There are three doshas in Ayurveda which are the three vital energies. Vata is the dosha of movement, Pitta the dosha of transformation and Kapha the dosha of consolidation. These three doshas are present everywhere. They are present outside of us (seasons, climate, time) and inside of us.
Each one of us has a proportion of these three doshas that is unique, this is what we call prakriti, the birth’s constitution. This prakriti was formed during our conception, we keep it throughout our life until our death. We can have a dominant dosha (more than 50%), this is the dominant constitution. Ex : Pitta constitution. We can have two dominant doshas (50-50), this is the dual constitution. Ex : Pitta-Vata, Pitta-Kapha. We can have the three doshas in equal proportion (33% each), this is the triple constitution, extremely rare.
The birth constitution cannot be changed. As such, it should not be confused with Vrikriti, the state of imbalance. It can happen that one or more doshas are in excess in the body, this imbalance is the cause of illness. Imbalances evolve throughout our lives depending on our habits and lifestyle.
Here, we will develop the dominant Pitta constitution. The Pitta dosha is composed of two elements : fire (tejas) and water (apa). Fire is three times more important than water. It has qualities, gunas, which are specific to it and allow us to see that we are in the presence of this dosha. Pitta is :
Hot (Ushna)
Penetrating (Tikshna)
Light (Laghu)
Slightly oily (Sasneha)
Liquid (Drava)
Smelly (Visra)
Laxative/pushing down (Sara)
These qualities are found in the physical appearance, the functioning of the body or even the way of thinking of a Pitta dominant person.
Physical appareance
Pitta people have an average corpulence and body type.
Their weight is average and stable. If they gain a few kilos, they will easily lose them. They are of average height. Their bone structure is also average. They are often athletic people, their muscles are easily defined with sports practice.
Their gait is determined.
Their facial features are harmonious and symmetrical. The shape of the face is round or square. The nose is in proportion to the face.
The eyes are round or almond-shaped. They are sensitive to light and can easily turn red. Their gaze is piercing. The eyes are rather light in color. The eyebrows are sparse.
The teeth are medium-sized and aligned. They can easily turn yellow and tend to have inflammation (irritations, mouth ulcers, bleeding, inflammation of the gums).
The ears are medium-sized as are the lips which are soft and red.
The hair is medium-length. The hair’s color can be brown, light or red. It is fine, soft, shiny and straight. It is rather oily in nature. Pitta people are prone to baldness due to the “warm” quality. They are also prone to premature graying of hair.
The nails are pink and regular.
The skin is soft and often beautiful. In case of excess fire, they can be affected by acne and skin problems. Pitta people often have freckles or moles. They tend to blush easily and may wrinkle prematurely.
Pitta people may sweat a lot. Sweating can give off a strong body odor. They fear heat and like cold. Unlike Vata people, they rarely feel cold.
Physiology
Pitta people have moderate immunity. They sometimes get sick. They tend to exceed their limits, which weakens them and makes them sick.
They have a very good appetite. They are hungry and thirsty very regularly and cannot skip meals. Moreover, when they are hungry and cannot eat, it makes them aggressive. Their digestion is very fast and very powerful. They go to the toilet several times a day. They may tend to have diarrhea or loose stools that can be accompanied by bad odors.
From an intellectual point of view, Pitta people are endowed with good intellectual and logical intelligence. They make decisions quickly.
Their sleep is short and restorative. Their dreams can be passionate or conflicting (blood, fire).
They are very much in control and like to be in control. As a result, their gestures are controlled and graceful.
Sight is the sense that is most developed in Pitta people. Eyes are connected to fire. These are people who attach great importance to aesthetics and the way they dress. Their voices are sharp and penetrating.
Psychology
Pitta people are passionate people who can experience hot emotions such as aggression or anger.
They need to nourish themselves intellectually and to undertake. They work enormously by objectives and are go-getters. They are perfectionists and tend to have a binary mind. They see the world through ideals (good/bad, just/unjust), which can generate anger in them because reality does not correspond to their ideals. They can fight for their ideals, both figuratively and literally.
They have conflictual and passionate relationships. They love luxury, cooking, perfume, art and harmony. They cannot stand stress because they put a lot of pressure on themselves. A stressful situation provokes anger in them. Their memory is selective, they learn rather easily but only retain what is important to them.
Among their qualities we find rigor, loyalty, and righteousness. They protect the people they love.
In addition, they are very critical and demanding both towards themselves and towards others. They can tend to believe themselves superior to others because they think they hold the truth. They cannot stand being vulnerable. They can tend to be arrogant, selfish, jealous or hateful. Among their weaknesses, we find difficulty in managing emotions. They like to be in control and will store their emotions which can make them sick. They have difficulty letting go.
In our society, which advocates performance, Pitta people easily find their place. They are often experts in their area of expertise. Operating by objectives and easily putting pressure on themselves, they are good elements. However, they must be careful not to exceed their limits, which can lead to burnout.
They can have management positions, be in politics or lawyers.
Their beliefs are “Nothing is impossible”, “With work everything is possible”, “Life is a fight”.
Spiritual
Ayurveda believes that a person's constitution is chosen by her soul. This constitution is chosen to accomplish the mission, the life mission (the Dharma), for which the soul was reincarnated. So, each constitution experiences different things on a spiritual level.
Pitta is composed mainly of fire. The fire element allows transformation by repulsion. Indeed, a fireplace fire will create heat by burning wood. People with a Pitta dominance have a great will and capacity to change things. They will use things that displease them to put them in the fireplace in order to obtain something that pleases them.
However, they must be careful about what they decide to burn. Indeed, one can transform positive into negative like gold into lead or negative into positive like lead into gold. The result must be positive, it must not be synonymous with hatred, jealousy or anger.
And you, do you recognize yourself in this description ? Do you think you have Pitta in you ?
There are different ways to know your birth constitution.
You can take tests online : https://forms.gle/NNygjMMxsHteUwo58
You can also request a consultation with an Ayurveda practitioner who will ask you different questions to identify your prakriti.
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