Understand your Prakruti(Body Constitution)

What is prakruti?

Prakruti means the manifestation of special characteristics of body and mind of an individual due to predominance of dosha qualities. These qualities are determined during the fertilisation of sperm and ovum. That means the key factor which determines the prakruti [body constitution] is the prakruti of sperm and ovum. In the classical text book of Ashtanga Sangraha, chapter-1, it is mentioned that like a poisonous creature is born to poisonous creature only, a particular prakruti of person is largely depend on the prakruti of his/her father and mother. There are prakruti related to body as well as mind. Both sharirika prakruti [body constitution] and manasik prakruti[mind quality] are three in numbers.

Sharirik prakruti (body constitution)

1. Vata prakruti

2. Pitta prakruti

3. Kapha prakriti

With the combination of these three, there can be a total of seven types of body constitution. They are as below.

Predominance of individual doshas: Vata

Pitta

Kapha

Predominance of two doshas: Vata + Pitta

Pitta + Kapha

Vada + Kapha

Combination of all three doshas: Vata +Pitta+kapha

Mostly all individuals are having a combination of vata, pitta and kapha. Still there will a predominance of one quality which is considered as the prakruti of a person. Its rare to see a person having prakruti only of one dosha. According to the classic text books the combination of all the three doshas are considered as the best, the combination of two are the medium and of one dosha is the low quality. Here we explained the types of body constitution due to its combination of dosha quality. But let’s make the concept clear about prakruti and dosha.

Is dosha and prakruti the same?

Let’s understand what is dosha. The one which can vitiate others is called dosha. It is clear that doshas are energies in the body namely vata dosha, Pitta dosha and kapha dosha. Here the name is same as we used for prakruti .This is why it confuses and gets misinterpreted as same as dosha. Just the name is same, but both are different. How? Let’s see in a while.

We all know that every substance (dravya) in this universe has certain quality (guna)and can do certain function [karma]for which that substance is used. Being the human body a part of universe and is continuously nourished by materials available from nature, our body receive certain quality of taken substance. This determines the amount and quality of dosha in the body. Be clear that the dosha has no physicality. It is identified through its quality. Following are the qualities of doshas by which it can be identified.

Vata dosha Ruksha [dry]

Laghu [light]

Shita [cold]

Khara [rough]

Sukshma [small]

Chala [mobile]

Pitta dosha Sa.sneha [ oily]

Tikshna [sharp]

Ushna [Hot]

Laghu [light]

Visra [Foul smell]

Sara [can flow]

Drava [liquid]

Kapha dosha Snigda [unctuousness]

Sheeta [cold]

Guru [heavy]

Manda [slow]

Slakshna [smooth]

Mritsna [slimy]

Sthira [stable]

Similar qualities can be seen in the materials we take as food as well as around us in the nature in the form of geography, weather etc. By the influence of nature and food these qualities in our body changes from time to time and make some changes in the physiology and anatomy of our body. These energies which are grouped under the name of vata, Pitta and kapha are known as doshas. The easiest way to recognise it is that doshas keep varying its quantity in the body and show some changes. On the other hand, prakruti is the quality of the body itself which is determined during the fertilization of sperm and ovum. Prakruti is the permanent quality of the body since birth. This is the quality of once body by nature and has no role in pathology.

I will give you an example to make it clear. Imagine there is a half-filled glass container with petrol in it. Here the glass container has its own quality like shape, size, weight, hardness etc. At the same time the petrol/gasoline also has certain quality like liquidity, heat, inflammable, colour etc. Now consider the container which is already made of glass having its own shape, size, colour, density etc which will not change according to the content. Prakruti is somewhat like that which is already there by birth which will not change. Whereas the dosha may change in the body like the content of the glass. Instead of petrol we can fill it with water, sand, oil, acid, dust etc or even keep it empty. Still container remains the same. No change at all. The change on container means the destruction of it, and it’s no more the same container.

In the same way the prakruti of a person is stable and is established by birth. Whereas the dosha in the body keep changing. Though both prakruti and doshas are identified based on the qualities present, both are classified using the same names viz- Vata,Pitta and Kapha.

Prakruti is your body quality like the container which is your permanent quality. Since birth till death it remains same.

Doshas are energies in the body which keeps changing according to many external factors and will influence the physiology of your body. Prakruti is your body type.

Why understanding prakruti is important?

Understanding once own prakruti is like having a deep understanding of the reason behind certain liking, disliking, comfort, un-comfort etc in your personality. In therapeutic aspect the prakruti is one among the deciding factor for medication and therapy. Let’s discuss the health maintenance aspect of prakruti.

Let me explain by giving an example. Imagine a body type of is vata. That means he was born with quality like dryness in his body, (not all the vata prakruti person are dry). Now this vata person may not like a dry and cold climate or he may hate direct wind. To balance his prakruti he may develop a liking towards warm and humid weather. Here prakruti creates some natural instincts in a person to balance his body type. This vata type body is more prone to get arthritis like conditions compared to kapha prakruti and pitta prakruti as they have dryness in the body. During the old age the vata dosha increases naturally. And the vata quality in the body along with vata dosh may aggravate the condition of arthritis. Now as a maintenance of health, one can control vata dosha to balance the vata prakruti so as to prevent any unhealthy condition due to vata.

It is important to understand once prakruti to have a certain lifestyle and also to decide about eating habits. But eating according to prakruti is not a practical thing which we will discuss soon.

Also, it is observed in the clinical practice that the prakruti examination is misguided widely. This leads to a faulty regimen. The safe way to deal with prakruti is to follow a moderate regimen according to age and season. A précised advice is only possible after a detailed consultation by an ayurveda physician after considering both prakruti and dosha. The key point here is, one should follow a regimen for prakruti only after understanding the state of dosha in the body. Any imbalance of dosha in the body has to be considered first.

How to eat according to prakruti?

After analysing one’s own prakruti everyone is curious to known what to eat to balance the prakruti. From the above discussion its clear that you cannot balance your prakruti. Then what kind of diet has to be taken to balance the prakruti? Well, let me explain by giving a small real-life example. Imagine there are the four members in a house having different prakruti combination. Is it possible to cook four types of food every time so as to suit every prakruti? Absolutely no. Trust me, there is nothing like a specific recipe for any kind of body constitution.

Well, if there is no specific recipe for any body-constitution, what should be the diet like? The very simple answer for that question is that to follow a well a balanced diet. What is a balanced diet like?

1) The food should be having all the taste in it viz -sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter and astringent. Among these six tastes it could be predominant in sweet taste. Eg: Rice, Wheat, Corn, Maize etc.

2) Eat freshly cooked food which is easy to digest.

3) Give priority to seasonal and regional fruits and vegetables.

4) Oils which are used for cooking should be from a regional source.

5) Follow a schedule for the meal timing. Ideally it is best to eat every four hours.

Note: There is no generalized diet plan or regimen for any body type. The best way is to follow a moderate diet and activities to keep the balance of your body. Never compare yourself with others as every person has their own body constitution and accordingly the physical ability and metabolism varies. At any point you felt there is imbalance in your body then take a professional advice from an ayurveda physician. A diet and regimen is designed on the basis of doshas, body constitution, the geographical area you are residing, the weather condition, age and profession (nature of work).