VATA

Question 1

VATA Dosha

Answer 1

VATA = VAYU = WIND+AIR

Vata governs movement in the body, the activities of the nervous system and the process of elimination. Vata influences the other doshas.

If Vata dosha predominates, movement and change are characteristic of your nature. You will tend to always be on the go, with an energetic and creative mind. As long as Vata is in balance, you will be lively and enthusiastic, with a lean body.

Vata represents momentum. It is responsible for all the bodily activities and sensations. It controls the movement of blood through the circulatory system, breathing, the delivery of nutrients to the cells and the removal & excretion of waste products.

Elements: Ether + Air
Function: Mobility
Psychology:  Enthusiastic
Chief complaint: Anxiety
Chief symptom: undefined pain

Location: small intestine
(Colon, bladder, thighs, hips, legs & kidneys.)

Qualities of Vata: Rough, dry, cold, mobile, light, quick, clear, astringent and expansive. (Cold, light, dry, irregular, rough, moving, quick, changeable)

Taste: Pungent
Digestion Cycle: Evacuation
Food balancing:

Main imbalances: exhaustion, anxiety,

Personality: Vatas love excitement and new experiences. They are quick to anger but also to forgive.

Physicality: Those with a predominance of Vata dosha are usually have a thin, light frame and excellent agility.

Agni= variable
Dhatu= deficiency

Question 2

VATA Emotional

Answer 2

Vatas love excitement and new experiences. They are quick to anger but also to forgive. When Vatas are in balance, they are energetic, creative, and flexible. They also take initiative and are lively conversationalists. When unbalanced, they are prone to worry and anxiousness and often suffer from insomnia. When they feel overwhelmed or stressed, their response is, “What did I do wrong?”

Question 3

VATA Physically

Answer 3

Those with a predominance of Vata dosha are usually have a thin, light frame and excellent agility. Their energy comes in bursts, and they are likely to experience sudden bouts of fatigue. Vatas typically have dry skin and hair and cold hands and feet. They sleep lightly and their digestion can be sensitive. When the Vata dosha becomes imbalanced, it manifests in the body as weight loss, constipation, hypertension, arthritis, weakness, restlessness, and digestive challenges.

Question 4

VATA Subdoshas

Answer 4

Each subdosha moves in a different direction. It’s responsible for moving different substances

PRANA VAYU: Governs inhalation, perception through the senses and governs the mind (inward movement).

UDANA VAYU: Governs speech, self expression, effort, enthusiasm, strength and vitality (upward/outwards movement)

VYANA VAYU: Governs circulation, heart rhythm, locomotion.

SAMANA VAYU: Governs peristaltic movement of the digestive system.

APANA VAYU: Governs all downward impulses (urination, elimination, evacuation, menstruation, sexual discharges etc.)

Question 5

PRANA VAYU

Answer 5

Governs inhalation, perception through the senses and governs the mind (inward movement).

Psychology: consciousness; addictive personality
Mental imbalance: addictions

Function: intake of sensorial impressions; Inhaling

Location: the brain (mind), head, throat, heart and respiratory organs.

Symptoms: Unhealthy sensorial habits; stress, exhaustion, mind racing, insomnia without worry, nervous breakdown

Treatment: right receptivity, openness to the divine, intake of healthy impressions.

? Excess: Overwhelm, addictions

? Deficiency: Depression

Question 6

UDANA VAYU

Answer 6

Governs speech, self expression, effort, enthusiasm, strength and vitality. (upward/outwards movement)

Psychology:
Mental imbalance: memory failure, altered enthusiasm

Function: expression, memory recall, creativity; liberation

Location: the naval, lungs and throat. (throat + chest)

Symptoms: Speech deficiency, dry cough, vomiting, reckless action

Treatment: Harmonious actions, spiritual aspiration, mantra

? Excess:

? Deficiency:

Question 7

VYANA VAYU

Answer 7

Governs circulation (prana and blood), heart rhythm, locomotion; flow of weak movements of limbs and efferent nerve impulses (diffusing air).

Psychology:
Mental imbalance: attachment; obsessive thought leading to overwhelm fear, worry and anxiety

Function: circulation

Location: Centred in the heart and permeates through the whole body.

Symptoms: worry, dryness, coldness (heart)

Treatment: Surrender

Excess:
Deficiency:

Question 8

SAMANA VAYU

Answer 8

Governs *peristaltic movement of the digestive system (balancing air).

Psychology:
Mental symptom: Mental instability;

Function: absorption; balancing motion

Location: Located in the stomach and small intestines.

Symptoms: Alternate constipation and diarrhea, mal-absorption, emaciation, sensory deficits

Treatment: harmonious routines

Excess:
Deficiency:

*peristaltic= radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles

Question 9

APANA VAYU

Answer 9

First sign of Dosha imbalance

Governs all downward impulses (urination, elimination, evacuation, menstruation, sexual discharges etc.)

Psychology:
Mental symptoms: Negativity

Function: evacuation

Location: large intestine/ colon (between the naval and the anus).

Symptoms: Abnormal elimination, constipation, gas, bloating, scanty menstrual flow, scanty urine, swollen prostate, poor semen quantity and quantity. Long labor.

Treatment: Cultivation of clarity

Excess:
Deficiency: constipation

Question 10

VATA Fluctuation

Answer 10

TIME OF LIFE:
End of Cycle (Destruction); 60+
Goal: Moksha: spiritual pursuit

TIME OF DAY:
Days (2-6pm) Creativity, brainstorming
Night (2-6am) Subconscious time; 
Brahma Time: Psychic reboot;
Vata insomnia: mental/psychological problem solving

VATA SEASON:
Fall, early winter
Aggravated by cold and dry weather