Coffee and Yoga: An Ayurvedic Answer

 

Coffee and yoga. Some swear by it. Some swear off it. Some swear by swearing off it! Since coffee probably didn't come to India until at least the 17th century, it is unlikely that anyone will dig up an ancient scroll to light our way... So what's a yogi to do?

Thankfully, yoga's sister science, Ayurveda, has kept pace with changing diets over the centuries, and modern ayurvedic doctors have some pretty clear guidance to help poor confused yogis navigate the dietary perils of the modern world.

For those of us who need a refresher: Whereas yoga is primarily concerned with the subtle body (pranamaya kosha) Ayurveda deals directly with the physical body (anamaya kosha). The goal of Ayurveda is to keep the body healthy, and in doing this, Ayurvedic practitioners believe more than anyone in that old saying "you are what you eat". Essentially, the health and balance of the body is regulated by our diet, and dis-ease is caused by "pollutants" that we consume which then wind up in our tissues. Yuck.

Ayurveda is not, however, a universal prescription. It recognises three fundamental "qualities" of the human body - called doshas - and says that everyone is made up of a unique combination of those three qualities, which in turn are made up of a combination of the 5 elements. Of course, we all have each element within us, but it's the combination that makes us way we are. As a reminder, the 3 doshas (and their elements) are:

- Vata (air, ether)
- Pitta (fire, water)
- Kapha (earth, water)

According to Ayurveda, every individual is born with a combination of the elements that give them their prakriti, or nature. A person's essential prakriti never changes, but of course everyone will move in and out of balance in their life, depending on their diet, their environment, their age, and even the seasons. To keep optimum health and balance, therefore, your need not only to eat right for your dosha, but also to be aware of imbalances (vikriti) creeping in, and to modify your diet to deal with those.  To find your dosha, take a quick online quiz (this one is pretty good and part 2 gives you your vikriti)... Although it's no substitute for a detailed diagnosis by an Ayurvedic doctor, it should at least get you thinking.

Anyway, back to the original point, what does Ayruveda have to say about coffee?  Well, first we need to think about the qualities of coffee. We all know that coffee is stimulating and drying (dehydrating + a diuretic). In the language of Ayurvedic tastes, coffee is pungent (stimulating), bitter (lightening/diuretic + laxative) and astringent (drying/dehydrating).

So what does this mean for coffee and the doshas?  Well, the general ayurvedic wisdom is as follows:

	Most Balancing	Most Aggravating
Vata	Sweet, Sour, Salty	Bitter, Pungent, Astringent
Pitta	Sweet, Bitter, Astringent	Sour, Salty, Pungent
Kapha	Pungent, Bitter, Astringent	Sweet, Sour, Salty

Which lets us easily see that Vatas should NOT drink coffee, Pittas should drink it in moderation and favour decaf, and for Kaphas, coffee is positively recommended (within reasonable limits of course!), although without milk or sugar, which are not recommended for Kaphas.  For people with combination doshas (e.g. Vata/Pitta or Pitta/Kapha), use common sense in finding the right balance - for instance, a Vata/Pitta with Pitta predominance might drink decaf occasionally.

Finally, in Ayurveda you eat first for your imbalance. So if you are a Kapha but you have a Vata imbalance, coffee is out... And if you are a Pitta but you have a Kapha imbalance, then you can have a cup - but only until your imbalance is resolved!

And as Ayurveda is all about customisation, here are a few ways you can help to moderate the negative effects that coffee might have on your dosha:

Vatas: drink weak or decaf coffee mixed with plenty of warm (boiled) milk (at least 1/2 the cup) - almond milk is even better! - sweetened, and spiced with cardamom (the best spice for Vatas),  nutmeg, cloves or cinnamon.

Pittas: drink coffee mixed with warm (boiled) milk, sweetened with sugar or honey.

Kaphas: drink coffee black or use rice milk instead of cow's milk. Avoid sugar and instead, sweeten with honey, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mmmmmmm. Enjoy!

This post is mainly based on class notes with my Ayurveda teacher, but I am also super-grateful for the wisdom found on the following websites & blogs:

- Hey Monica B (Ayurvedic blog): Customise your cup o'joe
- Eat, Taste Heal: The 6 Tastes

Yoga for your Dosha

I recently put together a workshop and compiled some advice on Yoga practices for different Ayurvedic types, and I thought I'd post them here.

Without going into too much detail, Yoga and Ayurveda are sister-art/sciences that are deeply connected to one another. Yoga is the spiritual path, while Ayurveda is therapy- and lifestyle-oriented. The Ayurvedic "doshas", Vata, Pitta and Kapha describe three different energy types, and everyone's basic nature, or prakriti, is made up of a composition of the three. Usually people have a dominant Dosha, or two Doshas share dominance (although in rare cases there are people who have even amounts of all 3). In addition, the equilibrium of the doshas, or vikruti , will fluctuate throughout your life, and can be made balanced or imbalanced by factors in your lifestyle, diet, environment, and physical habits, as well as by age, season and even time of day.

Cue: Yoga and your dosha. Since any regular activity in your life can either help to balance your dosha or cause imbalances, so will your Yoga practice. So, Ayurvedic theorsists provide us with some guidelines on what type of asana practice works for which Doshas. [At this point, if you don't know what your Dosha is, head over to google and search for "dosha quiz" and take one of the many online dosha assessments. As a starting point, there is a simple 12-question quiz on Deepak Chopra's site. Also, see lower down in the post for tips on assessing your dosha.]

Got your Dosha yet? Good. If you have multiple doshas, I've put a few tips below to help you begin to sort through things.

Advice for VATA

People of Vata nature or with Vata imbalance are most complimented by a yoga practice that is grounding, calming, and slightly warming. This practice will help to balance out Vata's tendency towards anxiety, insecurity and spaceyness. In addition, since imbalances in Vata mostly manifest in the large intestine and lower back (2nd chakra) as well as joint pain, people of Vata nature can benefit from poses that strengthen the lower back and work the lower abdomen.
Best Asanas for Vata: All standing poses, especially Warrior II and Uttanasana, Paschimottanasa, Balasana, Dhanurasana, Padmasana.
Asanas to Avoid: Avoid over-stimulation through many fast repetitions of sun salutations or similar sequences. In addition, because Vatas tend to have prominent joints, use padding on asanas that put pressure on your joints such as shalabasana, salamba sarvangasana and halasana.

Advice for PITTA

People of Pitta nature are most complimented by an asana practice that is calming and cooling. Pittas tend to be naturally assertive and driven, so when practicing asana they should focus on keeping a steady breath and keeping softness in tense areas such as the shoulders and face. Furthermore, pittas are prone to imbalances in the small intestine (3rd chakra), so practicing backbends that stretch out the solar plexus area can be very beneficial.
Best Asanas for Pitta: Ustrasana, Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana.
Asanas to Avoid: Avoid over-stimulation through many fast repetitions of sun salutations or similar sequences, which can generate excessive heat. In addition, Pittas should avoid holding inversions such as headstand for prolonged periods, as they generate a lot of heat in the head and the belly.

Advice for Kapha

People of Kapha nature are most complimented by a heating, stimulating practice. Kaphas tend to be slower-moving and are prone to congestion in the lungs, so a fast and hot practice is the best tool for bringing Kapha back into balance.
Best Asanas for Kapha: Ustrasana, Salamba Setu Bandhasana (to open up the chest and help prevent congestion), repetitions of Surya Namaskara A and B.
Asanas to Avoid: Almost all asanas are good for Kaphas, but since their weakest areas tend to be kidneys and lungs, avoid prolonged holding of poses that place pressure on the lower abdomen, like Dhanurasana.

Advice if You have More than One Dosha

If you have a combination dosha, it may be tricky to navigate the advice above. For example, if you are Pitta-Kapha, you are supposed to avoid heat on the one hand, but generate it on the other? For dual dosha types, I can make a few recommendations, although obviously nothing substitutes for an actual ayurvedic/yoga consultation!

Firstly, try to determine if you have a dominant dosha. Sometimes you can do this by taking a different dosha quiz - if you took a long quiz, try taking a shorter one and see if you get a clear majority. Secondly, you can analyze your results and see if your physical (as opposed to temperamental) attributes fall more into one category than another - this might help guide your physical practice. Thirdly, take the quiz with an "adviser" - a spouse/partner, sibling or parent who can give you objective answers to some of the questions - you'd be surprised at the difference sometimes!!

If you still have a tie, you will need to do some self-study to find what is right for you. Going back to our Pitta-Kapha example, you may find that in the mornings you have lots of fiery energy typical of Pitta - so then a morning practice should be slow and calming. Or you may find that at this particular time in your life, your Kapha is dominating, and you can compensate with a more stimulating practice. This is also the case if you are one of the rare people who is a balance of all 3 doshas - you will need some careful self-examination to determine which dosha applies to which of your physical and personality attributes.

Learning about your Dosha is not the end of the journey - it's just the beginning!! The balance of the 3 elements in your life will fluctuate with the years, seasons, even the time of the day. But Ayurveda gives us some handy tips for how to keep those elements in balance and get in touch with your unique "dosha pattern" and your true nature. :)