The term Dosha (pronounced: Doshah) is a Sanskrit word and literally means "fault", or: that which causes problems. The goal of Ayurvedic health teachings is that the doshas are always balanced. If a Dosha becomes more and more, it causes problems. Being healthy with Ayurveda means that all three doshas are balanced.
In modern Ayurvedic language, the word "Dosha" is usually translated as "life energy".
This is not quite correct from a purely linguistic point of view, but it gives a better understanding of the principle of Ayurveda.
The three Doshas - Vata, Pitta, Kapha - are the three life energies that should be kept in balance as much as possible. If this succeeds, the person is healthy, cheerful and full of vitality.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the names for the three Doshas. They permeate every human being, nature and the entire cosmos.
They are composed of two of the five elements and have very different effects.

Vata (pronounced Waata) consists of the elements ether (space) and air. Vata stands for movement, which can easily be imagined by watching moving air sweep across the land like a storm.
The properties of Vata: dry, light, cold, mobile, rough, fast, subtle.

Kapha (pronounced kaffa) consists of water and earth. These two elements make excellent building materials, such as clay. If you have ever built a castle on the beach with wet sand, you have already held the principle of Kapha in your hands: it is the principle of structure that Kapha embodies.
The properties of Kapha: smooth, oily, heavy, solid, cold, inert.

Pitta consists mainly of fire and very little water. Pitta stands for the principle of combustion, which can most easily be imagined with the digestive fire that burns in every human being. Digestion, in turn, stands for the principle of metabolism.
The properties of Pitta: hot, pungent, light, fluid, slightly oily, mobile.

Every baby that comes into the world has a certain ratio of Vata, Pitta and Kapha from birth.
This is by no means always exactly thirds, then we would all be the same.
Rather, the weighting of Vata, Pitta and Kapha is always different. This weighting of the three doshas, which is created at birth, is called Prakriti in Ayurveda. The art of Ayurvedic life is to maintain this constitution throughout life,
because it suits us best, it keeps us healthy and in balance.
* In Ayurveda it is even said that the constitution type is already determined at the moment of conception.

Little Valerie was born with a lot of Vata. Her dosha distribution is quite clear with 50% Vata, 35% Pitta, 15% Kapha, she is a Vata-Pitta type. In all likelihood, Valerie will have a creative profession, as Vata favors the light, quick, and lively in her thinking, feeling, and expressing. She will have a delicate physique and be either very short and petite or very tall and slender, for her high Vata content will also ensure this. Since she also has relatively high Pitta, the fire in her will ensure that she can assert herself, that she can plan and organize well. With 15% Kapha content, the stabilizing factor is very low. Therefore, she will spend herself more often than is good for her. It will be her life's task to always have the strength-giving calmness in mind.

Paul is a real Pitta type. He was born with a lot of fire. His dosha distribution is very clear with 55% Pitta, 30% Kapha and 15% Vata. Red hair and a skin prone to inflammation are typical for a Pitta child who has a lot of fire in him.
The high Pitta percentage predestines Paul for a manager job. He will one day become a master of organization, planning and execution. The fiery Pitta portion in him makes sure of that. His Kapha portion with 30% will give him the calmness in the storm, because Kapha stands for reliability, composure, inertia. Since he has little Vata portion, his lifelong challenge will be to nurture his playfulness and creativity.

Katharina was already a cuddly, blissful baby at birth.
Her dosha proportions are almost balanced, which is quite rare. She has a slightly stronger Kapha portion with 40%,
Pitta and Vata are represented with 30%.
She was a calm, balanced child from the beginning, her Kapha portion, which stands for stability, calmness,
calmness and reliability.
All three doshas are relatively equally weighted, which will make Katharina a fun-loving, energetic and down-to-earth person. If Katharina can maintain her dosha weighting throughout her life, she will remain healthy and vital into old age.
Her somewhat higher Kapha proportion already ensures that she has a strong immune system, Vata keeps her mind and her perceptiveness fit, Pitta enlivens her intelligence and her hands-on nature.

In most people, two doshas dominate, the third falls slightly in the weighting.
Then one speaks of a Vata-Pitta type, like Valerie, a Vata-Kapha type or Kapha-Pitta type.
Rarer are people in whom one Dosha is very much in the foreground and the other two are only slightly noticeable.
Here we speak of mono-types, i.e. a vata-type, pitta-type or kapha-type. Paul is a typical Pitta person.
Even rarer is the tri-dosha type, in which all three doshas are almost equally represented, as in Katharina's case.

However, Ayurveda is not concerned with having all three doshas as equally weighted as possible, but with maintaining the dosha distribution as it existed at birth.
Ayurvedic doctors and therapists who have mastered pulse diagnosis can still feel this birth constitution later.
They also feel where the deviations are, which dosha has increased over the years of life and which dosha should be strengthened.
This is why Ayurveda is so unique: by sensing to what degree the doshas are out of balance, you hold the key to balancing them.
Through dietary changes and an adapted daily routine, a lot can already be changed. A Panchakarma cure is the most efficient way to start balancing the doshas. The wisdom of Ayurveda is:
When the doshas are in balance, energy and joy of life flow.