Ayurveda psychology

"A person's basic constitution is a permanent component. Understanding and taking it into account helps us to go through life calmly and joyfully."

Many aspects shape our personality: in addition to upbringing, education and early childhood experiences in the family environment, the greatest influence on our character formation, according to Ayurveda, comes from our physical and mental constitution. Specifically, this means that the decision about who we are and how we shape our lives depends on how the doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) and the gunas (tamas, rajas, sattva) manifest themselves. The imprints of the basic constitution (deha-prakrti), which are formed by the doshas, are unchangeable, while the mental constitution (manas-prakrti) is subject to our direct influence.

"Knowing the resilience of your own constitution is a great help when it comes to coping with the daily challenges of life," Kerstin Rosenberg encourages her participants in the psychology seminars.

We can think of the constellation of doshas as the hardware of a computer, which contributes to optimal functionality via basic physical structures and mechanisms.

Hardware supports software

The software, on the other hand, is provided by the mental constitution, which is responsible for the subtle processing and interpretation of data. The more stable and healthy our physical constitution (hardware) is, the better we can absorb mental disruptive factors (software). This is because the physical and mental immune system reacts to excessive demands and stress according to type and is therefore vulnerable on different levels.

The classical Ayurveda texts impressively describe that every mental illness is preceded by a lack of ojas (vital life energy) and that good digestion and an active cell metabolism are the basis for every psycho-mental therapy. Simple regenerative measures such as foods rich in vital substances, spices and medicinal herbs help to rebuild the lost ojas.

However, it is more difficult to treat the subtle causes of ojas loss. These usually lie at the subtle level of the emotional field. The most common "ojas killers" are painful or unresolved past experiences, suppressed emotions and mental stress. All of this creates an excess of rajas in the mental constitution and prepares the ground for all psychological complaints.

As many personality traits are an integral part of the basic constitution (Deha-Prakrti), they shape our life path in all phases of development from childhood to old age. However, how these fundamental character traits are expressed can vary greatly.

"We are not victims of all the whims and fads of the prakrti, but the quality of our thoughts and emotions determines the happiness or unhappiness with which we experience each day."

The aim of all psycho-mental interventions in Ayurveda is to develop as much sattva-guna as possible and thus overcome the disruptive factors of tamas and rajas. Through a sattvic mindset, we transform negative constitutional characteristics and show ourselves from our best side: the sensitive Vata mind receives spiritual and creative inspiration (sattva) instead of nervous overstimulation (rajas) or lethargy (tamas). Similarly, the degree of sattva determines whether a Kapha type becomes a philanthropist or a miser, or whether Pitta's ability to act serves the productive good of all or leads to aggressive destruction.

Ayurvedic psychology cites the classical techniques of yoga as the best methods for strengthening sattvic personality expression. In particular, the purifying breathing exercises of pranayama and the centering concentration exercises of silent meditation act like a mental burning glass and are used as optimal prevention to ward off mental disorders. However, if mental or psychosomatic complaints are already present, then in addition to a daily yoga and meditation practice, a tailor-made mixture of dosha-balancing measures (diet, massage, medicinal herbs) and psychological counseling sessions are needed to strengthen Sattva effectively and sustainably. The mantra recitations then work particularly well as a way of singing against the inner bastard and practicing loving self-reflection during meditation.

A personality type characterized by Vata has a great deal of openness, creativity and spontaneity. He perceives the world around him with all his senses, is curious, adaptive and communicative. He can adapt quickly to new people and situations and has a good short-term memory. On an emotional level, a high proportion of Vata can lead to nervousness, insecurity, shyness, fears, worries and doubts.

A personality characterized by Pitta is intelligent, ambitious and expressive. It goes through life with a sense of purpose and conquers (its) world. It is demanding of itself and others, competitive and is very good at convincing through words and deeds. On an emotional level, a high Pitta percentage can lead to excessive ambition and perfectionism, anger, rage and overestimation of oneself.

Kapha-dominated personalities are naturally calm, content and friendly. They are loyal, comfortable and socially minded. They are particularly interested in their family and friends, good food and the pleasant things in life. On an emotional level, a high Kapha percentage can lead to laziness, ignorance, untruthfulness, listlessness and depression.

Qualities of the mental constitution

Our mental constitution is made up of the three gunas tamas, rajas and sattva. The aim of the psychological therapies of Ayurveda and yoga is to create a positive mental climate in which tamas and rajas manifest themselves in healthy expression (levels 1-3) and sattva-guna predominates.