The more I delve into my primary Vata dosha, the more I realize that I am not crazy and it's that my Vata is out of whack. I am so sensitive to overstimulation right now. And my mind's current default thought loop is anxiety and overwhelm. My insomnia is bonkers right now. If I don't take 10 mg of melatonin before bed, after nursing my toddler back to sleep in the early morning, I will just be awake. No amount of meditation and breathing will put me back to sleep. I'm just up for my day at 3:00am whether I want to be or not. I have bursts of productivity and bursts of exhaustion.
I now understand that my husband is Kapha-Pitta and I need to stop comparing myself to him because we are opposites. And it makes so much sense. Damn him and his ability to just casually deeply nap anytime he finds an extra 20 minutes in his day!
Learning more about the Doshas is assisting me in reaching a whole new level of respecting my body and honoring what it truly needs.
Check out some tables and excerpts from "Dosha brain-types: A neural model of individual differences" below...
 |
| via |
 |
| via |
"The first system is the frontal executive system of the brain, which includes the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention switching and error detection), ventral medial (emotional input), and the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (decision making). The Vata Brain-Type exhibits a high range of prefrontal functioning leading to the possibility of being easily overstimulated. They perform activity quickly. Learn quickly and forget quickly. They like to multi-task. Their fast mind gives them an edge in creative problem solving. The Pitta brain-type reacts strongly to all challenges leading to purposeful and resolute actions. They never give up and are very dynamic and goal oriented. The Kapha brain-type is slow and steady leading to methodical thinking and action. They prefer routine and needs stimulation to get going.
The second system is the reticular activating system (RAS) of the brain, which is responsible for arousal level. It determines if we are highly alert, relaxed, or asleep. The Vata brain-type exhibits a high range of arousal levels leading to a sense of over-reacting to the world. They have trouble sleeping soundly. The Pitta brain-type becomes easily aroused and maintains high level of focused arousal to get a task accomplished. The Kapha brain-type is not easily perturbed. They are calm and easy going and seldom get excited.
The fifth system is the limbic system, which is responsible for emotion. It includes many nuclei around the center of the brain: The amygdala for survival and fear response, the hippocampus for anger and spatial awareness, the nucleus accumbens for pleasure, the insula for saliency of experience and tie bodily states to emotions, and hypothalamus that integrates the activity of the autonomic nervous system. The limbic system is highly sensitive to changes in the environment in Vata brain-types. Their emotions are rich and highly variable. When over-activated, the Vata brain-type can have excessive fear and phobias. The limbic system provides the fire for the Pitta brain-type to react to the world. Their actions are competitive and dynamic. In excess, this can lead to irritability and angry. The Kapha Brain-Type is always smiling. They are seldom in a hurry. Nothing seems to make them angry.
The last system is the hypothalamus, which is responsible for homeostasis. It automatically controls our responses to challenges, freeing us from considering hunger, thirst, and arousal levels. The output of the limbic system feeds into the hypothalamus, which then will activate the autonomic nervous systems as needed and even activate the prefrontal cortex. The hypothalamus is intimately involved in the functioning of the other five brain areas. In Vata brain-types, the hypothalamus is constantly changing the state of mind and body. They will experience bursts of activity and rest, and will frequently snack and drink. In Pitta brain-types, the hypothalamus has a strong on and off switch. When turned on, the autonomic nervous system functions at its maximum to accomplish the goal. There is no half-way point. The hypothalamus maintains a higher core body temperature and dynamic mental and physical activity that leads to the preference for cool foods and drinks in this brain-type. In Kapha brain-types, the hypothalamus maintains a slower metabolism. This can lead to easily gaining weight. There is slower responsiveness to temperature and situations."
No comments:
Post a Comment