Three Ayurveda Holiday Emotional Body Type Balancing Tips

Identify your body type. Your body type expresses its uniqueness in every way. Ayurveda uses more than a hundred human body characteristics to categories the 12 different body types. 

Ayurveda  categorizes the type of digestive system to help us identify our body type. 

              If you are "Nervous system predominant": 

• You have a fast nervous system causing fast metabolic rate, and the result is you just don't gain weight.
• You are a person with a nervous stomach reaction to life's daily stresses.
• You tend to suffer from short memory loss, insomnia, anxiety and constipation.

If you are "Digestive system predominant":

• You tend to have a strong appetite; you have to eat lunch.
• You have a strong stomach acid (HCL) response.
• Your body tends to run hot and is medium weight.
• You have a medium to good memory.
• You likely suffer from acid reflux, skin rashes, and constant hunger
• You are easy to anger and are prone to irritability and impatience.                                                                                                                                                                          If you are an "Immune system predominant"
• You probably suffer from chronically slow digestion.
• You gain weight very easily.
• You have a very easy going disposition.
• You likely are prone to depression.
• Have a long strong memory.

Body constitution types - ayurvedic - vata, pitta, kapha. 

Take a look at the image belowAyurvedic Body Type Test This shows how extensive the Ayurveda Body Typing system Is. Notice at top of each category it identifies Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Now That You Have Identified Which Digestive System Fits You The Best. Vata Fast metabolism ?Pitta Strong Appetite Acidic Type ?Kapha Slow Metabolism?

FYI

Identify your Main Characteristic by picking one of the three that most clearly describes your metabolism.

Don't second guess. Describe your basic digestive nature and stick with your first instinct of self knowledge and build on your first choice as you learn the system.

Three Ayurveda Holiday Emotional Body Type Balancing Tips

Vata Tip

Do Daily Oil Massage (Abhyanga)

Abhy­anga can take as few as ten minutes, or up to twenty minutes if you work slowly and take your time. If you are pressed for time, you can do a mini-massage instead of the full-body massage; this involves just the ears, feet, and forehead. If you perform abhyanga regularly, you'll never have to spend time and money applying"mois­turizing" skin creams.

To begin, warm the oil (slightly less than ¹/4 cup is enough for the whole body) to skin temperature or slightly warmer to make the massage more pleasant. Dr. Thomas uses a small ceramic cup placed on an electric coffee warmer; you may also put the oil in a small dish or container and set that in a bowl of hot water until it reaches skin temperature. Be careful not to make the oil too hot, to avoid burning and scalding. Begin at the top of your body and work your way down, and do about twenty strokes on each part of your body, as described below.

First apply a thin coat all over your body to maximize the amount of time the oil comes into contact with your skin. Then massage your face, ears, and back of the ears, using short, vigorous strokes. It is traditional to apply oil to your scalp as well, but Dr. Thomas found this strips her hair of body. If you have little or no hair or wash your hair every day, this may not be a problem; alterna­tively you can give your scalp an invigorating oil-free massage instead. Proceed to your neck and shoulders, using your fingers and the flat of your hand. Then massage your upper arms and lower arms, using long back­ and-forth strokes. Use a circular motion for the joints, including your shoulders. Massage your chest and abdomen using a clockwise motion. Next massage your hip joints, buttocks, legs, and then the soles of your feet.

The oil is usually left on while you do some light exercise, such as yoga, and then washed off in bath or shower with warm water; use mild soap, but only on the body parts that really need it. In India people chant mantras or sing devotional songs while bathing, which, according to Ayurvedic scholar Robert Svoboda, "makes the bath or shower water into a vehicle for those vibrations and transports their purifying power into the deepest levels of being."

Whether you chant or sing or not, be careful to avoid slipping on the oil. Leaving a thin film of the oil on the body is said to be beneficial

Get the right amount of sleep. In Ayurveda, proper sleep is paramount because it promotes mental digestion of everything you took in that day. Both the amount and the timing matters. 

In general you should be up before the sun rises and asleep by ten P.M. in order to take advantage of your body’s natural rhythms and functions. 

Pitta Tip

How to Meditate

Before beginning choose a word or phrase to bring your attention to, such as the ancient Sanskrit mantra Ham Sah, which means "I am that"

• or repeat "five-four-­three-two-one" to yourself,
• or "I am love, I am joy, I am one."
• If you learn from a teacher you may ask for a mantra known to resonate specifically with your dominant dosha, which enhances meditation's ability to purify the mind and balance the body. Traditionally these mantras are repeated 108 times, using prayer beads to keep track of the repetitions; this is the equivalent of about four or five minutes. 

Kapha Tip

Dry Massage (Garshana)

If you are a kapha type or your kapha is aggravated, give yourself an invigorating dry massage every day instead of an oil massage. Follow the directions for abhyanga, above, using silk gloves designed for dry body rubs and sold at bath shops. You can easily make a simple mitt from a piece of silk that you have folded over and sewn to form a pocket. You may also use chickpea flour, available at health food stores; rub this on your skin with the silk gloves or your bare hands. This may also be done two or three times a week by everyone, and followed with the oil massage.

For all three body types: Eat Figs:)

Fig health benefits.