CREATIVE & ENERGETIC
Elements air (vayu) + ether (akash)
Qualities dry, light, cold, mobile, rough
Season fall thru mid-winter
Nature wind
Main Location colon
Vata is referred to as the ‘king of the doshas’ because it is responsible for every movement in the body. Without vata, pitta and kapha cannot move. Eyes blinking, heart beating, talking with your hands, jumping, circulation, elimination, are all because of vata.
Since vata people are made of air and ether, they don’t have a lot holding them together. They will quickly go out of balance and quickly come back into balance – think of the wind. Vatas tend to get cold easily and are prone to dry skin due to the dry, cold and rough qualities.
Vata personality. You can pick out who has vata as their dominant dosha because they tend to talk a lot, move a lot, and worry a lot. They are creative worriers and usually have twelve million things going on at one time. Their mind is constantly going and they have a very hard time sitting still. This is due to the movement quality of Vata/wind – mind and body are zipping everywhere often times finding it hard to find peace and grounding within themselves. Because vatas have such creative energy, they make good teachers, artists, actors, and professional speakers. And believe you me, vatas like to talk! And wiggle. And complain. Because something usually hurts, including their brain. They also forget things, tend to be late and change their mind all the time. Balanced vatas are contagiously energetic and are the people you might say, “light up the room.”
Vata body. Vatas tend to be slender and can be tall or short. Bones are prominent, their hair is dry and usually curly. Face is oval in shape and eyes are small with teeny lashes. Fingers are long and nails are brittle with a tendency to split. Dry and thin skinned, vatas are easily browned by the sun.
Vatas need grounding. Vatas like to run around (mentally and physically), so one of the best things they can do for themselves is to slow down – or even stop. Meditation, yoga practice, and pranayama are all wonderful for bringing some grounding and nourishment to vata. Remember, vatas are air and ether so they need grounding to keep them from flying away. Nutritionally, vatas can do this by adding oils (ghee!), fully cooked vegetables, milk, and grains to their diet. Vatas need to keep warm and oiled. In the day-to-day, having a solid reliable schedule is best to ease and ground their fluttery mind. They love the sun and warm, humid weather. Steam rooms are great too.
Vata digestion. Vata appetite is erratic and vata digestion is usually sluggish. Yep, constipation. To help vata digestion, they need oleation (ghee!) and warm foods. Oils & sauces lubricate the body to counterbalance the rough & dry qualities in vata and warm foods will help balance the cold qualities.
55 responses so far ↓
1 BeeW // Feb 25, 2009 at 10:53 am
This is me ! With one point shy of being equal part Pitta. :) Makes sense!!!!
2 Monica // Feb 25, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Yes!! Makes total sense! You and I are same Vata/Pitta :) :) Thanks for signing up. I thought you’d dig it.
3 JP // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hi, I am 99% vata person..Often I am getting throat probelms, is it because of vata imbalance ? Is there any QUICK remedy for this once we get this problem ? Thanks
4 Monica // Apr 4, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hi! Hm, not sure. It would depend what kind of throat problems you have. The problem could be vata, but could also be either of the other two doshas. For example, mucus points to kapha, burning points to pitta and dryness points to vata. So depending on the problem and the person, the treatment will be different. Send me an email and maybe we can go into a little more detail. Thanks for asking!!
5 Karen // Sep 8, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Hi Monika
I am told by a Herbalist I am very vata.
I live in damp rainy Ireland and I moved near the mountains 3 months ago and got job that involves taking the bus for 50mins both ways. I only work 5 hours a day but I am so tired and feel motion sickness and stressed after travel. I will work on my routine and I eat very healthy and take lots of superfoods and green juices and soups. I feel so tired. Taking valerian and magnesuim has helped and I sleep better but my mind is always switched on. I do practice yoga and walk in the country. The travel just floors me. Any ideas thanks
6 Vickie // Sep 15, 2010 at 12:18 pm
So true for me on so many levels emotionally. I talk a lot, worry obsessively, sleep poorly, complain. I do not have a classic Vata body though. I am short and very pear shaped even before I developed an ED and gained an enormous amount of weight. I have small hands, so short fingers, but I do have very dry skin, and as for hurting. That is my middle name.
The kitchiri is lovely, I am already enjoying my healing process thru Ayurveda and the gentle spirit of Monica.
V. xx
7 Monica // Sep 15, 2010 at 2:23 pm
:) xoxo, V.
8 sumira // Oct 20, 2010 at 6:13 am
oh god i feel as if we have met before the way u are talking about vata dosha thank u so much i am always suffering from cough may be because of this any solution
9 Monica // Oct 21, 2010 at 10:18 am
If your cough is dry (vata), be sure to have healthy fats (balances vata) like oils, avocado, nuts, ghee in your diet. Also try sipping ginger tea every day in the morning. A combo of these should help a dry cough.
10 Raj from Palladio International Campus -connected to Delacorte! // Dec 2, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Ayurvedic guidance requested as comments for this site.
11 Eat your (healthy) fats!!! | Barbara Sinclair Holistic Health // Jan 7, 2011 at 1:40 pm
[...] along with protein and carbohydrates to properly assimilate nutrients. For certain body types like Vatas, healthy fats are extremely important, internally and externally, especially in fall and winter [...]
12 Jules // Mar 17, 2011 at 1:46 am
Hey Monica!
I LOVE your site, so glad I stumbled upon it! I am also vata-pitta, and am having issues with what I am assuming means both of my doshas are out of balance. My skin is very dry, my joints are cracking and achy, but my skin is also breaking out in acne and I feel like I’m getting over heated…..what would you recommend doing? Should I try to get my vata or pitta under control first?
13 Monica // Mar 17, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Hey Jules! Thanks so much for stumbling upon my site! I love that you’re here!! :) So for both vata-pitta problems (and without me knowing toooo much detail about you) I would say to favor the “sweet” taste. And that is in a nutshell, carbs. Have rice, pasta, oatmeal, bread, and any other healthy grains. Enjoy plenty of fruits and make sure to include healthy fats like avocado, nuts (almonds, walnuts), ghee (!!), and oils in the diet. Also to calm pitta and pacify vata, milk in the diet helps also. With all of these, you will be balancing BOTH vata and pitta. Soooo…that’s my short diagnosis. I hope this helps!!
14 Jules // Apr 7, 2011 at 1:07 am
Oh….HERE’S where I posted this comment! I couldn’t remember which topic it was under! THANK YOU so much for you kind and thoughtful response, I truly love your site…..keep up the great work!!!!
xo
15 susan // Jun 6, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Hi Monica,
I am a very Vata person, but find that in order to fit in to the adult working world I have become accustomed to fighting my Vata insticts to try and appear more Kapha, even when not at work. this seems to have led to weight gain, and anxiety. Should I still be making an effort to soothe my Vata self or my Kapha symptoms?
16 Monica // Jun 6, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Hi Susan! Hmmm…so the goal is not to fight your vata self, the goal is to embrace & balance it. By balancing, that doesn’t mean that you try to become another dosha :) The truth is, you can’t become another dosha if it’s not in your nature…as you’ve found out, you just end up imbalanced as another dosha. Don’t worry. If you feel more kapha now, you will want to balance the kapha to get back to your original self. HOWEVER, anxiety is a vata trait, not a kapha trait. So I wonder in which places you are kapha imbalanced and vata imbalanced. I know, it can be really confusing.
Here’s my suggestion. Do routine (daily!) exercise (even walking is great) for your kapha self. Have a vata diet, but watch your portions and eat less if you feel you are eating too much. Also, do a little (daily!) so hum or nadi shodhanam to calm your mind (good for all doshas and anxiety). I hope this helps and thanks for your question!! xoxo, MonicaB
17 HereIam // Jul 29, 2011 at 11:43 am
Namastay Monica,
I am vata person since colon is the place of vata, is there something in ayurveda which emphasize on colon health. or some tips to keep colon healthy. Recently I have been facing many colon related problems like constipation , pencil thin stools.
18 Monica // Jul 31, 2011 at 11:41 am
Namaste Herelam and thank you for your question.
You are correct that the colon is the place that vata rules over. There are several things you can do, mainly follow a vata balancing diet and make sure to have enough oils and liquid in your food. Anything too dry, cold or light will attribute to constipation. May I answer your question so that other people can see the answer too? I will expand on it because I know you are not the only person to ask. Also please see these posts, it might help. I’ll answer your question more in depth too.
http://heymonicab.com/2010/11/toots_about_fiber/
http://heymonicab.com/2009/07/all-about-poop/
19 deb // Oct 4, 2011 at 4:14 am
I am now 58 yrs. old with many, many more life experiences and health challenges than in my 30′s. I have a definite vata dosha now but if I had taken the quiz in my 30′s the results would have been different. Does a person’s dosh change generationally?
20 Arti // Oct 4, 2011 at 3:09 pm
OMG this is soooo meee … to think i smiled when i saw CONSTIPATION hehe
21 Monica // Oct 13, 2011 at 9:21 am
Hi Deb!
This note disappeared into my little list, I’m so sorry for the late response! This is a great question. A person’s prakruti (natural balance of doshas) never changes. It’s innate from the time of conception. BUT what does change in our life are…seasons, jobs, relationships, food, habits, traumas, emotions, etc., All these things can alter our doshas and that is where we get imbalanced. So it is safe to say that if you maintain your prakruti throughout life, you do not have any imbalances or health issues – that is perfect health. So in Ayurveda, we need to figure out your prakruti first, to understand where you started and who you are naturally. Then we examine where you are today and in how you’ve shifted from your natural state. THEN we begin to advise food, lifestyle, herbs, treatment, etc., to try and get you back to where you started. So! While your doshas are the same as when you were in your 30s, you have added many more life changes which could sway your doshas from your natural state. Does that help?
22 uma // Nov 28, 2011 at 6:33 am
hi , im living in dubai. 2 months before i came here, im having a very very dry skin on face, my face looks always dull, i dint have a livelyness in my face. especially during the winter seasons im getting more dry. while i entering to the fully air conditiond mall, or train my eyes get turned to more red colr, pl help me …. is possible dry skin people can get milky shinny skin……
23 Andrea // Mar 23, 2012 at 9:38 am
Hello Monica,
I just found this site! Thank you for doing this. I’m a VATA, and amongst other problems I have been experiencing very, very loose stools on some days and large whole stools on others with a brownish-tan substance; not quite oily, but will surround the stools. I also have very bad lower back pain. What’s up?
24 milly // Apr 28, 2012 at 4:41 am
Hi Monica, thanks for your site. I;ve done a few dosha tests and have been vata dominant but also pitta. I’m in my mid twenties and have not gained weight since i was approx in my mid teens. In fact I may have lost weight. Im not sure how to maintain health in my liver and spleen as I have had troubles. I will try a vata diet, thank you, do you have any other suggestions or things i should really focus on? Thank you for your time.
25 Monica // May 1, 2012 at 9:47 am
Hi Milly! Yes, try the vata diet and see if that helps. Remember to have foods with nice warm oils incorporated into them. Ghee, olive oil, flax seed oil, are all really helpful for vata types. And no raw veggies or cold foods/drinks. Try that and see what happens :)
26 Very Vata, Staying in Sattwa « Yogiclarebear's Blog // May 29, 2012 at 4:32 am
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27 Mini Moment of Minxie Misadventure in Mindfulness. New beginnings… | // Jun 21, 2012 at 5:06 pm
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28 waterlily // Jun 24, 2012 at 2:04 pm
vata sure sounds like me. the last 6 months, i have developed extremely dry eyes, nose, mouth….so dry i feel like i cannot breathe. i put sesame oil in my nose, but temp solution. worse 4-8 pm and then thru the night. any advice? thank you!
29 Monica // Jun 26, 2012 at 9:21 am
Hi Waterlily! Great idea on using the sesame oil drops for your nose. Have you tried using a humidifier/vaporizor at night? You could also hang out in a steamy shower. Steam therapy does wonders for vata. Maybe give your entire body a warm oil massage (using sesame or almond oil), wait 10 minutes, and then jump into a steam shower. The idea is not to shower off the oil but to get into the steam environment while the oil absorbs. Should help! Or maybe try both massage+steam and also a humidifier in your room at night. Let me know if this helps you!!
30 Mary // Jun 28, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Hi Monica,
I love your site, the information has been very enlightening! I’m Vata/Pitta (17/10). I have a dry cough only at night. It wakes me up, usually once per night, and I have to get up. Drinking water helps a little, but being upright clears the mucus “tickle” in my throat. What can I do?
Thanks,
Mary
31 Monica // Jul 2, 2012 at 3:28 am
Hey Mary! So great – I’m glad it’s helpful for you! Thanks for stopping by and for your question. What about a humidifier or vaporizer? Have you tried that in your room? Also you can try sipping some tea with cloves in it (they are heating so be mindful of pitta and pitta season) later in the evening. Cloves stop a cough in its tracks! Give it a try and let me know if it helps. xoxo
32 anita // Aug 24, 2012 at 10:32 am
I am new to all of this. I find it very interesting. I am predominantly vata first then pitta if that makes any sense. I made the ghee from the recipe on this site and it has been very helpful with some of my skin ailments and is good on all breads. I am working on vata diet as my digestion is always off, also I have no gall bladder to aid with digestion so that is also a minus. My body structure is small with an athletic build and I have straight dark hair my skin browns easily and I am a very competitive person, on the go with constant need for stimuli. when I read the dosha personalities I was amazed at how much the vata sounds like me. I am trying to learn how to balance myself. I know this will take some time, but I feel it is worth some looking into.
33 Isha // Sep 13, 2012 at 4:36 am
Wow ! All the info on your site has been very enlightening , Monica. I came here while looking at identifying my 5 yr old boys type – and everything fits into Vata type. Except that he tends to get bronchitis in cold london weather a lot, and has loads of mucus in his nose through the year. But he does not fit into kapha type – slender, tall, wiggly, sharp, creative is what he is.
More importantly, I believe that his mucus production increases after physical activity. But he loves being out in the park, lots of running, badminton, tennis , cycling – in fact he wants to be a tennis player when he grows up :) . Would you say Vata types should be ‘discouraged’ from too much physical stuff ? Or once in balance, they will automatically refrain ? As of now we encourage his interests, but i do not want to cause any negative health effects……..
34 Vata :: winds of change — Autumn equinox. | Country Cosmo // Sep 25, 2012 at 7:14 pm
[...] recently been discussing vata and how we need grounding during these [...]
35 Sebastian // Oct 9, 2012 at 6:58 am
Hey Monica, I am a vata person through and through and I absolutely love your dosha lotus designs – they would make gorgeous stickers (small, round ones). Have you considered making them available for purchase on zazzle? Best, Sebastian
P.S.: Alternatively, would you mind if I used the images to create a set of stickers for my own? Can’t wait … vata rush :)
36 Monica // Oct 11, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Hey Sebastian, What a cute idea! I love that you love the stickers. I used to have some designs on Cafe Press (similar to Zazzle), but took them down. You can print stickers if you like – if you think of it, please tell them where you got the design from :) The more we can drive people to understand and embrace Ayurveda, the more we can heal the world :)
37 Jewel // Oct 30, 2012 at 7:58 pm
This is my first time with any of this although I have heard of it and I believe I am a Vata ( I took a quiz twice). I am 28 and have awful acne (along with dry skin) and it becomes worse under stress and has started scarring. I have an allergic reaction to Benzyl Peroxide and would like an easy, cheap, (and possibly quick,) effective way to fight acne but so far have found none. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
38 Monica // Nov 4, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Hi Jewel! Hmm…this is a tough one for me to answer without knowing more about you and your history. As we know, all healing has to be done on the inside to see results on the outside. To start, I would look at your diet first – make sure there is not a lot of processed foods (fake sugars, high fructose corn syrup, foods high in sugar, weird meats) in your diet. Keep it as clean as possible with lots of fresh veggies and fruits. Also make sure any dairy you eat comes from a good place (organic!). You could try finding some sandalwood oil (http://www.amazon.com/Aura-Cacia-191225-SANDALWOOD-JOJOBA/dp/B000KHMI44) and put that on your face at night – don’t worry about oil = acne. Because your skin is dry. It will cool/calm your skin. But overall you need to start with life-balancing. Check out the vata seasonal bloom for more vata-balancing tips: http://heymonicab.com/2012/10/vata-season/
39 JoAnn // Nov 9, 2012 at 3:53 am
Constapation and back pain Vata-Pitta type
food suggestions please
40 » Espresso-like Turmeric Tonic for Increased Energy and Immunity + VIDEO Kibby's Blended Life // Dec 7, 2012 at 8:23 am
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41 Krishna // Dec 13, 2012 at 9:30 am
Hi My name is krishna i am suffering from this dosha from a long time i feel miserable. Insomania everything. Please tell me what i should do so i can get out of this thing quickly.
Thanks
krishna
42 Krishna // Dec 13, 2012 at 9:36 am
please help
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44 Lois Kubota // Jan 24, 2013 at 8:08 am
Hi Monica. I’m mostly pitta, but a close second is vata. I’m always confused how to eat. It seems that grains make me fat and dairy gives me congestion. When I made a recipe from Dr. Vasant Lad’s cookbook for Ayurveda, Kitchari, I have a hard time digesting mung. So I’m thoroughly confused. Any suggestions you have is greatly appreciated.
45 » Avocado Salad with Roasted Walnuts and Ayurvedic Dressing Kibby's Blended Life // Jan 25, 2013 at 12:35 pm
[...] Guidebook and Cookbook) which I highly recommend to purchase. This salad is perfect for Vata dosha (mind-body constitution). The crunchy walnuts and ripe, rich avocado make this a wonderful [...]
46 Nicole // Feb 15, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Love your site!
I keep browsing around and getting distracted with the next post..then the next, and ooh, ooh, ANOTHER great post!! Yeah, Vata girl here ;)
Do you have a short + sweet list of fab Vata foods?
47 Monica // Feb 17, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Hey Nicole, vata girl! Ha! Yes, I’m going to work on a short + sweet foods list for each dosha. Stay tuned – I’ll put it together!
48 April // Mar 1, 2013 at 9:31 am
Hi, Monica! Love your site! Very informative & interesting. I read this & thought this is me. But I got a very confusing email from another site saying I am pitta with vata. So I’ve emailed you in hopes you can help me. I truly want to get balanced as I am a stay at home mom & want to be the best I can be for my family & right now I feel far from it. Thanks for this wonderful site!
April :)
49 Chrissy // Mar 17, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Hey Monica! This is tha best site ever!..I appreciate it so much..I’m a vata to my heart!..ive been trying to conceive for 6 years..I do have polycystic ovaries&i have really bad anxiety&worry about everything. Recently I started taking ashwaghanda&triphala&switched my diet up a bit adding more fruits&veggies..do u think I’m on the right track to conceiving&reducing my stress&anxiety levels?..thanks in advance.
50 Sri // Mar 17, 2013 at 11:28 pm
Hi Monica, great to find this website.its help me at least get to know about my body a bit. I’m 34 years, a small size , skinny guy. Most of my relative and friends always asking me, “Why r u re so skinny,any disease?sometime i feel ashamed. but that is life.Its not I’m not eating , but most of the food i eat does not digested properly.Its stays in my stomach for hours(6~7 hours).I love to eat but because of the stomach problem, i hate and really dissappointed.Most of the time i have to take out my food (force to vomit out) before next meal.Any suggestion of food intake?
51 Monica // Mar 18, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Hi Sri!
It’s hard for me to guide you since I don’t know you (and Ayurveda is all about knowing the person, not the problem), but try eating kitchari for a few days (mono diet) with fruit as a snack. Kitchari is easy to digest and should help you not feel so full. The skinny part… you might just be skinny :) If you are a vata person, there is nothing wrong with that and you should not to try and be anything other than who you are :)
52 ER // Apr 4, 2013 at 6:53 am
Hi. I have read about Ayurveda and I am vata – pitta. Both are imbalanced. I totally relate to Susan who said:
“I am a very Vata person, but find that in order to fit in to the adult working world I have become accustomed to fighting my Vata insticts to try and appear more Kapha”
It seems like a lot of stable jobs that the vata person needs for stability were designed for the Kapha types and pittas. I can’t work. I depend on my husband and it causes me much grief and despair.
I can’t drink milk. It makes my skin burn from the inside out and makes me feel anger and fury.
I can’t eat any grains except for rice and sometimes oatmeal. Since I took it out, my back pain has gone down by 80%. I took out phenols and salicylates, food dyes, and chemicals ALL of which were causing me to feel fury and intense anger. My mind has always been kind of scattered and nervous. I pray and listen to meditation music for most of the day and that helps a lot.
But there’s something that is confusing for me because I follow the Julie Matthews diet which was designed for people with autism (I am not diagnosed) and it seems to help me but I am still struggling with balancing my doshas.
I full heartedly believe in Ayurveda so I am confused about how I could be a pitta vata body and mind type and have reactions to so many vata and pitta pacifying foods. Unless I keep an open mind and maybe do have a touch of high functioning autism.
I don’t know.
53 Rebecca // Apr 20, 2013 at 11:24 am
Hi Monica
My long battle with silent reflux has led me to smoothies and mostly raw. When that wasn’t working and new symptoms started cropping up I seemed help from Ayurveda. I am so obviously a vata with maybe some pita that it made sense that it wasn’t working! I’ve switched to cooked grounding foods and spices but I still do a green juice every morning. Can vata digest fresh green juice?
Interesting, but since the change, my dry cracks on my hands are better, my nails look better, and my hair has gotten curlier.
54 Monica // Apr 21, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Hey Rebecca! Thanks for your question. Here is some info for you about smoothies. http://heymonicab.com/2011/11/smoothies-or-roughies/
Hope this helps shed some light! Holler if you need more info :)
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