1. Determining Your Body Type

Vata
Dry skin
Loses weight easily
Anxiety and restlessness
Slight frame
Completes tasks quickly
Constipation
Does not like the cold or wind
Remembers ten things for ten minutes
Tendency towards sleepless nights
Excellent vitality when balanced

Pitta
Body heat above average
Become hypoglycemic when you skip lunch
Anger and rage if severe imbalance
The perfect manager — intense but creative and innovative
Excellent speaker
Constipation
The generator-type person
Moderate weight and height

Kapha
Heavy, strong bones
Prone to overweight
Strong
Tendency toward sluggish digestion
Easy-going and pleasant demeanor
The under-reactor, instead of the over-reactor (unlike Pitta & Vata)
Smooth, oily skin, thick hair


2. Seasonal Diets
Select the Seasonal Diets that relate to your primary and secondary body type, emphasizing the primary diet more, of course.

Vata Balancing
All foods should be cooked. Favor foods with sweet, sour and salty tastes. Ice drinks are not recommended. Eat Basmati rice, dairy products, sugar, all oils, and nuts, especially pine nuts and blanched almonds. Avoid pungent, bitter and astringent foods like hot peppers, corn, dried fruits and raw vegetables.
Spices: Vata Churna
Teas: Vata Tea

Pitta Balancing
Favor foods that cool the body such as sweet, bitter and astringent foods. Eat Basmati rice, ghee, olive oil, sweet fruits, green bitter salads, asparagus, pumpkin, and sweet potato. Complete diet in Dr. Helen's book.
Spices: Pitta Churnas
Teas: Pitta Tea

Kapha Balancing
The basic approach is hot, bitter and astringent. Eat corn and barley, low-fat dairy products, honey, fruits and vegetables that are astringent like apples, pomegranates, cranberry, cauliflower, pumpkin, beets, potato.
Spices: Kapha Churna
Teas: Kapha Teas


3. Daily Routine
Daily routine considerations are directly related to body types and seasons.

Vata Daily Regimen
The primary goal for Vata is to go slow, relax and use oils daily, because of the natural tendency toward dryness. A daily oil massage is the key to Vata balance. Meditate ten to twenty minutes. Exercise according to body type needs. Follow the Vata diet recommendations. Evening regimen should include a light dinner, meditation and an evening walk. Vatas should be asleep by ten.

Pitta Daily Regimen
The goal for Pittas is to stay cool, and to keep the body temperature regulated. Do not be overly competitive or driven. Arise by 6 am. A bowel evacuation once a day in the morning is sign of good health. Incorporate daily oil massage, meditation, breathing and a cool morning walk. Be sure to eat your biggest meal of the day before 2pm. Be in bed by ten o'clock.

Kapha Daily Regimen
The goal for Kapha every day is to get a vigorous workout, to stimulate the mind and to eat foods that do not contribute to a naturally slow digestion. Arise before 6am. And take a vigorous uphill climb. Do a dry massage with a silk glove. Meditate daily. Eat the largest meal of the day at lunch. Follow the Kapha pacifying diet. Take a light evening walk. Be in bed by 11pm.

Breathing Technique — For all Regimens
The breathing technique is done daily for 3-5 minutes. With the right hand, close the right nostril and breathe out the left. Breathe back in through left nostril, close the left nostril and breathe out the right nostril. Go back and forth, closing one nostril and breathing out the other. Following this, perform Nasaya (which is sniffing one drop of nose oil in each nostril), as it is anti-bacterial and coats the cilia of nose.