Ayurveda for your kids

Once you understand the qualities of the doshas, you will slowly be able to recognize them in your children. As each of us has a unique make-up with differing amounts of pitta, vata and kapha, we see this in our childrens’ make-up as well.

Personally, once I thoroughly understood each dosha’s characteristics, I quickly could see my them in my girls’ behaviors and physical constitutions.

It gave me a sense of peace and less worry. Now I knew what diet and lifestyle tweaks could help or hinder them.

Perhaps you recognize the following:

Pitta child: fiery temper, competitiveness, perfectionist tendencies, enjoy attention, get ready to go quickly, strong appetite, reddish face, gets overheated in the sun and high heat, skin conditions such as rosacea and eczema,

Kapha child: may hold weight easily, ‘‘slow and steady’’, calm demeanor, a heavy sleeper, and tends to be more of a homebody, need encouragement to get moving and out of the house.

Vata child: will have the tendency to have colder hands and feet, a variable appetite, light sleeper, easily variable mind, creative, may not follow through on ideas, prone to anxiety and worry.

In my next post, we’ll go over foods and lifestyle adjustments that can help keep your kids balanced.

The 3 doshas

In Ayurveda, humans are considered to be composed of a combination of 3 doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These doshas are recognized and expressed physically, emotionally and through our personalities. These 3 doshas are combinations of 5 elements: fire, water, earth, air and space (or ether).

Vata dosha is composed of air and space.

Pitta dosha is composed of fire and water.

Kapha dosha is composed of earth and water.

A goal of Ayurveda is, once we understand our unique doshic make-up, to keep them in balance. An Ayurvedic consultation will help you to understand your make-up, and identify if certain doshas are out of balance. Often our health issues present a doshic imbalance. As an example, too much movement or travel often leads to a Vata imblance. (Yes, many many of us in the modern world have Vata imbalances!!). Too much time under the hot sun leads to a Pitta imbalance.

Our ‘‘Prakriti’’ is considered our natural state of being, our doshic make-up when we are born, determined at conception.

Ayurveda 101

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian system of medicine, a nature-based medicine, created more than 5,000 years ago. ‘‘Ayu’’ means life, and ‘‘Veda’’ means knowledge. So the word means Knowledge of Life. Ancient Ayurvedic texts indeed touch on so much more than symptoms and remedies; offering an incredible amount of guidance for living life in general.

During the time of occupation by the British, Ayurveda was swept under the rug in favor of ‘‘Western’’ medicine.

However, in recent decades it has come back into the light across the world as people are searching for alternatives to pharmaceuticals to heal themselves and present disease.

In the U.S., there are 3 levels of Ayurvedic training: Counselor, Practitioner and Doctor, based on your years of study.

At the Ayurvedic Health Counselor level (my current level - for now ;-)), we work with clients experiencing health issues, concentrating on diet and lifestyle changes they can make to improve their health and PREVENT disease. Examples include sleep issues, eczema, anxiety/depression, heachaches, stomach issues, TMJ.

The foundation of Ayurveda is improving digestion, that all good health starts with well-functioning digestion. So we always start with that. I may also suggest teas and herbs to take at certain times of the day.