Ayurvedic Exercise For Equilibrium

January is a time when we want to push our bodies to the limit, yet energy levels are lagging behind. This tends to manifest as starting with all good intentions and then either we crash and burn, or worse still, we do ourselves an injury. This need not mean giving up and it’s simply a matter of changing your routine to suit your dosha body type. We all know that exercise is vital to physical and mental wellbeing, but crucially in Ayurveda, we suggest lasting benefits and indeed enjoyment comes from choosing the right exercise to bring lasting equilibrium.

Exercise for you Dosha Body Type

Exercise for Vata Dosha:

The energy of air and either, those with a Vata dominant dosha tend to keep on moving and even after a full-on day of multi-tasking and full on energy, they are drawn to high-intensity workout and jogging to let off steam. This simply puts too much pressure on their physical and emotional wellbeing. If that sounds like you and you are a vata dosha body type, the best thing to do is slow down and get grounded. Opt for soothing exercise this January such as strengthening yoga classes, Pilates, swimming or a wonderfully healing walk. These exercises are just as effective and indeed more effective for Vata dosha types. Importantly, given you struggle with routine and need it more than most to keep sane, do yourself a favour and book six classes at a time, so you know exactly what’s coming.

Exercise for Pitta Dosha:

The energy of fire and water, Pitta governs transformation and for this dosha, it’s vital they set themselves a task and achieve outstanding results. The most athletic, physically driven dosha; once they put their mind to something, they can’t help but succeed, but this can be at the cost of simply having fun; something Pitta really needs to do. If this sounds like you and you are a pitta dosha body type; use that ambitious, strong nature to play in friendly, competitive team sports, where you’ll be part of something bigger and build compassion and trust for others abilities. So try signing up for tennis, hockey and water sports such as rowing. This will bring out the best in you and show you that winning is a team effort and you need not be so hard on yourself or others.

Exercise for Kapha Dosha:

The energy of water and earth, this grounded, reliable dosha tends not to give up but can also get rather sluggish and unmotivated, so risks simply going through the motions and not achieving the best results when exercising. If you are Kapha dominant dosha, go for resistance training and classes led by motivational instructors. You would suit high-intensity training, hiking, running, jogging, cycling, swimming and anything that kick-starts the body's lymphatic drainage and gets the digestive system moving. When exercising for kapha dosha, it’s important to show up and once you have the right support around you, you’ll be in it for the long haul and be fit and fab.