As a sister science of Yoga, Ayurveda  is an excellent practice to incorporate in your daily yoga practice for balancing your individual constitution. Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine from India that uses a constitutional model. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy and folks with health challenges can improve their health.

Depending on your constitution or "dosha" you can use the following guidelines below to help you create your optimal yoga practice, one that will really serve your mind, body, and spirit.

What is a Dosha?
According to Ayurveda, each of us has a unique mix of three mind/body principles which creates our specific mental and physical characteristics. These three principles are called 'doshas'. Most of us have one or two doshas which are most lively in our nature, with the remaining one(s) less significant.

What are the 3 Doshas?
The three doshas are known as: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. To find out your dominant dosha, take the Dosha Quiz.

After you take the quiz you will learn 3 things: (1) your overall dominant dosha, (2) the dosha that dominates your mind, and (3) the dosha that dominates your body.

Vinyasa Practice for Vata Friends: ( Teacher Greg Marzullo is a classic Vata Dominant Yogi!)
An ideal practice for a vata individual creates warmth, serenity and nourishment. Vatas can cultivate this by following some basic guidelines:

• Practice at a slow, smooth and steady pace.
• Explore fluidity in your poses. Use gentle movements such as spinal and pelvic undulation, and rotation in the joints.
• Hold each posture for a short amount of time, but do multiple repetitions.
• Draw into and move from your power center or hara. The hara is the area below the navel and above the pubic bone. AKA: UDDIYANA BANDHA!
• Focus on the foundation of the pose to create stability.
• Imagine you are moving through a substance like warm water or warm mud.
• Focus on lengthening your inhalation.
• Stay connected to the earth. Ground down through your big toes
• Fix your gaze below or at the horizon. Drishti!
• Engage your entire body by hugging your muscles to the bones. Muscular Energy!

*final note for Vata People: Do not over extend or deplete yourself. Your practice should be strengthening, not draining. Vatas easily exhaust themselves. Stay warm. And particulary for you, do not skip Savasana, final resting pose!

Vinyasa Practice for Pitta Friends: (Teacher, Kim Groark, that's me!, is Pitta Dominant Yogini!)
A yoga practice for a pitta individual should encourage compassion, acceptance, relaxed effort and be cooling in nature. Pittas can cultivate this by following some basic guidelines:

• Have fun in your poses. Do not take yourself or your pose too seriously.
• Enjoy movement in your poses.
• Soften your gaze downward, at the horizon or even practice with your eyes closed.
• Allow freedom and creativity in your practice. Change it up. Avoid sticking to one style or series of poses.
• Practice in a moderately warm space. You do not want to get cold, but pittas should avoid practicing in extremely heated spaces (ie: rooms heated above 95 degrees)
• Focus on the yoga experience in your body, not your brain.
• Work at 80% effort.
• Avoid being judgmental and critical of yourself.
• Remind yourself that yoga is not a competition.
• Focus on your exhalation. 
• Be aware of your breath in your back body.
• Practice plenty of twists and side body openers.

*final note for Pitta People:  You benefit from practicing at a moderate pace and by always reminding yourself that less can be more! You also should not skip Savasana. In fact, take the extended Savasana pass whenever possible!

Vinyasa Practice for Kapha Friends: (Teacher, Scott Donroe, is Kapha Dominant Yogi!)
A yoga practice for a kapha individual should be one creating space, stimulation, warmth and buoyancy. Kaphas can cultivate this by following some basic guidelines:

• Practice at a vigorous pace and intensity.
• Focus on the subtlety of the pose and how it creates an expansive presence in the body and energy field.
• Practice in a warm space. (around 75-80 degrees)
• Use a strong forceful breath during practice. Ujayi!
• When you are ready to release the pose, take one more breath.
• Keep your chest and shoulders open and lifted as you practice.
• Have a sharp upward gaze.
• Feel a sense of lightness in your poses.
• Pause for a moment between your inhalations and exhalations.
• Challenge yourself.
• Keep moving. Have short resting periods between poses.

*Final note for Kapha People: Be precise in your poses. Pay special attention to your alignment and do not give up! Restorative poses like supta badha konasana with a block under your shoulder blades or even childs pose with blanket support is great for your savasana time!