feel superior to people is very difficult for them without such self-control to break it, whether its - make or break habits a good or bad one according to their utility

* You may not actually display this emotion if you have taught yourself not to, but what would be your very first reaction is characteristic of your constitution (eg. If youre a Pitta and somebody offends you, you may not show any negative emotion but will be inwardly cursing this person or plotting a revenge). ** Test it by remembering, for instance, your last vacation trip. Remember the experience, then ask yourself which aspect you remembered first.

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