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Athreya Ayurvedic Centre

Knowledge Base · Prakriti analysis

The Athreya Prakriti Map

Every person is born with their own balance of Vata, Pitta and Kapha: your Prakriti. Answer 23 short questions about your mornings, food, sleep, energy, mind, emotions and money to map yours. Then our physicians review it and tell you what it means for your health, diet and routine.

23 questions

About 5 minutes, in 7 short parts

3 doshas mapped

Vata, Pitta and Kapha

Free

Reviewed by our physicians

Cottages at Athreya Ayurvedic Centre, Kottayam, with lamps lit at twilight
Knowing your Prakriti is where every treatment plan at Athreya begins.

What is Prakriti?

Your constitution, from birth

In Ayurveda, Prakriti is the constitution you are born with: your own proportion of the three doshas. It shapes your body type, digestion, sleep, temperament and the illnesses you are most prone to. Knowing your Prakriti is the first step an Ayurvedic physician takes before planning any treatment.

Open sky over the paddy fields beside Athreya at dawn, for Vata (air and space)

Vata

Air + Space

Creative, quick-thinking, energetic. You thrive on variety and movement.

When balanced: enthusiastic, adaptable, imaginative. When imbalanced: anxious, scattered, irregular habits.

Oil lamps lighting the cottages at Athreya in the evening, for Pitta (fire and water)

Pitta

Fire + Water

Sharp, focused, driven, a natural leader. Strong digestion and determination.

When balanced: intelligent, confident, decisive, a good speaker. When imbalanced: irritable, critical, prone to inflammation.

A water lily among leaves in the pond at Athreya, for Kapha (earth and water)

Kapha

Earth + Water

Calm, steady, loyal, nurturing. Strong build and excellent endurance.

When balanced: stable, compassionate, great memory, patient. When imbalanced: lethargic, attached, resistant to change.

Prakriti · what you are born with

Your constitution

Prakriti is set at conception. Charaka names what shapes it: the health of the sperm and ovum, the time of conception, the state of the womb, the mother’s food and routine in pregnancy, and the elements at work then. The dosha that dominates these becomes your Prakriti, and it stays with you for life.

Charaka Samhita, Vimana Sthana 8.95

Vikriti · how you are right now

Your present imbalance

Vikriti means change from your natural state. Season, food, sleep, stress, age and illness push one or more doshas out of their usual proportion. Vikriti is what causes symptoms, and it is what treatment corrects, always measured against your Prakriti.

Charaka Samhita, Vimana Sthana 8.101

All three

Everyone has Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Ayurveda is a tridosha science: all three doshas work in every body. Your Prakriti is the proportion between them. That is why most people find two doshas leading, a few find one clearly ahead, and rarely all three sit in equal balance.

The map

Discover your mind-body constitution

Choose the answer that feels most true for you most of the time. Go with your gut. There are no right or wrong answers.

Morning yoga on the lawn at Athreya Ayurvedic Centre
Your mornings
Your mornings1 of 23

Tap an answer to go on
An Athreya physician at her desk reviewing a guest's notes

Get your map reviewed by our physicians

Send your result and our physician will review your Prakriti and look at your Vikriti, your present imbalance, then reply personally with what it means for your health, diet and routine.

Beyond the questionnaire

How our physicians confirm your Prakriti

A questionnaire records how you see yourself. In Ayurveda, Prakriti is confirmed by examining the person. At Athreya our physicians use the classical examinations, then read your Vikriti against your Prakriti before planning anything.

Nadi · Pulse

Read at the wrist with three fingers. Its speed, strength and movement show which dosha leads.

Jihva · Tongue

Colour, coating, moisture and cracks. A coated tongue points to undigested ama.

Drik · Eyes

The colour, moisture and brightness of the eyes.

Shabda · Voice

How your voice sounds: its pitch, strength and clarity.

Sparsha · Touch

Skin temperature, texture and moisture.

Akriti · Build

Body frame, proportions and how you carry yourself.

Mutra · Urine

Colour, quantity and frequency.

Mala · Stool

Regularity, form and digestion.

The eightfold examination (Ashtavidha Pariksha), from Yogaratnakara.

Charaka adds a tenfold examination of the person (Dashavidha Pariksha, Vimana Sthana 8.94), which our physicians follow in consultation:

  • Prakriti constitution
  • Vikriti present imbalance
  • Sara quality of tissues
  • Samhanana build
  • Pramana body measure
  • Satmya what suits you
  • Sattva strength of mind
  • Ahara Shakti digestive capacity
  • Vyayama Shakti capacity for exercise
  • Vaya age

Questions people ask

About your Prakriti result

Yes. Vata, Pitta and Kapha are present and working in every body. Vata moves, Pitta transforms and Kapha holds together. Your Prakriti is not which dosha you have, it is the proportion you were born with.

Because that is how most people are made. The classical texts describe seven Prakritis: three led by one dosha, three led by two (Vata-Pitta, Pitta-Kapha, Vata-Kapha) and one where all three are equal. In practice two leading doshas is the most common picture. Your result names both so you can care for both.

A single dosha shows only when it clearly leads the other two. On this map that means at least 4 more answers than the next dosha. When two are close, choosing one would hide half of you, so the map shows both.

Sama Prakriti means the three doshas sit in near-equal balance and you show features of all three. Charaka describes it as the most balanced constitution (Vimana Sthana 8.100). It is uncommon. If your answers land close together, our physicians will confirm it by examination.

No. Prakriti is fixed at conception. What changes is Vikriti, your present state. If you answered while unwell, stressed or in a hard season, your answers may lean toward the dosha that is disturbed now. That is one reason a physician reviews the result.

Because Prakriti covers the mind as well as the body. When Charaka describes each Prakriti he lists temperament, memory and even means and wealth alongside build and digestion (Vimana Sthana 8.96–98). How you decide and spend is one honest window into that.

It is a good first map, not a diagnosis. Answers depend on how you see yourself. Our physicians confirm Prakriti with the pulse, tongue and the other examinations above, and assess Vikriti at the same time.

Athreya physicians on a verandah at Athreya Ayurvedic Centre, Kottayam

Go deeper

A full Prakriti assessment with a physician

In a consultation our physicians assess your Prakriti and present imbalance in person, then plan diet, routine and treatment around it.

Plan your stay

Send an enquiry

Tell us a little about yourself, and our medical team will respond personally.