Timeless wisdom for getting fit: an ancient system helps you find the right exercise for your body type and personality - Ayurvedic medicine

Vegetarian Times, April, 1996 by John Douillard

An ancient system helps you find the right exercise for your body type and personality.

IF YOU ARE LIKE many Americans, you may find it hard to get motivated to spend your precious free time exercising. Recent reports have revealed that 80 percent of Americans do not exercise regularly and that more than 10 million Americans are exercising less today than just three years ago. Despite all we know about the benefits of physical activity, the trend is toward less exercise, not more.

The most common excuse for our apathy is that we're too busy and simply can't find the time. But is a lack of time really the problem? It has always been my experience that when people like an activity, they usually find the time for it. I believe the real reason why people do not exercise is simple: They do not enjoy it. It's something you have to do--not something you want to do. Making exercise fun not only keeps you doing it, but delivers health benefits that you can't get from a one-size-fits-all regimen.

Increasingly, fitness experts are recognizing that what constitutes the "ideal" fitness activity and how much of it one should get depends on the individual. While people who exercise regularly have less chronic disease than those who remain sedentary, new studies have linked too much exercise with compromised functioning of the immune system. So how much exercise is good and how much is harmful? It all depends on our individual makeup or body type.

This understanding of individual body typing is not by any means new. Arguably the first system of body typing began with India's Ayurvedic medicine (science of life) where 10 unique mind-body type were identified. Each type has its own strengths, talents, likes and dislikes. You will almost certainly find yourself in one of them.

WHO ARE YOU?

IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, both girls and boys are required to run a mile in under 10 minutes in order to pass physical education class. Depending on their body type, this can be quite a feat--especially for a 10-year-old. When a patient of mine named Sara was 10, she came to me in tears requesting a note that would permanently excuse her from gym class. She had just run the mile for time and although she gave her heart and soul to the effort, she finished in 11 1/2 minutes--and failed the class. She was totally humiliated and felt she could not face her classmates ever again. This scenario is more common than you might think. A Louis Harris poll showed that 50 percent of American kids experience their first major failure in life as a sports failure. Knowledge of a child's body type can be a very important first step in structuring positive attitudes about exercise that can last a lifetime.

Sara is a KAPHA body type, which is typically hypometabolic, with big bones, an easy-going nature and much more endurance than speed. Kapha types tend to be a little on the heavy side, as they tend to retain water. Working with her coach and with a little persuasion, I directed her toward walking, a sport more suited to her body type. She came back to see me a year or so later with a big smile on her face and told me she had just returned from the regional race walking championships. To my amazement, she went on to tell me that her favorite class was now gym and that she had just joined the basketball team. She said, "It's really cool! The little and faster vata and pitta body types dribble and pass the ball as we bigger kapha types stay under the basket and get rebounds." For the first time in her life she felt she belonged; she had a place on the basketball court and a new level of self-esteem that she would never lose again.

The VATA body type, as Sara mentioned, is faster and more hypermetabolic with a smaller, lighter and leaner physique. Opposite to the Kapha type, they tend to think quickly and forget quickly. They have little endurance and though they are great in quick sprints, they would find a mile run to be incredibly difficult. They don't hold on to much body mass and are often trying to gain weight rather than lose it. When they get out of balance, they tend to worry, become anxious and constipated, and have trouble sleeping.

The PITTA body type is more fiery by nature and is the type that would excel at running a mile in under 10 minutes. They also may be the first to tell you their time and place of finish. They are typically natural leaders, more competitive and agile with a medium-sized muscular frame. When they get out of balance, they can overheat, get irritated and complain of skin rashes and indigestion.

In order to find out what body type you fit into, complete "What's Your Type?" (p. 82).

MINDING YOUR BODY

IF YOU HAVE CHOSEN the correct sport or activity for your body type but you still don't enjoy it, you may not be minding your body. In addition to knowing your mind-body type and its requirements, it is also important for your mind to know how to listen to your body. We have heard the term "listen to your body" for years. Unfortunately, no one has ever told us how to do it, and very few of us want to learn.