Ayurveda Series-Part 4

Continuing from part 3 of Ayurveda series, today I shall talk of Vata Prakriti characteristics…

Oh yes, I remember I said I would briefly talk of 5 types of vata(I will just mention few functions of each, although there are many) before speaking of vata prakriti

Here we go-

1. Prana- Located in head- Respiration, facilitates swallowing of food etc
2. Udana- Located in chest- governs voice, motivation/inspiration, strength, complexion, memory etc
3. Vyana- Located in the heart- moves throughout the body, circulation, flexion and extension, blinking of the eyelids etc
4. Samana-‘Samano agni samipastaha’, which means samana vayu is near Jataragni( Digestive fire- Also called Vaiswanara i.e swayam Vishnu) so it helps in digestion
5. Apana Vayu- Responsible for excretion, resides below the navel.

BTW where does vata reside in the body, generally. The shloka says

“Pakwashayakatisaktisrotrastisparshanendriyam

sthanam vatasya tatrapi pakwadhana visheshataha”

1st line meaning- it resides in intestines, low back areas, bones, ears, skin

2nd line- although it resides in above mentioned places, intestines is the main seat of vata.

( I feel so happy while I write these series because, having memorized all these shlokas, and I still remember them and able to pen it down here, that I studied about 15+ yrs ago!!)

We had a professor in first year, who claimed that he remembers 17K shlokas!!!!! I believe he did because he never came to class with books and every concept he explained, backed up with shlokas.

Anyway, back to our topic on Vata.

Lets see some of the characteristics of a vata prakriti person. Here we go-

Highly restless

Hyperactive

Impulsive

Jealous

Highly creative

Thin built

Struggles to put on weight

Dry skin and Dry hair

Varied appetite( at times good, at times not)

Constipation issues

They overthink

Speaks very fast

Takes quick decisions

They never run out of energy

They are light sleepers, wake up slightest of the sound

They have dreams usually of jumping and flying types:)

However above all, in my experience  I have seen vata predominant people also being very generous and caring:) that is because vata also an element of satva.

Next series Ill talk of Pitta.. all about pitta:)