Stress and Dosha - An Ayurvedic View on Stress Symptoms

Ayurveda teaches that how stress shows up in your body is an entirely individual affair. As is it's remedy.*

For some of us stress symptoms will start an avalanche of nervous system related issues. For others the effect is high irritation and inflammation. For some, stress and the symptoms that accompany it feel like a huge weight that you simply can't shove out of the way. This initial reaction to stress is highly lead by our inherent body-type (prakrti) and as the symptoms start to catalogue into your particular stress patterns, other dosha (governing systems of the body) can become involved.

Ayurveda would describe your particular stress reaction by your particular doshic imbalance (vkrti) :

• Vata increase - anxiety/worry/can't sleep for thinking things over and over/wake up 4am/lose weight/hair loss

• Pitta increase - angry/irritated/skin reactions/wake up over-heated and aggravated in the middle of the night/premature greying of hair/IBS

• Kapha increase - depressed/weighted down/gaining weight/lethargic/comfort eating/feeling clingy/lack of motivation/nausea

Doshic decrease and combinations of dosha also cause particular patterns of stress symptoms.

Stress doesn't just circulate around and around the body. Depending on the weak spots in your body defenses (which are caused by old injuries, particular life-style choices, dietary deficiencies, seasonal imbalance and genetics, your stress can take a seat almost anywhere:

• Mind

• Bowels

• Senses

• Digestion

• Eyes

• Skin

• Emotions

• Chest

• Sinuses

• Joints

• Etc

Ayurveda looks for the root cause (vata, pitta, kapha and it's combinations) and seeks to pacify the increased dosha whilst repairing the area of weakness.

Don't get me wrong, this is not always a quick fix. Sometimes, it can take years of little baby steps - but sometimes just a couple of quick and easy changes can make a whole lot of difference. Whichever it happens to be, there is no downside to implementing the sound advice of Ayurveda in proceeding forwards with massage, diet, lifestyle, medicinal foods and movement therapies that bring you back towards your natural state (prakrti).

*Ayurveda is a complimentary therapy and does not take the place of standard, conventional medical care. Please make sure all your medical conditions and concerns are diagnosed and treated appropriately by your primary health care provider.