Prakriti means Constitution or mind body type. Vikriti means current condition. This principle of Prakriti vs. Vikriti is of great significance in our journey towards health and healing if we take the Ayurvedic route.
In knowing our Prakriti we can understand what our baseline nature is, in knowing our Vikriti we are empowered to take our journey towards health into our own hands.
One’s Prakriti - or constitution - in the Ayurvedic sense, is generally understood in terms of Dosha predominance in the mind/body system. A person can be Vata predominant - which means Vata qualities, manifestations and functions are more lively than that of the other 2 Doshas. A person can be Pitta-Kapha - which means their mind-body mechanism predominates with Pitta qualities/manifestations first, and Kapha qualities/manifestations secondarily. Most people are what we might call a Dual-Dosha Prakriti.
Now the Prakriti vs. Vikriti dynamic is important because oftentimes our Vikriti (current imbalance) is related to a Dosha within our Prakriti - but it is not always necessarily so. We might have a Pitta-Kapha Prakriti, with a Vata-Kapha Vikriti. A person might be Vata predominant in their Prakriti - but due to Kapha increasing factors like laziness, heavy sweets and sleeping in late every morning - that Vata predominant person might have a Kapha imbalance i.e. a Kapha Vikriti on top of a Vata Prakriti.
The reason this is significant is because Prakriti is Prakriti and Vikriti is Vikriti - that is to say that our imbalances may or may not be related to our original constitution. Let’s break this down together now:
There are 2 types of Prakriti:
Janma Prakriti
Deha Prakriti
Janma is a sanskrit word which means “by birth”. Deha is a sanskrit word which means “time” or “timeline”.
Our Janma constitution can generally be determined by a skilled practitioner of Ayurveda, and by a Vedic Astrological reading. Most people’s constitution at birth changes, and at that point we are thinking in terms of Deha constitution. Let’s say by birth we are a Pitta predominant person, if we are exposed to kapha qualities - food, environment, relationships, career paths etc. - that kapha influence might become as if embedded in our prakriti, changing it from Pitta predominant to Pitta-Kapha, or possibly even Kapha-Pitta.
So our Janma Prakriti was what it was when we were born, and generally most people evolve with time and as a result we understand their constitution in the context of Deha Prakriti. Deha Prakriti can change multiple times over a lifetime - in fact it usually does.
Now Virkti - this is what is important for an Ayurvedic Practitioner. Whatever your Prakriti is - is fine. Let’s get you back to balance - that’s our drive as healthcare practitioners. From whatever system a healthcare practitioner uses, modern or natural, an awareness of the nature of the imbalance - which we call Virkriti in Ayurveda - and what to do about that to bring a person back to balance is the general approach. In Ayurveda, we take that route in the context of balancing the inner Cosmic Forces that govern much of our life’s systems.
A proper assessment of an Ayurvedically contextualized constitution (Prakriti) and state of imbalance (Vikriti) ultimately happens in Consciousness. Either the consciousness of a trained practitioner or of a student of this science. There are some basics to making such an assessment, but generally speaking a little knowledge in this area can be a dangerous thing - it is best to be as informed as possible before taking on a routine for creating balance.
Dosha quizzes can vary in accuracy - because if the patient themselves are answering questions they may be answering in terms of their Vikriti and not their Prakriti - leading a skewed understanding of their nature / constitution. It is best to have your Prakriti and Vikriti assess by a trained Ayurvedic professional, or to train yourself in this science so as to be able to accurately assess these values.
That being said, you’ll find some articles on this platform that can help you self-assess, and in our ongoing webinar series, consultations and events you’ll have an opportunity to explore the nature of your existence more deeply.
