RELATE, TALK AND GET BETTER WITH YOUR DOSHAS

• Let Vata be your primary guide.

When in balance, vata dosha is creative, flexible, intuitive, and positive. These qualities bring solutions and agreement very naturally. Whenever you feel that you are in harmony with someone else, working on the same wavelength, it is the intuitive side of Vata that creates this synchrony.

On the other hand, Vata moves swiftly, and when you start feeling bored, distracted, fretful, or indecisive, these are symptoms of Vata imbalance. You will quickly lose your audience if they are feeling any of these things, too. So by using Vata as your main guide, you will quickly learn if you are getting through to the other person.

• Let Pitta have its say.

Pitta types, or anyone with a strong amount of this dosha in their makeup, are articulate, organized, highly motivated, and marked by a tendency to be in control. In a meeting or simply a conversation, you can sense when someone has to talk no matter what and may show impatience at having to listen to the other side. This is often the influence of Pitta at work.

Pitta needs to contribute. Although subject to anger and impatience if riled, Pitta types believe that they are not affected by emotions, and using emotions to convince them won’t work. You must keep the discussion on rational grounds. Saying “I don’t like the idea” is ineffective; giving rational reasons why an idea won’t work out is usually much better.

• Keep Kapha calm and stable.

Kapha types, or anyone with a strong streak of this dosha, is by nature serene and stable. Kapha makes someone caring, comforting, and reliable. But Kapha is the slowest dosha to change, and change in general is disliked or resisted. These are the kinds of people who seem to object to new plans, innovation, and speculative thinking.

You cannot push Kapha to get your way—it simply balks and refuses to budge. What is needed is patience, reassurance, and consideration, because Kapha types are often stigmatized as slow. These are the people who need to go away and think things through on their own terms. The opposite type, Vata, are prone to vacillating over decisions, so it’s good to realize where you and the person you want to communicate with fall on the spectrum.

• Consciously center yourself.

When your doshas are balanced, you feel centered and calm. This state allows you to be in touch with yourself, what you want or need, and linked to deeper areas of awareness. Since those are such desirable things, it is good to know how to be consciously centered. The technique is simple and improves with practice.

Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and take three long, slow, deep breaths. When you feel settled, put your attention in the region of your heart and breathe easily. Do this for 5 minutes, then sit quietly for a moment before opening your eyes and going back to your activity. It is good to center yourself before entering into any serious conversation or meeting.