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Ayurveda

Find Your Best Yoga: An Exploration of Yoga & Ayurveda

Find Your Best Yoga: An Exploration of Yoga & Ayurveda

A Guest Post Written by Cheryl Tobin

If you’ve ever tried yoga, you probably have an opinion about it. To make a broad generalization, people tend to either love it or dislike it.

As with anything in life, we have our own preferences: we prefer certain foods, styles of clothing, particular colours, and also how we exercise our bodies, minds & spirits.

I’ve been a yoga instructor for ten years, and it may surprise you to know that I don’t necessarily feel that all yoga is for everyone. I believe that yoga is definitely worth a try.

If you enjoy your experience, continue your practice, and it will bring you benefits. If you do not enjoy it, may I suggest that you don’t give up right away but entertain the idea that maybe you just haven’t found the right yoga…yet.

Energetically we are all different; therefore, the way we balance our energetic bodies varies from one person to the next. Lucky for us, there is more than one type of yoga!

Yoga has been around for thousands of years and brings with it many different lineages and styles. This gives practitioners the opportunity to find what truly connects with them….if they’re willing to look for it.

Find Your Best Yoga Through Ayurveda

Yoga does not exist independently in the realm of ancient Indian tradition. In fact, yoga has a sister science called Ayurveda, which means ‘the wisdom or study of life.’ Combined, these practices create a holistic approach to a balanced lifestyle.

While yoga unites the physical & mental bodies through poses (asanas) and breathwork (pranayama), ayurveda addresses our lifestyle (for example, ritual and nourishment.)

Ayurveda takes into account our natural state of being and seeks to balance it by consuming more or less of certain activities. The goal is to be neither excessive nor deficient in any aspect of your life.

The practice of ayurveda organizes energetic constitutions into 3 archetypes called doshas:

  • Pitta (fire & water)
  • Kapha (earth & water)
  • Vata (air & space)

Nobody ever fits perfectly into one constitution. We actually all have a little bit of all three in us. Typically, we tend to have one dominant trait, or primary constitution. This is your starting point.

The Balancing Act: Find Your Best Yoga

Ayurveda takes into account that we are constantly fluctuating and changing. Our energetic makeup varies based on everything we interact with during life, including the environmental season, time of day, or our age.

Achieving balance within yourself does not mean that you repeat the same activities over and over. Since you are constantly changing, the way you balance yourself should also be changing.

Cultivating a keen awareness of your mind & body will allow you to make more informed decisions about what you need to recalibrate your constitution. And thus, help you decide which yoga style is best for you.

Let me share with you a personal example of how I learned a balancing lesson in my early days of studying ayurveda:

Pitta (the fire element) is my dominant constitution, so naturally I already have a lot of heat in me. Although I like heat, too much of it can put me out of balance. I mistakenly interpreted my dosha to mean “the more heat, the better.”

I signed up for free month of hot yoga at a brand new studio which opened in the middle of summer.

I had never practiced hot yoga in the summer, but was very eager to give it a try.

Before I even stepped on my mat, my inner heat was already intensified by the heat of the summer, and then further compounded by the temperature of the studio and the yoga poses in the class I attended.

At the end of my yoga class, I felt like I was on fire (physcially, mentally & emotionally). I was experiencing pitta…in excess.

My irritability and temper raged, my body felt like it was burning, I was extremely intense (no post-yoga calm for this gal). While other practitioners were totally blissed out, I was seconds away from bursting into a hell rage. It was not a good experience for me, and it took me hours to calm down.

In retrospect, I know that the way to balance myself was not through heat. A cooling practice would have been much more suitable, and I don’t mean just doing yoga with an air conditioner blasting. I wasn’t just doing yoga in a hot room. I was doing yoga poses that also generated heat.

In yoga, there are many asanas which can benefit each dosha. In this article I will take these and offer my personal opinion as to what Style of yoga may be compatible with your constitution.

Take the time now to read these brief descriptions of the doshas below. Can you figure out which might be your dominant one? If not, you can take a quiz here.

Find Your Best Yoga: The Pitta Constitution:

PItta is a heat constitution. Picture a person who is very “Type A.” They’re energetic, opinionated, confident, but may also have a short temper.

They’re inspiring, provide motivation, and are quick on their feet. When in proper balance, a pitta can be very productive. Pitta out of balance may manifest with excess anger related energy (for example, resentment, judgement, being argumentative).

All constitutions can experience their traits as excess or lack. Since Pitta is connected with the fire element introducing more heat into an already hot constitution can result in overheating. Therefore, to keep this energy in check it would be ideal to do a cooling yoga practice

If you identify as being a Pitta, try these types of yoga:

  • Yin Yoga: a cooling practice consisting of primarily floor based poses that are held for extended periods of time (2-5 minutes). This style of yoga increases flexibility by targeting deeper connective tissues in the body (i.e. fascia). Although many yoga studios are offering yin yoga in a heated environment, its intent is to actually be practiced at room temperature. Yin yoga utilizes many props, including blocks, straps, bolsters and blankets.
  • Restorative Yoga: is a passive yoga where yoga poses are held for extended periods of time (5-15 minutes), but are fully supported using props. Supports allow you to fully relax into the yoga poses, release any holding, and receive its benefits. Pittas have a go-go-go energy, so taking the time to slow down will ultimately provide balance to their constitution.

Find Your Best Yoga: The Vata Constitution

Vata is governed by the air element. Like air, individuals with this constitution reflect air- like qualities: they’re flexible, energetic, creative, and have a general lightness about them which may be interpreted as “spacey.”

When in balance, a vata personality type will be open and embrace change effortlessly, adapt and learn quickly, and be free spirited. The flip side of vata energy produces forgetfulness, a chaotic or frazzled energy, disorganization, anxiety and general fatigue. This hinders the ability to feel grounded.

Vata dosha responds best to slower paced and deliberate practices which will enhance the ability to feel grounded. The mere act of just establishing yoga as a routine will be immediately beneficial as well.

  • Kripalu Yoga: is a style of hatha yoga known for its compassion, adaptability, and gentleness. Kripalu yoga is often described as being a ‘meditation in motion,’ as the asanas are performed in a slower and intentional manner. “Self observation without judgement” is its primary teaching. An extended final relaxation, savasana, is practiced at the end of class which promotes grounding and restoration of the mind, body and spirit.
  • Yin/Yang Yoga: is a fusion style yoga class which offers an active and passive approach. Typically, this practice begins with a Vinyasa style yoga which will include some sun salutations and flowing between postures. Although some heat will be generated, the practice transitions to the yin style before too much heat is generated. Practicing Yin and Yang together offers opportunity to experience grounding postures from both a standing, seated and reclined position.

Find Your Best Yoga: The Kapha Constitution

Kapha is the dosha associated with the earth. Characteristics include patience, stability and a strong sense of being grounded. Kaphas are supportive individuals as they have an enhanced connection to compassion and empathy. This particular constitution has an affinity and appreciation for good food, as well as sleep. Kapha is often connected with coolness, and will often need warmth to be in balance.

The balanced kapha will be reliable, get along well with others, compassionate, affectionate, and emotionally stable. They will be physically and mentally strong. When the kapha dosha needs balancing, evidence of excessive eating and sleeping may begin to present themselves. Characteristics such as lethargy or depression may also occur. .

  • Ashtanga/ Vinyasa Yoga: Ashtanga is a traditional style of yoga that follows the same sequence each practice. Ashtanga is a heat building practice, which begins with several rounds of sun salutations, and vinyasas between each asana. Vinyasa yoga (often referred to as power yoga) is essentially a modern variation of Ashtanga yoga practice. It is less rigid in its posture sequence and gives the instructor more creative control of the flow.
  • Kundalini Yoga: utilizes breathing techniques (pranayama), mudras (hand gestures), mantra (repeated words or phrases), and sustained movements which are combined to create a kriya (which translates to mean “action”). This style of yoga works on your nervous systems to raise your vibration by awakening the energy within. Although the practice is adaptable, its repetitive nature (repeating kriyas for several minutes) generates heat within the body making it an invigorating practice.

Listen to Your Body

Yoga always promotes listening to your body, and how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally should always be considered before selecting a practice.

For example, although your dominant constitution may be Pitta you may find yourself feeling sluggish or unmotivated (it happens to us all!). In this case, you have accumulated some cooling “kapha like” energy within your constitution. To balance this, you could try a vinyasa flow class or kundalini yoga.

Embrace the way your energy flows, and be creative with the ways you seek balance.

Ayurveda is a very broad and comprehensive practice. This article is only the tip of the iceberg. Learning how the body ebbs and flows, and how to balance it takes years of study and research.

To begin an integrated yoga/ ayurvedic practice start by asking how your yoga practice felt: When you do a yoga practice that doesn’t feel good or enjoyable to you, you likely haven’t balanced yourself. If you have a really rewarding experience in a yoga class, you have achieved balance.

It is important not to exclude different types of yoga from your repertoire. Just because you didn’t enjoy a certain class once, doesn’t mean you won’t in the future.

My best advice: Go with the flow! If it feels good do it, if it doesn’t, try something new!

About the Author:

Cheryl has been filling journals, meditating, and practicing yoga for over 10 years. She describes herself as a spiritual enthusiast, empath, and a wannabe morning person.

Cheryl is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200), a Reiki practitioner, and holds certifications in qi gong, and various forms of meditation. She is a mental health advocate, a math teacher by day, and a mom.

When she isn’t writing, thinking about writing, cleaning or meditating, she can usually be found cooking keto recipes in her small kitchen or curled up in her armchair reading. She loves the colour pink, is fascinated by feathers, gets giddy over snow, and believes her spirit animal is the flamingo. She relies heavily on oracle cards and coffee to get through the day.

Cheryl lives in Atlantic Canada with her 5 year old daughter, a very handsome (and spiritually tolerant) man, and overly affectionate cat

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