What Your Tongue Says About You - Ayurveda

photo credit: This is my daughter Alella when she was teeny. We stuck a mustachio on her and...photoshoot! We were sleep deprived and slap happy. She has a pitta tongue with a wee bit of milk on it :) 

Below is an excerpt from my book In Your Elements. Get your copy on Amazon! 

Our entire digestive system is reflected on the tongue.

If you didn't know what your tongue says about you, well, I'm gonna share! Our tongue tells us a nifty story, we just have to know what to look for. 

A simple practice: Every morning, first thing, check your tongue. It will most likely have a little coating on it, so if you have a tongue scraper, scrape it a few times. Look again. If it is pink, that's a great sign. If it is white you may have ama, which is toxins or undigested food stuffs. 

Come along and let's learn what other things Ayurveda says about our tongue!

Besides a white coating, there are other things we can look for on our tongue. If there is redness, it can indicate that there is too much heat in the body or that our digestion is too hot. If there are cracks on the tongue, that could mean dehydration or not enough healthy oils in the diet. If the tongue is shaky, that is a sign of anxiety, fear or too much movement. If there are little teeth marks on the side, it could be a sign of ama and/or unabsorbed nutrients in the colon.

Dosha Tongues:

Vata. If vatas have a coating on their tongue, the root cause often comes from their dry and cold qualities — constipation or raw/cold foods that have not digested may show up as white on the tongue. Most common tongues for vata are cracked, shaky, or teeth marks on the edges. Too much movement (mind or body) and dryness causes those tongues. Vata tongues are skinny and dry.

Pitta. Pittas likely have the pinkest tongues because they have strong digestion. If they run too hot their tongue will look red or cracked which is a clue that they need to cool down. If they run extra hot, their tongue may have a yellow coating, again, as a sign to cool down. Pitta tongues are pointy and sharp (literally and figuratively).

Kapha. Kaphas can easily collect a white coating because of their oily nature. Skipping meals while sipping ginger tea will help as well as brothy soups with black pepper, garlic, and other pungent spices. It could take a full day, or sometimes months, for the tongue to return to pink, depending how long the imbalance has caused the coating to be there. Kapha tongues are wide and round and wet.

For loads of tips on how to avoid ama and digest food properly, check out the digestion playlist on my YouTube channel!

Keep bringing Ayurveda to life!
xo!
Monica