TriDosas
Three Body Humours:
- Vata
- Pitta
- Kapha
Tridosha Siddhanta is the central concept of Ayurvedic medicine, the theory that health exists when there is a balance between three fundamental bodily substances called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. by definition, are the primal regulators of bodily function in sentient beings. They are functions derived from the “Five Elements.”
Vata literally means the substance called air, related to the Element called Air. Air, once it moves into the body, becomes a vital force. Its presence as it moves in and throughout the body is the cause of sensation, vibration and movement. In another sense, air is necessary to mobilize the function of the nervous system.
Pitta literally means the substance called bile, related to the Element called Fire. Bodily bile is a vital metabolic substance. Bile contains metabolic products. After leaving the liver, bile contributes to digestion in the gut, and also moves into the marginal veins and enters the venous system. Bile is therefore a carrier for (and thus a regulator of) the heat or metabolic energy that mobilizes the function of the venous system.
Kapha literally means mucus, and is related primarily to the Element called Water. Mucus, the clear viscid secretion of the mucous membranes, is vital. Secretions from the mucous membranes lining the gastrointestinal tract trap and absorb nutrients. Mucus is thus a carrier for (and thus a regulator of) the many nutrient substances that mobilize the functioning of the arterial supply system.