So, you’ve taken an online dosha test and it says that you’re a “vata”. Is that really so?

What’s a dosha?

Ayurvedic biology describes our physiological functioning using terms like vata, pitta and kapha. But on an even more fundamental level, ayurveda describes everything and anything by the 5 gross elements. From lightest to heaviest, these elements are space, air, fire, water and earth. They make up the 3 doshas.

Each dosha contains each element, but the proportion of each element varies per dosha. Vata is made up of more ether and air. Pitta is primarily fire and water. And kapha is heavy (no pun intended) on water and earth. As such, each of the 3 doshas has qualities that are due to the dominant elements in them.

Dominant elements define the main dosha qualities

Without going into detail, you can see that vata will be similar to wind, which is light and dry, since it’s a lot of ether and air. And because pitta has fire in it, it will be hot. And finally, kapha will be heavy and moist due to the higher proportion of the 2 grossest elements.

What online dosha tests won’t tell you

1. Your test will likely show your out-of-balance state

Over 95% of people that tell me that they have taken an online dosha test tell me that they’re a “vata”. What an online dosha test will not tell you is that that’s your imbalance, not your actual doshic makeup.

When you’re born, you’re born with a certain doshic composition. That’s your balanced, or natural, state. As we go through our day, week, seasons, life, we make choices or certain outside events happen to us that will push us out of this balance. In other words, we become imbalanced.

Due to our diet and lifestyle, a large number of people have too much vata, or light and dry qualities in their bodies and minds, and stay that way for a longer period of time. This may show up as dry skin or constipation in your body, or racing thoughts or anxiety in your mind.

This means that when you take an online dosha test, chances are that you’re discovering your current state, which may be a state of imbalance. For the people I mentioned above, this imbalance is caused by too much vata.

2. You may think that you only have one or two doshas

You may be vata, pitta or kapha predominant, which means that your primary dosha is vata, pitta or kapha. But remember that you have all 5 elements inside of you, so you have all 3 doshas inside of you—even though one may be more prominent than the other two. And at times, it’s possible that one of your doshas gets suppressed for a period of time due to your lifestyle or other factors.

It is possible to have more than one predominant dosha in your natural body composition. If you’re born with 2 predominant doshas, then you’re bidoshic. In rare instances, all 3 doshas may be present in equal proportions, in which case you’re tridoshic.

3. Doshas are there to help you get back to balance

It’s cool to take a dosha test but it’s even cooler when you can do something about it. Since your current state may be that of imbalance, the goal of aurveda is to get you back to balance.

Balancing your doshas doesn’t mean making your vita, pitta and kapha all equal—unless you’re tridoshic. It means returning to your natural state, the one you were born with.

Should I still take an online dosha test?

It’s always best to talk to a qualified ayurvedic practitioner. However, if you’re still keen on taking an online dosha test, I recommend that you take it twice. Take it once while thinking about your current situation. This will shed some light on your possible imbalances. Then take it again and answer from a long-term perspective, when things were in balance. You may even need to go back to your childhood. Note that some imbalances may have developed a long time ago, maybe in your childhood.

Happy exploring!

Image by Szelei Robert, Pexels