“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Self-confidence is trusting in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgement, to be secure in yourself and your abilities. It is shaped by your thoughts, relationships, and experiences and adds value to your opinions and ideas. A self-confident person will have high self-esteem, self-respect, and believe in themselves. Speaking positively, not giving up during hardships, helping others, and dressing up for the occasion can be some of the traits that can be seen in a confident individual. They will not be ashamed to ask for help from others when needed. Physical appearance has become one of the main criteria when it comes to building self-confidence. Ayurveda can help elevate the beauty in a person.
Beauty can be defined as a combination of qualities, such as shape, skin, hair, smile, attitude, and health which pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. Among many components that define beauty, there are those that can be changed. Shape, skin, hair, and health can be changed according to Ayurvedic elements. As described in past articles, humans have their unique body types, known as prakriti. According to Ayurveda, beauty is determined by body constitution, structural predominance, compactness of the body, body complexion, and compactness. This will lead to improving one’s self confidence.
A vata prakriti individual will be energetic and have a creative mind. As long as vata is in balance they will be lively and enthusiastic. Physically, they will have a thin, light frame and excellent agility. They are likely to experience sudden bouts of fatigue. A person with a vata body type will typically have dry skin and hair and cold hands and feet.
Their skin complexion is darker in shade. Even though their skin colour is darker in shade, Ayurveda can give the skin a nice glow and enhance the texture of the skin – dry skin can be turned into a moist glowing skin. Dry hair also can be changed by giving appropriate nourishment to the hair by balancing the vata dosha in the body. A pitta prakriti person will physically be of medium size and weight. Sometimes they have brown to lighter coloured hair but experience early greying, baldness, or thinning hair. Their skin will be tan, which is one of the biggest trends in European countries. The condition of hair can be improved through Ayurvedic treatments. A kapha prakriti person has a strong build and excellent stamina. Large, soft eyes; smooth, radiant skin; and dark, thick hair; some may have wavy hair and some may have curly hair.
But they are prone to have higher Body Mass Index (BMI) levels than normal. That has to be addressed through a proper diet plan and exercise and yoga sessions.
In individuals with a vata-dominant hair type, a texture of hair which generally remains rough in nature is observed, which will also dehydrate the scalp and hair. In individuals with a pitta dosha, the hair texture is observed to be smooth and silky because it is responsible for metabolism in your scalp tissues. When kapha dosha gets dominant in an individual, the hair texture remains lustrous as kapha dosha governs the oil and sebum production in scalp tissues. Thus, kapha hair is shiny with an adequate supply of sebum to the hair strands. Let’s see how we can improve the condition of our hair. Rasayana medicine (rejuvenation therapy), lepa (hair mask) with different formulation, snehana (oil application), nasya (medications administered through nose), shirodhara (pouring of oil to the vital points in the forehead), and shirovasti (pooling of oil on the hair) can be done as external treatments.
Along with these external treatments, internal medication to improve health can be administered. These medications will help pacify the vitiated dosha condition and balance the dosha involvement that is beneficial for the hair. Multiple nutrient deficiencies may also be the reason for damage and unhealthy hair. Nutrient deficiencies may arise due to genetic disorders, medical conditions, or dietary practices. These problems need to be identified and addressed accordingly by a qualified Ayurveda doctor.
(The writer holds a BAMS [Hons] from the University of Colombo and a Diploma in Panchakarma, is currently reading for an Msc in Food and Nutrition from the University of Peradeniya, and is a Residential Ayurveda Medical Officer at the Christell Clinic)
Self-confidence is trusting in one’s abilities, qualities, and judgement, to be secure in yourself and your abilities. It is shaped by your thoughts, relationships, and experiences and adds value to your opinions and ideas. A self-confident person will have high self-esteem, self-respect, and believe in themselves. Speaking positively, not giving up during hardships, helping others, and dressing up for the occasion can be some of the traits that can be seen in a confident individual. They will not be ashamed to ask for help from others when needed. Physical appearance has become one of the main criteria when it comes to building self-confidence. Ayurveda can help elevate the beauty in a person.
Beauty can be defined as a combination of qualities, such as shape, skin, hair, smile, attitude, and health which pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. Among many components that define beauty, there are those that can be changed. Shape, skin, hair, and health can be changed according to Ayurvedic elements. As described in past articles, humans have their unique body types, known as prakriti. According to Ayurveda, beauty is determined by body constitution, structural predominance, compactness of the body, body complexion, and compactness. This will lead to improving one’s self confidence.
A vata prakriti individual will be energetic and have a creative mind. As long as vata is in balance they will be lively and enthusiastic. Physically, they will have a thin, light frame and excellent agility. They are likely to experience sudden bouts of fatigue. A person with a vata body type will typically have dry skin and hair and cold hands and feet.
Their skin complexion is darker in shade. Even though their skin colour is darker in shade, Ayurveda can give the skin a nice glow and enhance the texture of the skin – dry skin can be turned into a moist glowing skin. Dry hair also can be changed by giving appropriate nourishment to the hair by balancing the vata dosha in the body. A pitta prakriti person will physically be of medium size and weight. Sometimes they have brown to lighter coloured hair but experience early greying, baldness, or thinning hair. Their skin will be tan, which is one of the biggest trends in European countries. The condition of hair can be improved through Ayurvedic treatments. A kapha prakriti person has a strong build and excellent stamina. Large, soft eyes; smooth, radiant skin; and dark, thick hair; some may have wavy hair and some may have curly hair.
But they are prone to have higher Body Mass Index (BMI) levels than normal. That has to be addressed through a proper diet plan and exercise and yoga sessions.
In individuals with a vata-dominant hair type, a texture of hair which generally remains rough in nature is observed, which will also dehydrate the scalp and hair. In individuals with a pitta dosha, the hair texture is observed to be smooth and silky because it is responsible for metabolism in your scalp tissues. When kapha dosha gets dominant in an individual, the hair texture remains lustrous as kapha dosha governs the oil and sebum production in scalp tissues. Thus, kapha hair is shiny with an adequate supply of sebum to the hair strands. Let’s see how we can improve the condition of our hair. Rasayana medicine (rejuvenation therapy), lepa (hair mask) with different formulation, snehana (oil application), nasya (medications administered through nose), shirodhara (pouring of oil to the vital points in the forehead), and shirovasti (pooling of oil on the hair) can be done as external treatments.
Along with these external treatments, internal medication to improve health can be administered. These medications will help pacify the vitiated dosha condition and balance the dosha involvement that is beneficial for the hair. Multiple nutrient deficiencies may also be the reason for damage and unhealthy hair. Nutrient deficiencies may arise due to genetic disorders, medical conditions, or dietary practices. These problems need to be identified and addressed accordingly by a qualified Ayurveda doctor.
(The writer holds a BAMS [Hons] from the University of Colombo and a Diploma in Panchakarma, is currently reading for an Msc in Food and Nutrition from the University of Peradeniya, and is a Residential Ayurveda Medical Officer at the Christell Clinic)