A Dosha Quiz Led Me To…

Close up of silver pan with ghee and spices cooking

I was a tween and teenager in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and as long as you had access, there was always some magazine like Cosmo Girl or Y7 that had personality quizzes either throughout the magazine or in the back (IYKYK). As a young adult I was not too far from the nostalgia of taking personality quizzes to find about more about myself. So one day at work, while avoiding the work I needed to get done but could put off for the rest of the day I stumbled on a website that was offering a free quiz for yoga personalities.

Whaaaaa? Yoga personalities, sign me up. As a budding yogini I soaked in as much about yoga as I possibly could so imagine my delight when I discovered the doshas. I started the quiz and found my lead dosha to be pitta followed by kapha and then vata. Like most things Taureans do, I jumped in head first and committed to learning more about the doshas. I learned how the doshas are determined, what were the best “workouts”, styles of yoga and even foods to eat based on the doshas and with a deployed husband, I needed a project to do to keep me busy. So I tried living according to my dosha. Without working out and really knowing what I was doing I was able to get healthier and leaner by drinking water regularly, cutting out certain foods that did not agree with my constitution and getting regular sleep.

Photo Credit: The Aneris Collective. Close up of ceramic mug, essential oils, measuring cups and a wooden cutting board.

Although this was my first introduction to the sister science of yoga, Ayurveda it was not my last. When I took my initial 200-hour yoga teacher training, we learned of the doshas and Ayurveda and I knew somewhere along my journey I would want to become a practitioner not for weightloss or just my family but because so many of these practices felt aligned to my values and being and I knew it could help others in my community.

Ayuverda is the sister science of yoga but also the house of so many what are now called self-care practices like oil pulling, nadi pots, tongue scraping, drinking from copper cups/mugs and even abhyanga (oiling the body). What I did not know until further research and study is the connection between so many South Asian practices and their African connections. The same desire I had as a Black woman in America practicing yoga and NOT wanting to take from and culturally appropriate this practice is what led me to tracing my lineage and discovering my maternal Dravidian roots. Who would have thought a dosha quiz online would have led me to all off this?

Now, I am an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach through training under the wisdom and lineage of Katie Silcox at The Shakti School. My desire as an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach is to demonstrate how practical it is for us to live in relation to our constitution and how it aligns with earth-centered lifestyles. One of the things I love most about Ayurveda is it is not rigid, dogmatic and it’s NOT a diet. It is simply a way for us to realize what earth elements resonate the most with us (prakriti) and how we can counter any imbalances by living cyclical like the Earth. Curious to know more? Follow me on IG for more tips on the practice of Ayurveda.