CONSTITUTION BASED ON TRIDOSHA
The
Prakriti of a person as defined in Ayurveda can loosely be translated
as the Constitution of that person. Every individual is born with a particular
Constitution which can merely be modified during life, but never completely
altered, either by external forces or with conscious effort.
An individual's Prakriti is defined by the nature and status of his Tridoshas.
These in turn depend upon the quality and quantity of all the panchamahabhootas
present in his body.
There
are THREE BASIC TYPES OF PRAKRITI :
- predominently Vaat type
- predominently Pitta type
- predominently Kapha type
Each type of prakriti has distinct physical and biological features. With a little practice, we can learn to quickly identify which type of prakriti a person standing before us belongs to. Since a person's prakriti is the fulcrum of his existence, being able to accurately and quickly categorize a patient's prakriti becomes imperative in the practice of Paediatric Ayurveda.
HOW TO DECIDE PRAKRITI:
In order to decide his prakriti, we run an analysis of certain physical
and behavioral characteristics of a person. A sum total of the characteristics
will indicate the prakriti.
As all three Tridoshas as present in varying amounts in the body, it is
obvious that no person can have one hundred percent vaat, pitta or kapha
in his constitution. The relative percentage of each dosha present decides
the prakriti of a person.
Usually a person has more vaat than pitta or kapha, and so we find that
most people belong to the vaat-pradhan group. The ideal prakriti is said
to be one in which all three doshas exist equally. The ideal prakriti
is merely hypothetical for, in practice, such persons are hardly ever
found!
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAKRITI:
Persons of the vaat-pradhan prakriti fall ill frequently and may show
an unpredictable response to treatment. Pitta-pradhan persons are rather
prone to drug reactions. Over-treatment of any kind should be avoided
in kapha-pradhan persons.
Besides, herbs will act differently in persons of different prakritis.
Some herbs will benefit patients of a particular prakriti but may actually
cause harm in persons of another prakriti. In fact, certain herbs should
be avoided completely in patients of a particular prakriti.
So a physician should know the prakriti of his patient as well as any
special effect a particular herbal medicine may have on the patient.
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