How Do I Fix Kapha Imbalance?

September 19, 2014

Q and A: Kapha Imbalance

Q: I am a huge fan of Yogi Cameron! I believe I am Kapha Vata. My biggest problems currently seem to be hormone related: mood swings (anger and sadness), weight gain and chronic lethargy. I recently watched an episode addressing too much Kapha so I went out yesterday and purchased Ghee, sesame and coconut oils, coriander, cardamom, ginger, licorice powdered herbs. Can you recommend anything else to help with the listlessness and weight gain and moodiness? I will do whatever it takes!

A:
If you really are experiencing significant Kapha imbalance, then the best thing for you to do is to create more movement and heat in your body to burn off the excess weight and moisture. This can, of course, happen with rigorous yoga postures as well as taking regular walks every day. Favor mustard oil over the other oils and embrace a bit of spiciness in your food with heat-producing spices like garlic and onion.

What will help you to get past the lethargy just as much as any dietary or herbal intervention will be to shift the nature of your eating habits themselves? What this means is that you will very likely benefit from eating fewer meals a day (perhaps one or two) and refraining from eating the last four or five hours before you go to bed. These types of changes will help your digestive system to clean house and relieve it of the burden of too much food.

Plus, when we eat food within a couple of hours of going to bed, our body hasn’t digested it and it just sits in the stomach overnight and builds up toxicity throughout the body. This adds to a sense of grogginess and lethargy in the morning. If not eating late is a struggle for you, then consider gradually building up the amount of time you have between your last meal and bedtime (first eat only two hours before going to bed, then the next night eat for two hours and fifteen minutes, and so on).