By Nadia Marshall
I thought I'd write this blog because I have a Vata/Pitta constitution and find the complexities of this combination constantly fascinating (and challenging!), particularly from the perspective of my mind. And I've noticed over the years just how incredibly common Vata/Pitta constitutions are (I have a theory on this I'll write about another time).... so I also figured plenty of you would relate to the following...
Vata/Pitta Qualitites
Vata/Pitta constitutions have an interesting combination of elements and qualities. Vata is Wind and Space while Pitta is Fire and Water. As a result we have a few contradicting qualities (hot/cold, rough/smooth, dry/oily) but our qualities in common are lightness and subtleness. Isn't that interesting? Lightness and subtleness. And, the one element we're lacking is EARTH so we don't feel naturally grounded and are prone to excess movement, particularly in the mind.
Fire and wind have an interesting relationship in the body/mind. If either goes out of balance, they draw the other out of balance. Think of a fire in an enclosed space. If more fuel is put on the fire, more heat rises, air is drawn into the flames and you get a convection-oven situation creating circulating hot wind in the body/mind. Or, if the wind starts to blow like a bellow, on a fire, it will make the fire flare up as well, also creating circulating hot wind. Fun times. So when working with an imbalanced Vata/Pitta mind, you need to apply antidotes to both aspects of the constitution.
Positive Mental Attributes
This constitutional combo has some wonderful mental attributes. We can be passionate, motivated, courageous, determined (Pitta) and at the same time; creative, adaptable and great at thinking outside the box (Vata). We take measured risks, are generally pretty organised and usually fiercely independent. We have strong intellects, good spacial intelligence and can grasp complex concepts with relative ease. Due to our lightness and subtleness, we can be inspiring, warm, light-hearted, sensitive to the subtleties of other's emotions and gregarious... This is us at our best. We make awesome employees because we're super capable, hate making mistakes, and are eager to please but tend not to over-step our bounds for fear of not being good enough!
More Challenging Mental Attributes
A Pitta mind combined with a Vata mind is a contrary combo. Vata minds are inherently subtle, sensitive and unstable. They are prone to feeling ungrounded, unsafe, anxious and wobbly. Pitta minds are inherently tough and firey. They are prone to being intense, driven, confident and judgemental. When this intense drive and judgement combines with a foundation of insecurity, it can be a difficult to live with!
Pitta mind tends to bully Vata mind, constantly dragging it into situations it doesn't feel like it can handle. Vata mind can then take over, overwhelming Pitta mind with doubt, anxiety and 'I told you we shouldn't do this'. Pitta then gives Vata a hard time over doubting itself. It's a constant dance. Sometimes you can almost feel the two characters facing off... like Daniel Craig and Woody Allen having an argument!
As a result, Vata/Pitta constitutions can be overly self-critical, perfectionistic, defiant, defensive, distrustful, too self-reliant, can overly compare ourselves to others and can hold life a little too tightly. This is because CONTROL feels like the most obvious antidote to our combination of mental factors. It feels safe and strong at the same time. And this need for control can manifest in so many ways! For me it originally manifested as a calorie-counting eating disorder. Now it's softened a whole lot, I express it mainly through cleanliness and accounting (much more positive!).
A Better Way to Smooth The Ride
The problem is, control is not an antidote to this odd Vata/Pitta mental conundrum... because it doesn't exist. The more you live, the more you realise you can't control anything or anyone. And if you try, it just makes you more frustrated, anxious and uptight about life; which aggravates Vata and Pitta further. Not to mention it's absolutely exhausting trying to get everything so right all of the time. Vata/Pitta's are super prone to burn out and fatigue for this reason.
The real antidote to a firey Pitta mind is to COOL DOWN and RELAX... to literally CHILL OUT. The real antidote to a windy Vata mind is SLOWING DOWN and creating a WARM STABILITY.
Another way to look at it is... the antidote to Pitta aversion/anger is LOVE and the antidote to Vata grasping/fear is GIVING or GENEROSITY. So practicing all of the things Doko talks about is imperative for Vata/Pitta minds!
For Vata/Pitta's a great place to start is by giving ourselves a break. Be more generous with yourself. Allow yourself to be less productive, to achieve less. Allow yourself to rest, relax and have fun more. Allow yourself to not know everything, to not have it all worked out. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Allow yourself to be afraid. Allow yourself to fall apart and to be imperfect. Confess your imperfections to others more and ask for help more. Laugh at yourself more.
THIS IS OUR MEDICINE.
And if we give ourselves a break, we'll be better at giving others a break too.
I often need to remind myself that I may have an intense Pitta drive but I don't necessarily have the physical or mental robustness to pull it off, like a pure Pitta or Pitta-Kapha person could. I am more sensitive.... but I'm also more creative! So I satisfy my Pitta and Vata seeds simultaneously by coming up with creative ways to live smarter, not harder!
Promoting Our Best Attributes
If we slow-down, chill-out and just be-with ourselves, as we really are, more; our best attributes will come to the fore without any additional effort. Why? Because in Ayurveda it's taught that when we cultivate Sattva in the mind, the best aspects of our constitution are expressed, naturally. Sattva and stillness go hand in hand. Not laziness.... stillness. A kind of active, precise relaxation. Sattva is cultivated through sitting meditation, but can also be cultivated through the foods we eat, the nature we expose ourselves to, the people we spend time with, the movies we watch and the music we listen to. So, as Doko always says, 'start where you feel strong'. But... don't hold it too tightly!
In my experience, Vata/Pitta minds that lack EARTH need to ground and soften. Soften soften soften. Ground ground ground. Like increases like so saturate yourself with softening and grounding sensory impressions and experiences. You know what makes you feel hard, tight and ungrounded? So wherever possible, do LESS of that. You know what makes you feel soft, open and grounded? So where possible, do MORE of that.
The more I soften and ground, the more I want to give and the more able I am to feel and trust love...
Remember... you are light and subtle more than anything so feel into this subtleness and get to know and listen to those characters in your mind yanking you around back and forth. Listen to what they have to say, thank them for their opinion and then do what YOU want to do. Don't be a slave to your doshas!
That's what I'm working on to enjoy this Vata/Pitta mind of mine...
How about you? Does any of this feel familiar?
Lots of love
Nadia xx
Living With A Vata/Pitta Mind
