Kapha-Balancing Asana

Introduction

For those with a kapha constitution, kapha imbalance, and/or during the kapha season, encouraging an energetic practice with challenge can help to bring balance.

• See Doshas for details about the kapha constitution and links to quizzes for determining one’s dosha make-up.
• See Seasonal Dosha-Balancing for information and planning related to kapha seasons in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Kapha in Balance

Of the three doshas, it’s kapha that endows the body with its earthy-watery qualities.

• Kapha provides lubrication for joints, as well as mucus to protect the sensitive tissues of the sinuses, lungs, and stomach.
• It also determines the size, strength, and suppleness of muscles.
• When kapha is in balance, you feel strong, composed, and stable.
• When it’s out of balance, you might feel sleepy, mentally dull, or depressed.
• When out of balance, you may also experience excess phlegm in the lungs or sinuses, nausea, unhealthy weight gain, water retention, or heaviness in your limbs.
• When kapha dosha is in balance, you feel calm, sympathetic, courageous, forgiving, and loving.
• More signs of balance: the body is a picture of radiant health and nothing stops you from moving forward to accomplish goals.
• When kapha is in balance, your commitment to personal practice and personal relationships become more secure.
• Humility and devotion are signs of kapha‘s evolution.

STRENGTH, STAMINA, FLOWING FLUIDS

Kapha is a mix of the earth and water elements. These earthy elements make Kapha dosha have the most strength and stamina but in excess can lead to excess weight and lethargy. Kapha has a close relationship to fluids of the body, and when the fluids become stagnant, they clog the body’s channels—from sweat to prana. – Kimberly Snyder 

LIGHTEN UP PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY

As the world becomes colder and wetter in winter, your body mirrors these kapha-like changes. You tend to eat, sleep, and stay inside more during winter, which can result in a “winter coat” of insulation. In spring, you need to shed this excess kapha or risk becoming vulnerable to seasonal allergies or head colds. You might also gain or retain weight or succumb to a general lethargy or emotional dullness. Your Ayurvedic prescription for spring is to develop a rhythm and routine that helps you gradually lighten up physically, mentally, and emotionally without disturbing the stable virtues of kapha. – Scott Blossom