Ayurveda

Vata — air plus space; movement, breath, the nerves. Pitta — fire plus water; digestion, heat, intellect. Kapha — earth plus water; structure, affection, weight. Every body carries one or two of these three as its prakruti.

Slight build, a mind that never rests, a cold body, poor sleep → vata. Medium build, sharp appetite, quick temper, heavy sweating → pitta. Large build, slow speech, calm, sleeps a lot → kapha. Most people are a mix such as vata-pitta or pitta-kapha.

Wake before sunrise. A glass of warm water. Oil pulling — 5 minutes. Scrape the tongue — 30 seconds. Abhyanga (a warm oil massage) before the bath. Three meals a day, at the same times.

Vata — warm, moist, sweet food (rice, milk, ghee). Pitta — cooling, bitter, sweet (cucumber, pomegranate, curd). Kapha — pungent, bitter, astringent (chilli, coriander, pepper). You balance an excess in your dosha with the opposite taste.

Turmeric — anti-inflammatory. Ginger — digestion and fever. Tulsi — immunity and stress. Ashwagandha — energy and a settled mind. Triphala — gas and cleansing.