When reading about using Ayurvedic principles in health, wellness, recovery or healing, a lot of the focus tends to be on doshas... what your dosha is and quick tips on balancing it.

While quizzes and quick tips are a great way to start the Ayurvedic exploration, they have also led many to overly focus on dosha, which can be an ineffective strategy for improving wellbeing.

Why?

Dosha is a label for a variety of qualities and characteristics (gunas).

If we go after “managing the dosha” we are essentially trying to manage the label.

This can lead to a templated approach - (do this for Vata, that for Pitta and another thing for Kapha). A “hope and pray” at best and one that doesn’t give enough data to really determine if it worked. As a result, the true imbalance may be missed.

If instead, we explore the gunas and notice what qualities are present, we can specially address them and we’ll have more data to better evaluate if a result has happened, and what to do next.

If I say Vata aggravation what would you do?

If I say dryness or roughness what would you do?

See how much more specific we can be?

The takeaway -

When we pay close attention to the qualities (gunas) we can more closely tune into that which is actually impacting our state - whether that is wired, tired, ungrounded, braced, calm, steady, even, moist, dry, etc etc.

You’ll be governed less by a template and more by the reality of what is expressing itself.

The result - better awareness and quicker resolution of what is actually going on.

And that makes up the fundamentals of functional synergy.

Sending love,

Susi