Vata dosha ? Are you wondering what it is then read this article and get the insight of Vata dosha .
Ayurveda the ancient system of health and well-beign believes in theory of Tridosha ,the three energies that are responsible for good health as well as illness. These three energies are Vata, Pitta, Kapha. The Vata dosha is energy for movement, pitta dosha is energy for digestion and kapha dosha is energy for strength.
What is Vata Dosha
Vata dosha is a combination of two elements namely air and space commonly known as ether. Among all the three dosha Vata is the most important. This is because it is the only one which has got the ability of movement. While the other two are immovable.
To understand Vata dosha easily just compare it with the wind moving outside the body.
The phenomenon of mobility is very well explained in Ayurveda with an anology. See the cloud is moved by wind and then pour a water at an particular place same thing happens inside the body. The Vayu ( vata) moves pitta, kapha and ama from there place to other place and cause discomfort in that partcular place.
Defination
The one which has got Gati means movement and gandhana means reflection of enthusiasm and interest is called Vata.
Vata dosha covers physical and mental abilities, sensory and motor responses and all other activities happening in the body. It also control as well as motivates the mind.
Qualities of Vata Dosha
Ruksha : Means it is dry in nature and causes dryness in body.
Laghu : It is light in nature which aids in movement .
Chal : This means quality of mobility.
Sheet : Vata is cold in nature . It increases in cold wheather.
Khar : Means Roughness.
Where is Vata located in the body
Vata is predominantly located in lower portion of the body, below navel to be precise. This covers lower part of abdomen and pelvis. Main seat of Vata dosha is colon. From this site Vata controls all the other subtypes of vata and also all the functions of the body. However Vayu ( vata) is also found in pelvis region, thighs, ears, bones and skin.
Sub Types of Vata dosha
Vayu has five subtypes and have different functions in the body. They are as follows
- Prana Vayu : It is located in head, chest,throat nose and heart. Parana Vayu controls mind ,all sense organ, breathing, eructations, heart beat, coughing and enthusiasm.
- Udan Vayu : Is located in the umbilicus, chest and nose. It provides energy,strength,production of speech, efforts and colour.
- Saman Vayu : It is located near the stomach, intestine and navel. Main function of saman vayu is to help in digestion process bifurcation of food as well as assimilation of food.
- Vyan Vayu : It flows in entire body, bones and nerves. It controlls all the movement in the body.
- Apan Vayu : It is located in the lower body, below navel, urinary bladder, vagina, thighs , anus and penis. The main function of Apan vayu is excretion of feacus,urine,menstrual cycle, ejaculation of blood and delivery of feotus.
Normal Functions of Vata in body
It is originator of all small and big efforts within the body.
It controls the mind as well as motivates and inspire the mind.
Helps all senses like ear, eyes, nose, tongue to perform there functions
Keeps all the joints in body firm
Helps to speak word
Gives happiness and enthusiasam to work
Keeps digestive fire at the opotimal levels
Helps in normal excretion of urine,stool, sweat, from the body.
Helps in proper mobilisation and transportation of tissues .
What cause Vayu ( vata) to Increase
According to the Ayurveda the diet and lifestyle factors that are similar to qualities of Vata dosha will lead to increase Vayu in the body. Like
- Food items that tend to increase vayu are bakery products, fast and junk food, raw uncooked food and food items that are kept in cold storage of refrigerator.
- Excessive exercise ,swimming,gymning.
- Living in extreme cold conditions or in air conditioners for too long time
- Too much travelling especially in two wheeler.
- Excessive awakening at night.
- Suppression of natural body urges such as urination, crying, burping, farting etc.
- Some profession like teachers, bank employee drivers have more possibilities of vata dosha aggravation.
- Tension, stress, grief, fear, anger are some reasons that lead to aggravation of all three doshas.
What happens when Vayu gets Imbalanced
Vata imbalance is seen in two type
1. Vata- Vriddhi : This means when vata increases in its qualities.
2. Vata-Kshay : This means when vata decreases.
Vata is the most powerful among all the three dosha , therefore if it increases because of above factors then body and mind faces lot of problem such as
- It depletes the strength and complexion of the body.
- Vata dosha accelerates the agieng process in the body.
- It makes the mood sad.
- The sense organ like eye, ears, nose, tongue are unable to perform there normal activities.
- Excess Vata is responsible for miscarriage or harm to organs of feotus.
- It instill fear, grief, pain and sometimes lead to coma.
- Vata is responsible for 80 types of diseases in human body.
Vata relation with Day
All the dosha in the body varies acording to the age, season, during 24 hours in a day. For vata dosha it is predominant in the body at following time of the day.
At night between 2 Am to 6 Am
In Afternoon betwwen 2 Pm to 6 Pm.
So when there is vata imblance in the body the symptoms of the diseases are seen more during this time .
Vata relation with Season
Vata dosha tends to accumulate in the summer season. It aggravates in the monsoon season. This is the reason problems realted with vata dosha like pain in joints, bloating, gas, arthritis are seen in monsoon season.
So to prevent vata problems in monsoon season it is advised to take diet that helps to keep vata in balance. Grishm ritucharya described in ayurveda should be adopted .
Vata relation with Age
Vata dosha get predominant as the age of person increases. The old age is known as phase of Vata dosha. As the age progress the Agni ( digestive fire ) becomes weak, this lead to depletion of Dhatus ( tissue). As the tissues start depleting this leads to aggravation of Vata dosha. This is the reason problems such as oseotoarthritis, loss of apetite, sleepleesness,restlessness, parkinson, alzeihmer are seen in old age people.
So to prevent this problems one should start taking rasayana herbs and antioxidant herb, external application of medicated oil. Along with this person should prefer diet and lifetsyle that helps to balance Vata dosha.
Vata and Digestive fire
The Agni ( Digestive fire) is the essence of life and it is affected by the state of dosha in the body.
When Agni is affected with vayu dosha then its start behaving in a weird way, that means the Agni will digest the food one day and it will cause indigestion other day. This is known as Vishamagni in Ayurveda.
Those who have vishamagni tends to suffer from vata type of indigestion which is known as Vishtabdha ajeerna.
Vata and Bowel movement
As said earlier bowel is the main seat of vata and it controls all the other types from here. However when vata increases in the bowel or in people who have vata prakriti then this bowel is known as Krur koshta. This means these people will have difficulty in passing stool and have constipation, there stool becomes hard. In these people soft laxative don’t work and may requires use of purgatives for elimination of waste material.
Association of Vata with Ama
Ama is by product of weak digestion. When the Agni ( digestive fire) is not able to digest the food properly then it fails to produce the ras ( nutrition) and as a result of this a by product is formed called as Ama. In Ayurveda this Ama is beleieved to be the root cause for diseases.
When the doshas get associated with Ama this stage is known as Sama awastha of dosha . When Vata dosha is accociated with Ama it is known as Sama Vata.
Symptoms of Sama-Vata
Constipation
Slugish metabolism
Bloating and gas
Joint pain
Radiating type of body pain
Pricking
Swelling
Feeling of coldness
Pain aggravates on use of oil or ghee either internally as well as externally.
Conclusion
The vata dosha is the most important dosha and is responsible for movements in the body, controlling the nervous system and all the sense organs. When in balanced state it brings enthusiasm to life, creativity and happiness. However when it is imbalanced vata leads to many diseases in the body. It has deep relation with digestive fire, different seasons and age of person. By keeping vata in balance one can prevent many diseases and even delay the ageing process.
This Article is written by Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari B.A.M.S, PGDCR Director of Risha’s Health And Ayurvedaa Solutions.He is having more than 20 years of experience in field of Ayurvedic medicine.
