Exploring The Idea of Prakriti and Vikriti (Your Ayurvedic Physique Structure)

Prakriti and Vikriti are basic ideas in Ayurveda that assist perceive a person’s inherent constitutional physique sort and their present state of well being. These ideas are used to advertise stability and wellness by means of personalised approaches to weight-reduction plan, way of life, and therapy.

In easy phrases, Prakriti refers back to the pure structure we’re born with, whereas Vikriti represents our present well being situation

Each Prakriti and Vikriti are primarily based on the three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, which kind the physique’s structure. Every individual is a singular mixture of 1, two, or all three doshas.

This text delves deeper into the ideas of Prakriti and Vikriti, explaining their significance and functions in Ayurveda.

On this article, we’ve got defined the ideas of Prakriti and Vikriti intimately.

Understanding Prakriti

The phrase Prakriti is derived from three parts: the prefix ‘Pra,’ which means “origin”; ‘Kri,’ which means “to do”; and ‘Ti,’ which means “to accentuate.” Collectively, Prakriti refers back to the entity that manifests on the time of origin.

Prakriti represents the unique physique structure or the inherent mixture of doshas that an individual develops on the time of conception.

It’s the nature you’re born with and is exclusive to you. Every individual’s structure is predetermined at delivery and influenced by numerous traits, together with look, persona, habits, and dietary preferences. Prakriti determines an individual’s bodily and psychological traits and stays fixed all through their life.

In response to Ayurveda, this occurs as a result of an individual’s Prakriti is set at delivery by the panch mahabhutas (air, fireplace, water, ether, and earth), doshas (vata, pitta, kapha), and trigunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas).

Doshaja Prakriti

On the time of conception, the predominance of 1, two, or all three doshas determines a person’s Prakriti, referred to as Doshaja Prakriti.

Doshaja Prakriti is additional labeled into three classes: Eka Doshaja Prakriti, Dwandvaja Doshaja Prakriti, and Sama Doshaja Prakriti.

• Eka Doshaja Prakruti – Because the title suggests, people with a predominance of 1 (eka) dosha have an Eka Doshaja Prakriti. This kind is comparatively uncommon. Amongst these:
  • Vata physique sort is taken into account inferior (heena).
  • Pitta physique sort is taken into account reasonable (madhyama).
  • Kapha physique sort is thought to be superior (uttama).

• Sama Doshaja Prakruti – Among the many rarest Prakriti varieties, people with a Sama Doshaja Prakriti have a balanced mixture of all three doshas. That is thought-about the best (sreshta) physique structure. Nonetheless, it’s difficult to keep up on account of trendy unhealthy existence and dietary habits.

Manasika Prakriti

Manasika Prakriti refers to a person’s psychological or psychological structure, which is set by the mixture of the three Gunas Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. In consequence, an individual’s Manasika Prakriti could be labeled as Satvik, Rajasik, or Tamasik.

Understanding Manasika Prakriti is essential for selecting the best strategies to assist psychological and emotional well-being, comparable to yoga, meditation, or tailor-made dietary and way of life practices.

Equally, realizing an individual’s Doshaja Prakriti helps an Ayurvedic practitioner perceive their persona, temperament, traits, and general well being, enabling them to suggest applicable remedies and interventions.

What components decide the Prakriti of a person?

The formation of Prakriti is linked to completely different components, comparable to earlier karmas, the bodily and psychological well being of the mom and father on the time of conception, the mom’s weight-reduction plan and train routine, social milieu, the follow of wholesomeness by the mom (throughout being pregnant) and youngster within the postnatal interval, and several other others.

Owing to the above, the next are the first components that decide the Prakriti of a person:

• Sukra-Shonit Prakruti (situations of sperm and ovum)
• Kala-garbhasaya Prakruti (time of the season of conception and situations of the uterus)
• Matu-ahar Prakruti (weight-reduction plan and way of life habits of mom)
• Pancha Mahabhuta Vikara Prakriti (affiliation of the 5 fundamental components)

Different components that additionally affect the Prakriti are:

• Jatiprasakta (Race/caste/ Occupation)
• Kulaprasakta (household/ancestry)
• Desha-anupatini (geo-climatic components)
• Kala-anupatini (time scale)
• Vaya-anupatini (age) – determines the dominance of dosha
• Pratyatmaniyata (individuality)

The way to establish a person’s Prakriti?

A questionnaire is often used for Prakriti evaluation. It consists of questions on your habits, look, physiological processes comparable to digestion and excretion, in addition to your moods and general nature.

The evaluation includes a scientific examination utilizing three strategies: scrutiny (Darshan), palpation (Sparshan), and questioning (Prashna). It examines three points:

1. Construction of the physique (Rachanaanusari) – Bodily traits.
2. Physiological (Kriyaanusari) – Bodily features.
3. Psychological (Manoanusari) – Psychological and emotional traits.

The variations in these traits collectively outline a person’s Prakriti.

To precisely decide your Prakriti, it is strongly recommended to seek the advice of an skilled Ayurvedic practitioner. They’ll assess your physique sort primarily based on the solutions supplied in the course of the Prakriti evaluation check.

Whereas there are quite a few on-line questionnaires, quizzes, and checks out there, they need to be used with warning, as they might lack the precision of knowledgeable evaluation.

Significance of Prakriti in Ayurvedic therapy

In trendy utilization, the time period Prakriti typically refers back to the bodily structure, referred to as Deha Prakriti. This structure is set by the distinctive dosha ratios that every individual is born with.

The Ayurvedic idea of Prakriti is important for sustaining well being, understanding illness, and guiding therapy. Ayurveda emphasizes that by understanding your Prakriti, you possibly can establish the components that affect your well being and well-being, enabling you to steer a wholesome, joyful, and fulfilling life.

Understanding your Prakriti helps you preserve well being by following the suitable weight-reduction plan and every day routine. It additionally permits you to recognise what may disrupt your stability, resulting in illness or sickness. With out this self-awareness, you could battle to keep up stability, forestall sickness, or tackle imbalances to revive well being and wholeness.

Moreover, information of your Prakriti may help you in a number of methods:

• Adapting your way of life to stop or handle dosha imbalances.
• Making use of preventive well being measures to keep up equilibrium.
• Customizing your weight-reduction plan in line with your dosha to boost nutrient absorption, digestion, and elimination.
• Guaranteeing you eat the best meals in the best quantities and on the proper occasions.
• Personalizing your sleep patterns for higher relaxation and restoration.
• Choosing the proper train routine to remain match and wholesome.

Understanding Vikriti

In Ayurveda, a person’s state of well being or imbalance is known as Vikriti. The Sanskrit phrase Vikriti, which means “after creation,” refers to an individual’s organic state, which could be influenced by their setting from the second of conception.

A Vikriti evaluation in Ayurveda is used to establish how exterior components have impacted an individual’s bodily, psychological, or emotional well being. Vikriti could be regarded as the manifestation of any present doshic imbalances.

After fertilization, the human embryo is uncovered to and influenced by its setting. Optimum improvement happens when the embryo grows in a steady setting. Equally, after delivery, a toddler thrives in a perfect and nurturing environment, selling well being and well-being.

Nonetheless, in an setting or way of life that’s lower than excellent, the three doshas can fall out of stability, inflicting a deviation from the person’s Prakriti. This state of imbalance is Vikriti.

Not like Prakriti, which stays fixed all through life, Vikriti is dynamic. It might probably change from daily, with the seasons, or throughout completely different life phases. Thus, whereas Prakriti displays a person’s inherent structure, Vikriti represents their present state of imbalance.

What components decide the Vikriti of a person?

To make choices to revive our equilibrium, it’s useful to know the traits of every of the doshas. This permits us to acknowledge what has gotten out of stability or what has accrued.

Vikriti or doshic imbalances can happen on account of a number of components comparable to weather conditions, dietary habits, way of life, sleep patterns, frequency of train, stress, and lots of exterior components.

The aggregation of a selected dosha could be felt throughout quite a few seasonal modifications. We incessantly purchase traits of the prevailing dosha all year long due to how carefully tied our physiology is to the world round us. Because the seasons change, this accumulation is most noticeable.

For instance, your prakriti is Pitta which comes with good digestion and a steady thoughts. Nonetheless on account of a seasonal change, your digestive system might flare and you could expertise psychological fog, an indication of Vata vitiation. In such instances, though your Prakriti has not modified, the dominance of the vata dosha is figuring out the imbalances brought about in your physique.

Significance of Vikriti in Ayurvedic therapy

Understanding an individual’s Vikriti after which determining what parts of that individual’s setting have led to the disruptions is without doubt one of the key targets of Ayurvedic therapy. The time period “setting” right here refers to each the individual’s way of life and the inputs they get by means of their 5 senses.

To establish the basis signs of a illness, vikriti evaluation is step one in all Ayurvedic remedies.

One strategy to establish the underlying causes for sickness or illness is to correlate the ratio of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha in an individual at any given second with their physiological composition. One can evaluate it to the individual’s inherent prakriti and take a look at operational indications like digestion, elimination, or sleeping patterns.

As soon as understood, the objective is to rework the setting. 

Figuring out an individual’s Prakriti is vital for understanding their basic tendencies, however understanding their Vikriti is vital for making a therapy technique.

Distinction between Prakriti and Vikriti

Now that we’ve got understood some fundamental ideas of Prakriti and Vikriti, we will summarize the distinction between the 2 beneath:

• Our intrinsic structure is named Prakriti, and the imbalance that develops once we don’t dwell in accordance with that construction is named Vikriti.
• Prakriti refers back to the mind-body form or structure. Vikriti interprets to the current state of affairs.
• Within the Ayurvedic perspective, one’s Prakriti is often considered from the angle of dosha predominance within the physique structure. Then again, the vikriti is appeared into the imbalances or vitiations occurring within the doshas structure throughout the Prakriti.
• Understanding our Prakriti helps us grasp what our basic nature is. Studying our Vikriti gives us with the power to take cost of our well being path. 
• To find out prakriti, components comparable to situations of sperm and ovum, time of the season of conception and situations of the uterus, weight-reduction plan, and way of life habits of the mom, and affiliation of the 5 fundamental components are seen. Whereas, the components appeared into when figuring out vikriti are – the basis reason for the dysfunction, vitiating variables, vitiated components, structure, location, time, power, and signs.

How do imbalances in Prakriti and Vikriti manifest?

Doshas play an vital function in relation to imbalances within the physique and thoughts. Though most of us are a twin doshas structure (bi-doshic physique sort), the Prakriti is determined by the dominant dosha.

So, when your dominant doshas are vitiated it may well result in a ton of bodily and psychological sicknesses, illnesses, or illnesses. Furthermore, the imbalance may also be brought about when the second dosha overpowers your dominant dosha. 

For instance, you’ve been recognized as having a Vata-Pitta physique sort with vata because the dominant dosha. Which means that you’ve a Vata Prakriti. When your Vata is imbalanced, you’ll expertise restlessness, fatigue, poor circulation, bloating, joint ache, and so forth. There might also be an opportunity that the pitta dosha has develop into imbalanced and also you may expertise signs like indigestion, acidity, pimples, pores and skin rashes, anger, irregular sleep, and so forth.

Nonetheless, you also needs to perceive that we might or might not have the ability to hyperlink our imbalances to our organic construction. There are additionally possibilities that you simply may need a vata-pitta prakriti with each doshas dominant when in comparison with the kapha prakriti.

In such instances, if an individual reveals indicators of sudden weight achieve, it might counsel that they might be experiencing kapha vitiation.

The manifestation of imbalances in Prakriti and Vikriti additionally is determined by the present way of life, seasonal modifications, and the setting you’re dwelling in.

Merely put, the imbalances within the prakrit and vikruti are manifested within the type of bodily and psychological issues on account of vitiated doshas.

• In case your vata is imbalanced, it might result in extreme issues with circulation, broken tissues, crackling joints, improper digestion, constipation, extreme weight reduction, psychological chaos, or insomnia.
• In case of pitta imbalance, ulcers, extreme sweating, sunburn, acidity, hair fall, vertigo, egoism, a rise of adverse feelings, and so forth could also be skilled.
• Individuals with a kapha imbalance will discover lethargy, weight achieve, lack of urge for food, oily pores and skin and hair, despair, lack of motivation, stubbornness, and so forth as signs.

One other level to recollect is that in case your vata will get vitiated, there’s a excessive chance that the opposite doshas may get affected as effectively. It’s because Vata is answerable for circulation throughout the physique and between the organs. So if the circulation is blocked, the organs won’t be able to work on the optimum stage.

Conclusion

To sum up, Prakriti is the mixture of doshas you’re born with, influenced by components such because the situations of the sperm and ovum at conception, the well being of the mom’s uterus, and the time and season of conception.

Vikriti, alternatively, refers to your present state of being, which is dynamic and modifications in line with your setting. It’s usually thought-about an imbalanced state of the doshas.

An Ayurvedic practitioner diagnoses your well being situation primarily based in your Prakriti and Vikriti by means of a collection of questions. This helps decide which doshas want consideration to revive stability.

From the traits of Prakriti and Vikriti, it’s clear that the objective of Ayurveda is to accumulate the information needed to acknowledge when a Vikriti imbalance arises, serving to to stop sickness or illness. Ayurveda additionally aids in creating practices and rituals that preserve our Prakriti balanced.