PART i: ELEMENTS + DOSHAS

LEARN HOW THE ELEMENTS PRESENT THEMSELVES IN THE BODY
AND HOW THEY CREATe YOUR CONSTITUTION.

WHY the Elements are so helpful
- These elements are the building blocks of life. They are the key to our life force. Without ether, air, fire, water, and earth, we wouldn’t be here.
- We can tune into the language of the elements at any time because they are around us and apart of us. There’s really no separation, though the more we learn how to recognize their patterns, the easier it becomes to use them as tools for balance.
- As humans, we already have an innate connection with the elements, but just need reminders to tap into them.
- All ancient cultures saw the elements as the base of their healing modalities.

HOW can we use the elements
- We can use the elements bring our bodies back into balance with remedies specific to what we need moment to moment. The elements help us decide what foods would be the most nourishing, what plants would be the most healing, and what practices would be the most grounding.
- It’s a giant step beyond the allopathic approach of giving the same drug to many different people. It takes into account your uniqueness and offers multiple avenues for remedies in the form of food, medicinal herbs and healing practices.
- Though it might seem simple to boil it all down to an elemental level, aligning with the elements is a powerful way to make tangible shifts in how we feel, think and move in the world.

KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE DOSHAS
- Our dosha is our foundation, our baseline. Throughout life we experience events, traumas, surgeries, illness or loss that can throw us out of balance and another element or dosha will fill in the gaps or overcompensate.
- A lot of times when people refer to their dosha, they only refer to their primary dosha—vata, pitta, or kapha. But, most of us actually have two doshas. We usually take one dosha from each of our parents and in turn, it makes up our constitution. We have a primary dosha and a secondary dosha. Primary is the more dominant dosha and secondary is not as strong, but it’s still within us. Some folks are tri-doshic, but that’s actually pretty rare.
- Each season has its own dosha or dominant elements that are present. When we’re in a season that corresponds to one of our own doshas, say Vata (cold + dry) during the fall, we need to be even more mindful of finding ways of balancing in order to not get thrown off by the season.
- So, think about some of the qualities you share with your mother or your father. These can be both physical and emotional qualities, but it will give you a sense of what make up your primary and secondary doshas.

Ayurveda refers to the 5 elements as ETHER, AIR, FIRE, WATER + EARTH
Each of the elements contains one of these 4 qualities: COLD, DRY, HOT or WET
These 4 qualities are the clues that show us how the elements are showing up physically in the body.
Your primary dosha is made up of the qualities you have the most of.
Your secondary dosha is comprised of the other qualities you mostly have.
Note: Don't get stuck in trying to find your secondary dosha if its
not totally apparent yet. Focus on your primary, then investigate other
qualities you experience seasonally, situationally, or environmentally.