The Meaning of Sama Dosha
When I was deciding on the name for my practice, one phrase kept coming to mind—Sama Dosha. I am in love with the Sanskrit language, so honoring the language of Āyurveda in my practice made perfect sense to me. Sama means balanced and Dosha means constitution. This phrase is contained in Sushruta’s definition of health in the ancient texts. Having a balanced constitution is the goal, and while keeping ourselves in balance requires consistency and mindfulness, it’s not as overwhelming as it may seem. For example, I love the taste of coffee, and while I’ve transitioned to half coffee and half adaptogens, I still know that the properties of coffee can be dehydrating. I want to enjoy my morning coffee, so I keep that in balance by trying to drink at least two glasses of water for each cup of coffee I drink. While I was in my formal Ayurvedic studies, I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico where it was very easy to become dehydrated due to the hot and dry climate of the high desert. I know what happens when I’m not hydrated enough—it throws my body off completely. Āyurvedically speaking, dehydration is disturbed Vāta dosha and it leads to further conditions that are signs of aggravated Vāta, such as dryness all over the body. This dryness is apparent in dry skin, fine lines and wrinkles, dry eyes, and even constipation. (Now that I’m back in Michigan where it’s not as dry, I still take my herbs in water every morning and have an additional glass of water before I have any coffee.) According to the ancient Āyurvedic texts, vitiated Vāta is the cause of 80 diseases, which shows the importance of keeping this dosha as well as Pitta and Kapha in balance. In fact, any condition the body experiences, whether it’s on the surface like acne or something deeper like sciatica, it’s a result of imbalanced doshas.
I would love to help you discover the reasons for any conditions that you have as well as getting to the root of the concern so you can help keep your body in balance too! Please click the link for Ayurvedic Consultations to schedule an appointment.
