http://www.care2.com/greenliving/your-ayurvedic-life-energy-type.html
Quiz: Which Ayurvedic (Life Energy) Type Are You?
Adapted from The Ayurvedic Year, by Christina Brown (Storey Books, 2002).
Ayurveda is a complete holistic medical system that has been practiced in India for thousands of years.
In the ancient language of Sanskrit, “ayus” means life, and “veda” means knowledge. Ayurveda is the science of living. As a complete system that treats each person as an individual, ayurveda is perfectly customized for you.
Ayurvedic healing teaches that there are three basic constitutional “types”: Earthy Kapha, fiery Pitta, and airy Vata. Once you know your type (we are blends of all types, but one usually stands out), you can learn to analyze your personality and body type, and find out which foods, exercises, lifestyles—even jobs—are most beneficial for you. Here is an illuminating quiz to help you find your Ayurvedic type.
Consider each statement, and assign the number that is most appropriate beside each one (0=never applies; 2=sometimes applies; 4=often applies).
VATA
My skin is dry. I can’t seem to moisturize enough.
I’m slim and can eat whatever I want without putting on weight.
My digestion feels irregular. Sometimes I’m ravenous; sometimes
I have no appetite.
I learn new things easily, but my long-term memory isn’t great.
I am creative and enthusiastic.
I give out so much energy that sometimes I need to rest up to recover.
My energy levels fluctuate a lot.
I dislike the cold, be it in weather, food, or drinks.
My moods change easily.
Stress makes me feel fearful and insecure.
PITTA
I am of medium build and have a well-balanced shape.
When I get indigestion, it tends to manifest as burning sensations.
I love iced drinks, ice cream and other cold foods.
I have a large appetite and digest food very quickly.
My mind is generally well-focused and alert.
People consider me passionate, confident, and courageous.
I don’t like heat much. It tires me, and I sweat easily.
I tend to be impatient, and sometimes anger easily.
I am determined, critical, and stubborn.
I’m rarely daunted by a challenge.
KAPHA
I have a solid build. As a baby, I was big boned.
My digestion is slow, and I feel heavy after eating.
I gain weight easily and am slow to lose it.
I am patient and even tempered.
I’m able to remain calm and unruffled under stress.
I feel I’m slower than others to grasp new concepts.
Once I really learn something, I never forget it.
Once I get going, I have loads of stamina, but I’m not a high-energy person.
I have a caring, compassionate nature.
I don’t like humidity and dampness, but I’m fine in very hot or very cold conditions.
Now add up each of your three dosha sub-totals. Your highest score reveals your most active dosha.
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34 comments
add your comment »Well my results ended up being V=30, P=32, K=22 . I find it interesting that these "qualities" are the same considerations you must take in when practicing homeopathy regarding diagnosing conditions and prescribing remedies.
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First of all, the test above is a very simplified version of figuring one's dosha (constitutional type). But even so, there's usefulness in it. Someone who is high in all three of the doshas is considered to be tri-doshic and there is information available about what that means.
I have a friend who is well-versed in Aryuveda, having worked for several years for an Aryuvedic doctor. She can very rapidly size up people and tell them about their personalities and health challenges based on their doshas. She impresses folks with the accuracy of her insights. I am predominantly a kapha body and personality with a vata (fast, creative and intelligent) mind.
I have learned a lot about myself by finding out about the doshas. I'm not sure I agree with all the dietary suggestions, but overall they make sense to me. Any health system in place for over 5,000 years has to have some validity, or it wouldn't still be practised. If it wasn't mostly effective it would have died out a long time ago.
Jackie
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I agree with Karen B., My scores were V=24;P=28;K=17. How to balance between V & P without sacrificing that there is a fair amount of Kalpha attributes too? Too black & white to live by, but very interesting philosophy
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this does not fit me ethier.
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Tied between V and P. Scored Low in K. I would like to pursue this and see how it all works out. Just need to find the right person who knows it inside and out. Mentalphysics used this as part of its basis when he created his body type wheel. It is very interesting though a little beyond me right now.
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I am so clearly VATA, it is scary. I will read up on this a little more...
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I have met people from time to time who are involved in Ayurevdic practices. They all strke me as being physically healthy and fairly well balanced in themselves. Somehow I find that it is avaiding me....maybe because it is just so expensive; the foods the therapies. Recently I went to an Ayurvedic center here in Munich enquiring about some of their treatments. It was a warm day and I was thirsty and really would have loved a refreshing cup of Ayurvedic tea....not possible!....the lady on the reception was handed a cup of coffee from a collegue and I a protential customer ...it was not possible to give me a cup of tea. The therapies are quite expensive ....a cup of tea would not have cost so much...I thought this cannot be the spirit of Ayurvedic teaching so I left the shop very quickly.
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I have found the Ayurvedic way of life interesting ever since coming across it many years ago. Today I answered the questions truthfully and came out as Vata 22, Pitta 24, Kapha 24, so I'm not sure how this helps me. Perhaps I'm so well balanced right now I don't need any help! I should tell that to myself tonight if I lay awake again unable to digest my food, full of wind, anxious, itchy, with freezing feet and an unbearably hot abdomen ;-) Hey ho. Yes it's simplistic, but no one is forcing anyone to take it that seriously. We are responsible for our own health and for curing our own problems. No one is going to step in and put it right for us. I'm happy with that.
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P.S. Regarding my own "conclusion" (just in case anyone is wondering)... I have a hefty library on Ayurvea from the time (1988) when I as introduced to it (yes, regardless of the dork who accused me of lying ;)).
And because I am rather proficient in aromatherapy, Ayurveda is familiar to me from that aspect, too.
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I hear you, Robin...
So do I. :)
Frankly, I cannot stand this system - and not only because there is no way I could (or would ever want to ;)) split myself into three, but because the first time I was introduced to it, around 1988, the man who "tested" me kept telling me that I was - LYING in my replies (yes, believe it or not).
If I were to follow it, I would have to give up EVERYTHING that I like eating and drinking - and please, consider that I am a vegetarian who drinks very little outside water and the occasional drink of milk...
Good luck to anyone following it! :)
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