Ayurveda: Kapha Dosha Explained
Kapha is pronounced Kah-fa or Kah-p-hu where the P is pronounced as a P and the H gives a little breath after the P. It means “that which binds things” or “holds things together.” It is a lovely balance of earth and water. It is life giving and nourishing. We can connect Kapha to our sense of smell and taste and it is expressed by all the things that we can see and feel. It is the material stuff. The solid stuff.
Water is life giving. It is heavy, liquid and always tries to find homeostasis. It is considered cool because when you put water on your skin the evaporation of the water feels cool, but it takes on the temperature of the dominant element that it is surrounded by. For example, the water in a baby pool full of water sitting on a hot terrace on a hot day will be hot because it is mostly exposed to the hot qualities of the sun. However, the water in a deep lake that is fed from springs deep in the earth will be cold because it is surrounded by the cold qualities of earth. Water moves but only in the direction of whatever container it is supported by, whether is is the support of gravity or earth.
Earth is nourishing. It is supportive and steady. It’s cold and, like water, will hold the temperature of the ambient temperature of the element to which it is most exposed. It holds its temperature longer than water and is less affected by the other elements. It’s heavy, dense and substantial.
Kapha is slow, steady, moist, smooth, oily, cool, heavy. We can see this play out in different ways. Spring is related to the Kapha dosha. It is wet and heavy. The earth is dense with life bursting out from it. People who have a lot of the Kapha dosha qualities tend to have larger physical structure. They might have thick hair and “dewy” eyes and skin. They might be softer and steadier in both mind and body. They are loving and nurturing and committed in relationships. Kapha is supportive and binding and in a balanced way it is what holds life together.