Ayurveda Article - Balanced Kapha Weight Control

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The Ayurvedic Approach to Balanced Weight Control:

 

Beyond the Cookie Cutter:

A Unique Individualized Approach to Weight Management

 

Like in every other area of health, Maharishi Ayurveda recommends a

holistic approach to weight management. In Maharishi Ayurveda, the

emphasis is on determining the cause of the individual's health need,

and based on that analysis, offering an individualized treatment that

includes diet, daily routine and herbal formulas. It is a very safe,

holistic approach that is far different from prescribing the same

isolated ingredient to everyone to fix a certain problem.

 

There are three major causes of weight gain, and these can be thought

of in terms of the three main doshas, Kapha, Pitta and Vata. The most

common type of weight gain is caused by having a slow metabolism.

This is common for a person who is a classic Kapha type.

 

Kapha dosha is comprised of the earth and water elements, so this

sort of person is going to reflect those qualities. A Kapha person

will be structurally bigger, with bigger bones and a more easy-going,

stable, gentle personality.

 

For a Kapha person, being skinny is usually not a healthy goal. If

you are prone to gain weight, and are always five to ten pounds

overweight no matter how little you eat, it would go against your

nature to ever be really thin. Rather, it would be better to balance

your metabolism, increase your ability to digest sugars and

carbohydrates by adopting a Kapha balancing diet and lifestyle, and

allow your body to naturally find its ideal weight. You may not be

skinny, you may always weigh five to ten pounds more than average,

but you will feel better and look healthier, and you will lose most

of your excess weight.

 

Remember that all body types are good. It's just a matter of adopting

a diet and lifestyle that will optimize the health of whatever body

type you are.

 

Balancing Kapha Dosha

 

The main principle is to introduce some of the fire element into your

food and lifestyle. This will balance the earthen and watery elements

of Kapha dosha. Flavor your vegetables and dhal soups with spices

that are mildly pungent, such as black pepper, fresh ginger, and

turmeric. In research that was recently completed at UCLA, turmeric

has been found to help promote digestion, reduce cholesterol and

allergies, and metabolize fat. Turmeric is such an important spice in

Indian cuisine that it is considered inauspicious to eat a vegetable

that is not flavored yellow by it. The only time that turmeric is

left out of the food is during the thirteen days of mourning

following the death of family member. (Important note: Turmeric

activates the liver, so if you have any history of liver or bile duct

disorder, consult your doctor before including it in your diet.)

 

Other flavors to balance Kapha Dosha are the bitter and astringent

tastes. These include green leafy vegetables, split mung dhal soup

and other bean soups, and astringent vegetables such as broccoli,

cauliflower and brussel sprouts. It's important to cook your

vegetables and eat them warm, rather than relying on raw vegetables.

Raw vegetables are difficult to digest, whereas to balance Kapha

dosha you want to eat warm, light, cooked foods. Quinoa is an

excellent grain for managing weight, as it has high protein and zinc

content (4 mg of zinc per cup). But it should be cooked with a bit of

ghee or olive oil, as otherwise it may be too drying. Basmati rice is

also a good grain for Kapha dosha, because it has a more drying

quality than other types of rice, but quinoa is better because it has

the intelligence of fire to support weight loss.

The fire element can even be added to the water you drink. If you

boil your water for five minutes on the stove, you are adding the

intelligence of fire to your drinking water. If you sip the water

throughout the day, the intelligence of fire will permeate the

molecules of water, and thus permeate your body. You won't notice

anything right away, but if you continue with this routine in time

you will feel less fatigue. This is because Kapha dosha tends to

create a feeling of lethargy, and by introducing the fire element in

the water, you'll gradually feel more energetic.

 

If you are Kapha by nature, you'll want to stay away from heavy, cold

desserts such as ice cream and cheesecake, as these will only slow

your metabolism and increase the cold, heavy qualities of Kapha in

your body. Rich desserts, fried foods, foods made with refined sugar

and refined flour, cold foods and drinks--all of these should be

avoided if you want to balance Kapha and reduce weight.

 

These are just a few extra tips to follow in addition to the Kapha-

reducing diet. You can go to www.mapi.com to find out about that diet

in detail.

 

Lifestyle tips to balance Kapha dosha?

 

Regular exercise is the most important change you can make to improve

your metabolism. The problem is that people with excessive Kapha

dosha often feel somewhat complacent or even lethargic, and they

might have to push themselves a little to exercise every day. Usually

Kapha types need more vigorous exercise for a longer period to have

the same effect as milder exercise would have on a Vata person.

 

Even making a habit of breathing more deeply can help charge the

metabolism with more of the fire element. When Kapha dosha is out of

balance, one of the first things that happens is the person becomes a

shallow breather. Deeper breathing is healthy for all body types, but

especially for Kapha dosha, because deeper breathing helps wake up

the body's metabolism. When the metabolism is lower and breathing is

shallow,the body's channels get blocked and cause even more lethargy,

which becomes a vicious cycle.

 

Don't try to force your breathing, but just easily make a habit of

breathing more deeply. You can also consult an expert in Maharishi

Ayurveda to learn pranayama, the yogic breathing exercise that

prepares the mind and body for meditation. These gentle exercises

cultivate deeper breathing and help cleanse the pathways of prana, or

life breath, in the body, removing obstructions and enhancing

metabolism.

 

Ways to increase the fire element?

 

People with more Kapha dosha need to be sure to eat their main meal

when the sun is strongest, right at noon. This is because the body's

internal digestive fire, called agni, is also strongest at noon. If

you eat your main meal then, you'll digest it more easily and create

less of the waste product of digestion, the toxin ama, which blocks

the channels and slows metabolism.

 

The digestive fire is weaker in the morning when you wake up and in

the evening before bed, so breakfast and dinner should be lighter

meals. An excellent breakfast for balancing metabolism for all three

body types is a cooked apple or pear with cooked prunes and figs.

This breakfast choice is light and sustains most people until noon,

when they can eat their heaviest meal. A healthy supper for a Kapha

person might be soup made with vegetables, grains and dhal and

flavored with spices such as cumin, fresh ginger, black pepper, and

turmeric. Or kitcheri, a light meal made with rice and split mung

dhal, is also a light Kapha-reducing meal (recipe available at

www.mapi.com). Kapha Churna is an excellent spice mixture for

balancing Kapha dosha.

 

 

Note : This ayurvedic information is educational and is not intended

to replace standard medical care or advice.

Copyright MAPI, 2002.

 

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