Simple Tips for Balancing Kapha
By Jan Fiore
The cold, damp weather of this season can be challenging for all the doshas, but especially those who are predominantly Kapha.
Kapha's physical qualities are cold, heavy, damp, inert, slow, dense, thick, and soft. In the body, Kapha's primary sites are the stomach, chest, fatty tissues, and lymph system. Emotionally, Kaphas have a tendency towards depression, apathy, greed, lust, patience, nurturing, compassion and love. They are vulnerable to being overly attached, but also are the most likely of the three doshas to be grounded and stable. Kapha disorders include excess production of mucus, colds, nausea after eating and overeating, excessive sleeping, and weight gain. The qualities of winter are cold, wet, and damp, all of which provoke Kapha and may generate such conditions as excess mucus/colds, depression, lethargy, and weight gain.
It should be noted that all three doshas have their vulnerabilities and strengths, and that all of us have all three doshas. Kapha is what lubricates the body and what holds everything together. It is our primal source of energy (the "ojas" in Ayurveda, and the "jing" in Traditional Chinese Medicine). It is also our "mass" such as tissue and muscle. Vata allows things to move in the body, directing the circulation of the blood, food and water to move through the systems of elimination, and the workings of the nervous system. Pitta helps us to assimilate food, provides focused concentration, and burns energy through activity.
Here are some simple ways to reduce Kapha in the cold, damp months:
1. Stay warm and be physically active to burn off excess mass. Kapha individuals will notice a big difference in how they feel if they engage in vigorous exercise. As always, check with your qualified health care practitioner before beginning an exercise program.
2. Avoid foods that are cold, heavy, and overly sweet food. Kapha does very well with all spices, but use salt sparingly. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, ginger, garlic are especially good to use when cooking.
3. Kapha digestion can be sluggish, so include an abundance of fiber-rich foods to stimulate the digestive tract, especially green vegetables.
4. Kapha meals should be light, dry, and warm in nature, with emphasis on pungent, astringent and bitter "tastes." Ayurveda classifies foods into the "Six Tastes" -- and Kapha does better with these three, although having a little bit of the other three daily is recommended.
The Six Tastes are: sweet (like carrots, not sugar, which is empty sweet); sour (like lemons), bitter (like greens), salty, pungent (like ginger or garlic), and astringent (like beans or raspberries).
As a side note: Vata does best with Sweet, sour and salty; Pitta is supported by sweet, astringent and bitter tastes.
5. And, as always, but especially in winter, avoid ice water at meals. It puts out the digestive fire and creates "ama" or residue in the digestive tract that results from poor or inefficient digestion.
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