In Ayurvedic medicine, an ancient practice of India, “balancing doshas” is the first step in the healing of many ills. Based on the concept that all beings are one with the earth and we carry those elements in our bodies, we can find health by finding balance. This has resonated with me over the years as I can intuitively feel when my life and my body are “out of whack”—another ancient Hindu saying. There are three doshas-Vata, Pitta and Kapha corresponding the elements air, fire and earth and water. Me, being a Vata, or “airhead,” spends the majority of my time in the ungrounded world of ideas. When I begin to experience the symptoms of unbalance in my life-worry, anxiety, being overwhelmed, I must turn my attention to balancing the kapha in my life—or turn to the earth to once again ground myself.
O.K. that was a very long explanation to why I find peace and harmony with a lump of clay or digging in the dirt of my garden or sitting in the grass—it helps me to balance my dosha-even though balance on a potter’s wheel is a hundred time harder that I ever imagined. I love Mondays, I love the feel of the clay, I love being surrounded my earthy people in Tevas and dreadlocks, I love having a goal of someday, somehow being able to “throw a pot” that looks the same from all sides. I love coming down from the clouds and playing in the mud—it is just what the doctor ordered.
More about "doshas" can be found here and here--just in case anyone is feeling a little off kilter!
