Anderstanding Ayurveda
The text explains the concept of “constitution”/constitutional type, which dates back to antiquity. It initially focused on morphological traits (body structure/anatomy), later added physiological traits (functions), and modern views also include the psyche (personality and intellect).
Constitutional characteristics are the combined bodily, functional, and behavioural features that describe a person. People with similar traits can be grouped into a constitutional type, but any typology remains an orienting model rather than a perfect description of a unique human being.
A key limitation is emphasised: the human being is a whole, and any model loses something essential that cannot be isolated or measured (an idea linked to Aristotle). Still, typologies remain useful in medicine because they help guide observation, research, and practice.
From a medical standpoint, constitution is the set of inborn bodily, functional, and psychological traits that are later shaped by the environment and influence predisposition to illness or resistance to harmful factors. Constitution (biotype/phenotype) results from:
genotype (heredity) +
paratype (what is acquired through environmental influence).
A person is born with a predisposition, and the constitution develops progressively over life.
Ayurveda teaches that although nature’s forms are infinite, the universe rests on simple, universal principles. Knowing them involves resonating with these principles; typologies serve as landmarks that show how universal tendencies reflect in the human “microcosm.”
In Ayurveda, constitutional typology is based on the three doshas: Kapha, Pitta, Vata (sometimes called “humours” due to imperfect translations). The first practical step is determining the person’s constitution as seen at the time of consultation.
There are 7 constitutional types (prakriti) based on dosha predominance/combination:
Kapha
Pitta
Vata
Kapha–Pitta
Kapha–Vata
Pitta–Vata
Kapha–Pitta–Vata (relatively balanced).
Mixed types do not automatically mean better or worse health; they require finer discernment.
The text advises determining the type lucidly and with detachment, focusing on what is dominant in terms of frequency, duration, and intensity, without emotional identification. Differences between observers can be explained by the observer’s “constitutional sensitivity” (resonance).
It also mentions the traditional idea that the part reflects the whole, as used in diagnostic systems (iris, tongue, ear, palm, soles, etc.), suggesting that each body part can “speak” for the entire person.
Presenting traits in comparative tables can support even “automatic” scoring (weights + proportions per criterion), producing an estimated dosha combination. However, this method is relative, depends on experience and intuition, and does not fully capture the objective content of doshas.
The final section begins practical guidance on fixed physical-body characteristics for the fundamental constitutions: starting with general features (proportions, appearance, height/weight), then head/face details (forehead, skin tone, eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, gums), and then shoulders, limbs, bones, muscles, joints, skin, hair, and nails. It notes that a person’s physical type may differ from their psycho-mental type (presented later).