Ayurvedic Fitness
Cyril Saulnier via Unsplash
Hello!
I’m here to continue sharing our conversation on the great 4 pillars of health. If you’re new here or happened to miss it, I have the other pillars on previous posts and you’re welcome to check them out. I also shared a video on my Instagram about my sleep routine and I got so many messages of people that have tried it and loved it! It makes me so happy to hear about the small changes that make a big difference.
Today I will be touching on the subject of exercise.
MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!
The nature of our body is to move. We have 360 joints in our skeletal system and that is certainly for a reason!
Proper exercise brings fluidity to your joints and tissues, supports detoxification and even improves digestion. There are so many benefits, I could write endless paragraphs and bore you to death! So let’s get to the point: how does ayurveda view the topic of exercise?
Ayurveda encourages us to embrace our uniqueness. There is no one size fits all. The golden rule to not only exercising but to everything we do is “like increases like and opposite balances”. Translating: if you’re someone that gets overheated fast, sweats a lot, gets uncomfortable in hot weather, you most likely have lots of the fire element in you. So bringing more “fire” into your life will get you off balance. You should probably avoid working out when the sun is at its peak for example. Swimming or practicing cooling activities may be a much better idea for you, especially in the Summer.
Ayurveda fitness recommendations are tailored to one’s constitutions, imbalances, age, environment and season. The time of the day for exercising is also very important and ideally it should be done between 6am to 10am. Why so? Because that is the time where we have more density in our environment (earth and water) and that balances out the light quality of movement. It also helps beat the sluggishness that those elements bring in. Sounds complicated but the more you get familiar with the 5 elements that are in everything, including actions, the easier it gets to find your zen.
Speaking of which, that is a major component of the ayurvedic approach to fitness. Your exercise routine needs to serve you and not stress you. You need to find joy in what you do. If you workout 5 times a week but you absolutely hate it, please stop it! Ask yourself what kind of movement would make you enjoy the experience. Then give it a try! You can’t commit to something if you don’t find it fun.
For some reason our society has created this “no pain, no gain” expectation and we’ve become obsessed with exercise and body image thinking more is always better. Oftentimes that creates a negative effect on our physical and mental health.
Yes, we should aim to exercise daily, just like we eat and sleep, but tune into yourself and really think of what would be the best way for you to get the benefits of movement. The traditional texts mention that we should exercise until half of our capacity, meaning until we break a sweat on our foreheads. Obviously at that time they weren’t sitting at a desk for 6 straight hours. They were constantly moving. So we need to adjust it to our modern lives.
Let’s see what that means for each of the body types/constitutions:
VATA TYPES - AIR + SPACE
Vata people have more of the elements air and space in them. They are usually less curvy, they run either on the very short or very tall side. Because of air, they tend to be drier than the other doshas and when imbalanced may suffer from dry skin and constipation for example. Vata in the body is responsible for movement, and because of that vata people love to move! But too much movement aggravates vata.
The best approach in terms of exercise for vata is gentle and stable. Don’t over exert! That will diminish your Ojas’ (immunity juice) reservoir and may leave you tired, with no energy. Vata’s movements should be fluid and strength building. Stretching is amazing to release tension and bring groundness.
PITTA TYPES - FIRE + WATER
Pitta people have more of the elements of fire and water in them. They are the middle ground for everything and have a medium size body - they gain muscle mass pretty easily and don’t fluctuate easily in terms of weight gain. They are super competitive people and because of that they love competitive sports!
My dear pittas don’t fall into that trap! That will make you angry easily, increasing fire in your body. Moderation is your word when it comes to movement. You don’t need to prove to the world you’re the best at everything!
Jokes aside, Pitta people should execute challenging movements if they wish but in a relaxed manner. Fluid movements will help counter pitta’s sharpness and rigidity. Swimming is a lovely activity for pittas. Bike riding in nature is another great option. Just try and stay away from times when the sun is too hot (10am - 2pm).
KAPHA TYPES - EARTH + WATER
Kapha people have more of the earth and water elements in them. They have bigger structures and heavier bones. They tend to gain weight easier but when balanced they are the strongest in terms of immunity.
Because of their density they tend towards inertia and they love a good couch! Kapha people need more vigorous exercise to avoid blockages due to the earth element. Think of earth and water mixed together. That does not move easy!
The best way to get Kaphas to commit to something is if they team up or if they find something fun to do. They really have to enjoy their exercise routine to stick to it. Dancing is a great activity for kaphas for example.
I hope you enjoyed this information! If you have any questions or try something out, let me know! I am loving to hear more of what people are doing to get on a health bound.
On my next post I’ll be closing this series with the topic of diet (drum roll please)! That is a big one and may be split in two just so I can cover the basics.
I hope you have a lovely day!
T