Medicus curat, natura sanat
The physician heals, nature cures.
It is no secret that we are all different, and this is not only about our bodies, our sex, the history of how our personalities formed, or heredity. There exists a special formula of individual health: the way the Five Great Elements, Pancha Maha Bhuta, manifest in the body as an individual constitution established at the moment of conception. Prakriti, our original innate nature, is the material foundation through which we express ourselves.
According to Samkhya philosophy, the world is created from five great elements: Ether (Akasha), Air (Vayu), Fire (Agni), Water (Jala), and Earth (Prithvi). On the level of the body these form an individual constitution – Kapha (Water + Earth), Pitta (Water + Fire), and Vata (Air + Ether). Each person therefore has a different formula for harmonious wellbeing.
You cannot harmonise Vata through methods that suit Kapha, and it is difficult to imagine a person in whom fire and water predominate feeling balanced on a training regimen designed for Kapha dosha. We need to study ourselves, understand our innate nature, identify which elements are in imbalance, and seek our own nutrition, movement, and rhythm in accord with the seasons.