The Dosha System – Ayurveda Questionnaire

We are all one, but we are not all the same. Neither are we the same every day nor every season. Before we will understand what it means to be all one – all part of the same thing – first we need understand ourselves as individuals. When we know ourselves and are able to take care of ourselves, we will be better able to be whole as beings and serve others with our goodness. Take this Ayurveda questionnaire to find out more about how to personalize your life!

Most systems seek to provide us information to improve our health and look at all beings as if they are the same, or have the same needs, bodies and tendencies. These types of systems prescribe normally one diet or one exercise program to all. It seems like the founder for that system has fond the answer, and it is the best answer, and thus we should follow. In many cases, a system like this is very suitable for the founder of the system, and some individuals will find it suitable as well. This does not mean that it works for everyone all the time. Not only are we different beings with different bodies and tendencies, but also, we live in different climates, have different daily routines and professions, and have different types of food available to us.

Nevertheless, ancient Indian science has a system that looks in to each individuals own natural, life-long tendencies and physical constitution. That system is called Ayurveda, and it offers help to find balance to imbalanced mind and lifestyle.

Prakriti is your physical constitution

Ayurveda offers a system you can use to assess your constitution (prakriti). This system is known as the dosha system. The Ayurveda questionnaire (below) gives you the score for each of your doshas. The doshas are the three elements that together, in different ratios, make your prakriti.

Doron Hanoch’s book the Flexitarian Method offer many tools to achieve balance and bliss, and once you know your prakriti, it would make it easier to decide which tool to choose and how to use it.

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian method that brings people back into balance. Ayurveda means “the science of life.” Doron tells: “When I was in school, we learned a variety of systems to diagnose others and ourselves. When we “diagnosed” ourselves with the Ayurvedic system, I found it to be the easiest to use and understand where I was at in terms of balance (body and mind). I also found it to have the most accurate results when compared with what people already knew about themselves”.

Test Your Self 

Take the Ayurveda Questionnaire to know your dosha, body type. Fill it out as accurately as possible but don’t get stuck on any particular questions. Just choose the answer that describes “in general” what you are most like. Then you can decide how strongly you want to identify with the statement. Of course, maybe the past week was unusual for you, but we are looking to identify the basic structure of our personality and body. There is no right or wrong answer. Some questions refer to your body, and those are pretty easy, while others refer to your personality. However, in those cases, just be as sincere as possible.

Prakriti: Know Your Body Type / The Ayurveda Questionnaire

Next to each question write a number from 1 to 5 that describes how much you agree with the statement. 1 = do not agree; 5 = totally agree. Try to answer in general and not necessarily only for recent times.

At the bottom, add up the total for each section. Remember there is no result that is better than another. Having more of one dosha (body element) compared with another is not better or worse, and having them all equally does not mean that you are in balance.

Section One – Vata

I/My…..                                                                  

1. 1. tend to be thin and have an angular body structure.
   2. mostly have cold hands and feet.
   3. tend to have dry skin.
   4. hair tends to be on the dry side and can get frizzy easily.
   5. speech is quick and lively.
   6. movements are quick and sharp.
   7. am always on the go, ready for something new.
   8. learn new information rapidly.
   9. find it hard to remember all that I have to do.
   10. get excited easily.
   11. am spontaneous and open to trying new things.
   12. prefer warmer weather.
   13. get restless and agitated easily, needing to move or fidget.
   14. am full of ideas and tend to be creative.
   15. daily routine tends to vary, including meal and sleep times.
   16. tend to be sensitive and emotional.
   17. get stressed easily and tend to worry or get anxious.
   18. tend to have difficulty falling asleep.
   19. tend to eat quickly.
   20. digestion tends to be irregular with frequent gas or bloating.

Score

Section Two – Pitta

I/My….

1. 1. have a medium build and can get toned easily.
   2. have strong penetrating eyes.
   3. hair is thin, shows early signs of graying, or is a reddish tone.
   4. have a strong, sharp and discriminating mind.
   5. love making lists and crossing off completed tasks.
   6. am thorough in what I do.
   7. love taking on new projects.
   8. get very involved in what I do and can maintain focus on a task.
   9. aim for perfection and keep high standards.
   10. don’t like to compromise and can be strong-willed.
   11. can get irritated and impatient easily.
   12. do things with passion and energy.
   13. get angry easily.
   14. friends say I am intense.
   15. sleep well and am fine with less than eight hours of sleep.
   16. heat up easily and prefer cooler environments.
   17. have a strong appetite and can eat large quantities if I desire.
   18. get irritated if I don’t eat when I am hungry.
   19. have a tendency to get heartburn.
   20. can be critical and argumentative.

Score

Section Three – Kapha

I/My….

1. 1. have a wider build with bigger bones.
   2. gain weight easily and have a hard time losing it.
   3. hair is full and on the oily side.
   4. skin is smooth and soft.
   5. am a loyal friend and devoted in my relationships.
   6. People tend to confide in me.
   7. am forgiving and sweet-natured in general.
   8. am slow to move and move slowly.
   9. don’t get excited about doing physical activity.
   10. am a good listener, and speaking is not a natural trait.
   11. tend to hold emotions inside.
   12. tend to withdraw instead of confront.
   13. don’t like to let go of things even if I don’t expect to use them again.
   14. have difficulty leaving a relationship, even after it is no longer nourishing.
   15. don’t like change and enjoy a steady routine.
   16. have good endurance.
   17. do my tasks slowly and steadily.
   18. learn slowly but retain information well.
   19. like sleeping, and eight hours is not a lot in my opinion.
   20. have a hard time getting up in the morning and starting my day. 

Score

What does this mean?

You now have three numbers next to the three words vata, pitta and kapha. These words help us understand our constitution.

Your prakriti is made of three doshas. We all have some of each dosha within us. What makes us unique is the ratio of the three in our body. There is no ideal ratio. By no means is having all three doshas equal better in any way than having one dosha much more dominant and another much lower. It is about having each dosha balanced within itself (or within us) that brings us into a place of harmony. It is common to find two more dominant doshas with one dosha a bit less prominent.

According to tradition, our doshas are pretty much constant. Your Prakriti or original constitution is basically inherited. For example, Doron is, and always was, pitta dominant with a strong vata and a lower kapha. Pitta-vata would be the way to express it. He tells, as he has grown older his kapha has gone up and his pitta does not come in as high. Part of the reason the score has changed is that he answered the questions according to himself at that specific time, and not according to who he was as a toddler (Honestly who can remeber such detail back then – do you?). So Doron’s solution is to try and answer the questions according to your tendencies in general.

Ayurvedic doctors use pulse checking and other systems to get more accurate “readings” of our bodies. This questionnaire will be our main tool. Afterwards we will learn about each dosha separately – what is it like in and out of balance, as well as different ways to bring it back to balance. We can experience great change when the doshas come into balance.  

The Five Elements

There are five basic elements that make up this world: space, air, fire, water, and earth. In Ayurveda, we look at what the elements represent and how they function rather than what they actually are. These elements are the same as those that make up our own bodies. The doshas, the psycho-physiological energies of our bodies, are mainly a combination of two of the elements. Thus the doshas within us exist in harmony within nature.

These are the five elements used in Ayurveda

Space: a field through which all fields can manifest

Air: a gaseous state of matter, an existence without form

Fire: a power that can convert solid to liquid and gas, a form with no substance, always in a state of transformation

Water: a liquid state of matter, a substance with no stability unless it is contained

Earth: a solid state of mater; stability

Each dosha has two elements

Vata: Space and Air
Pitta: Fire and Water
Kapha: Water and Earth

We contain all the doshas within us

The doshas are variable and tend to shift according to our surroundings, nutritional status, state of mind, stress level, activity level and many other factors. Thus, they can move out of balance. When a dosha becomes extreme, more pronounced and overly dominant at a level that brings discomfort to oneself or one’s surroundings, it has moved away from balance and is in disharmony. For most of us the doshas are constantly shifting slightly in one direction and then back. It is not uncommon, though, to have the shift out of balance continue, creating greater unwanted effects in our bodies and mind. For some, this shift can go to extremes and create chronic illnesses or more severe cases of disease. The good news is that we can come back into balance and over time learn how to remain in a state of balance and equanimity.

Share the Self Knowledge

Thank you for reading! Please join us for a yoga retreat or yoga teacher training at Doron Yoga & Zen Center in beautiful Guatemala.

Buy the Doron Yoga Manual to get a detailed explanation of what each dosha
means and how to come back to balance with lifestyle, yoga and nutrition. Also check out The Yoga Lifestyle, the most complete book to balance your life using the tools of yoga and Ayurveda.

Blissful Living,

Doron