DETOX - Day 12
PHASE TWO
The Three Stages of Life
According to Ayurveda, different stages of our lives are deeply influenced by each of the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha. Childhood, which is the first stage, is governed by kapha dosha. The second stage, from puberty up to the age of fifty, is governed by pitta dosha. And the third stage, which is from the age of fifty until death, is governed by vata dosha. While this perspective might seem obscure and complex at first, when we take a closer look, these correlations are actually quite intuitive. And in fact, this frame of reference can be very useful in helping us to appreciate both our strengths and our vulnerabilities as we grow, age, and mature. Keep in mind that the transition between these separate stages does not occur overnight. Instead, it is a gradual transition in which the influence of one dosha begins to decline just as the influence of another dosha begins to increase.
This process continues until the transition is complete, which could take several years. So it’s not as if we wake up on the morning of our fiftieth birthday and have suddenly moved from the pitta stage of life to the vata stage. But around that time, we can observe the gradual reduction of pitta’s influence in favor of more and more vata.
The Ayurvedic Context
Before we dive into the stages themselves, it is important to understand that Ayurveda views all substances and experiences through a qualitative lens in which like qualities increase one another and opposites can be used to promote balance. For example, summer is a hot season. Similarly, pitta is a fiery, hot dosha. So a pitta-predominant individual living in a warm climate during the summer season is very likely to be experiencing excess heat in some form or fashion. This might present in any number of ways: acid indigestion, diarrhea, increased body temperature, skin rashes, and acute inflammation, to name a few. In turn, the Ayurvedic remedy would be to offset the accumulating heat by introducing cooling influences through diet, lifestyle, and appropriate herbs. In essence, the kapha, pitta, and vata stages of life are successive periods during which we have a natural, physiological increase in the qualities that characterize each of the doshas.
For example, during the kapha stage of life, the qualities of kapha are inherently increased in the body, which lends children enhanced access to kapha’s strengths, but—because like increases like—simultaneously increases their likelihood of experiencing a kapha imbalance. And the way to prevent or address kapha imbalances in children is to increase their exposure to specific kapha-pacifying qualities that help to promote balance.
