Ayurveda Menopause & Each Dosha

Ayurveda Menopause & Each Dosha

In my article on Ayurveda and Menopause, I describe the Ayurveda approach, here I describe how each dosha is affected and can be helped by menopausal symptoms

What You Can Do Right Now to Get "In Balance"

While eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise provides the foundation of good health for everyone, each woman's menopause experience is unique.

Symptoms vary from woman to woman.

Knowing precisely how your body is out of balance can guide you in selecting the key lifestyle changes you should make to relieve your symptoms. Ayurveda describes that the type of symptoms you have depends upon which bodily principle or dosha is "out of balance" in your mind/body system.

There are three bodily principles: movement and flow (vata or airy), heat and metabolism (pitta or firey), and bodily substance (kapha or earthy.)

And there are three basic types of imbalances relating to each of the three doshas. Easing your menopause transition can be as simple as "reading" your dosha symptoms and taking measures to get your doshas back in balance. The following symptoms and lifestyle prescriptions are indicated for each of the three dosha imbalances:

Vata

Vata - Prone To Nervousness: anxiety, panic, mood swings, vaginal dryness, loss of skin tone, feeling cold, irregular periods, insomnia, mild or variable hot flashes, constipation, palpitations, bloating and joints aches and pains.

Ayurveda Suggestions - Increase warm food and drinks, regular meals, early bedtime, self-oil massage, meditation, yoga, walking and spices such as fennel and cumin. Decrease caffeine and other stimulants, refined sugar, cold drinks, salads.

Herbs to help - include Ashwagandha, Arjuna, astragalus, cardamom, comfrey root, garlic, ginseng, guggul, hawthorn berries, licorice, myrrh, sandalwood.

Pitta

Pitta - Prone to Hot Temper: anger, irritability, feeling hot, hot flashes, night sweats, heavy periods, excessive bleeding, urinary tract infections, skin rashes, and acne.

Ayurveda Suggestions - Increase cooling foods, water intake, sweet juicy fruits (grapes, pears, plums, mango, melons, apples,) zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber, organic foods. Go to bed before 10 PM and try to wind down earlier in the evening. Decrease excessive sun and overheating, hot spicy foods, hot drinks, and alcohol.

Herbs to help - include aloe vera, Arjuna, barberry, goldenseal, Gotu Kola, saffron, sandalwood, and Shatavari. 

Kapha

Kapha -  Prone to Weight Gain: sluggishness, lethargy, weight gain for no reason, fluid retention, yeast infections, lazy, depressed, lacking motivation, slow digestion.

Ayurveda Suggestions -  Increase exercise, fruits, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, spices such as black pepper, turmeric, and ginger. Get up early (by 6 AM). Decrease meat, cheese, sugar, cold foods, and drinks.

Herbs to help - include bayberry, cayenne, cinnamon, guggul, motherwort, mustard, and myrrh.