In this post, I will discuss in details what Kapha Dosha is and Kapha Body Type Characteristics. If you are reading about Ayurvedic body types for the first time, I suggest reading the first article in this series which gives a brief about Ayurvedic classifications of body types and doshas.
What is Kapha Dosha?
Kapha is the energy that forms the body’s structure. It is the combination of Jal (Water) and Prithvi (Earth)and constitutes all solid and liquid forms in the body, for example, the cells, blood, the fluids that move in and out of our system and the fluids that lubricate our joins, help heal the wounds and maintain immunity. Kapha in its essence depicts and creates stability and strength.
What is a Kapha Body Type?
A Kapha Body Type person is someone who has Kapha Dosha or Kapha Energy dominating his or her constitution. There are other constitutions also which include Kapha dosha, like Pitta Kapha, Vata Kapha, Vata Pitta Kapha which means, a person is a combination of Pitta and Kapha Dosha, Vata, and Kapha Dosha or a combination of all three tridoshas respectively.
Kapha Body Type – Kapha Personality Characteristics
Physical Characteristics:
Kapha Individuals have a strong and stable built. They have broad shoulders, a full chest, and large muscles. Their bones are heavy and their frame is larger than vata and pitta types.
Physiologically, they have a low metabolism and poor digestion which makes them gain weight quite easily, and weight reduction becomes a herculean task.
Their skin is smooth, shiny and thick and tends to be oily. They have large, dark and attractive eyes, lashes and brows. They also tend to contain too much hair on their bodies. Kapha individuals are not excited, motivated or driven by nature and since they don’t burn out their energy too much by being excited, they enjoy a longer life than a pitta dominant personality. They are not very hungry and consume moderate amounts of food. Skipping meals is not a problem for them, unlike a pitta person.
Kaphas love sweets, oily spicy foods and things with high amounts of calories attract them. What their bodies actually need is exactly the opposite tastes like bitter and astringent foods. Although they have strong built, they hate exercising and too much activity. They would rather just lie down on the bed all day and do nothing! It is very easy for a Kapha person to be obese. They have deep, sound and long sleep. They love to sleep, especially during the afternoons which further brings imbalance in their bodies by increasing Kapha Dosha.
Mental Characteristics
Kapha individuals are loving people and great companions. They are patient, tolerant and compassionate. They are faithful as friends and as partners. They are soft by nature, slow talkers with slow gentle speech. They have a very peaceful and grounded nature. They mostly like to remain quiet and not chit chatter too much as they think it takes a lot of energy.
Kaphas have a very intelligent mind and they generally have a deep understanding of things. Once they understand something and grasp it, they will remember it forever. Their ability to retain information is much greater than other body types.
Symptoms of Kapha Imbalance
– Obesity
– Greed
– Attachment
– Envy
– Possessiveness
– Extreme Laziness
– Lust
– Craving to sweet, oily or too much salty food
Common Ailments In Kapha Body Types
Common ailments in a Kapha body type will tend to be related to water principles like
– Cough and Cold
– Flu
– Sinus Congestion and Headaches,
– Bronchial Congestion
– Sluggishness
– Water Retention
– Diabetes
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