Mucus, Sputum what is produced during the Cough- is thought to be the Kapha for years by most of us, who have some basic knowledge of Ayurveda and Doshas. Phlegm in modern concepts also input a lot of confusion with the word Kapha. Here we are going to discuss all these concepts of the Kapha Dosha.
At last, as we have to say about rest of the three Doshas, we will have to say it here too- Kapha is not that Kapha…what it is interpreted for years.
The Binding Agent Of Kapha
There are two words which stand for Kapha. One is Kapha and other one is Sleshma. Both these words stand for a Capability, Efficiency and Possibility. The capability is to bind the things together and keep them intact. Vata is moving always and Pitta is too corrosive to make anything brittle. So we here need one thing which can balance these two- Vata and Pitta. Kapha does so. It is a binder, in a reply to “disintegrator” Pitta and Kapha is stable in a reply to the movements and instability of the Vata.
Ayurveda is a science of balance and balance comes with the relativity. These all three Doshas- Vata, Pitta and Kapha are relative to each other- one is hot, other one is cold and one is medium. This is the reason these Doshas postulates the complete theory of the balance. Balance is a multidimensional aspect. What will balance and what will be imbalanced in a single dimension. Look at this example-
The Balance of Kapha
Vata brings to the body, Pitta disintegrates/digests this (food or thought whatever it is) and Kapha stores the outcome. This is how our body works in a harmony within these three bio humours.
Kapha is stagnant, so is heavy. It moves hardly so it is colder among all, because it is always on an energy conversion mode. If it will be active like Pitta and Vata then it will never be possible to store some energy for the days of crisis. This capability of the Kapha to keep things in storage makes it comparable directly to the life in many forms.
Vata is completely dry. Wherever the movement is in the body- there will be the involvement of the Kapha. Because it is important to combat the dryness caused by the movement, so in joints there you will find Synovial fluid- this is known as Shleshaka Kapha. Same happens with the lungs, because there is a lot of air and dryness so there is a continuous secretion of the Kapha. Amazingly when there will be the loss of synovial fluid- there will be more and more chances of the Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis- which are thought to be the diseases of the Vata, but truly speaking this is the imbalance among the Kapha and Vata which causes the disease like osteoporosis. You can find the same imbalance in any of the diseases.
What makes Kapha
Kapha is a mix of the two Mahabhootas- Jal and Prithavi (Water and Earth)- which can be mudded together but at last these will separate. Either water will evaporate or sand will sediment. But this is Kapha which keep things together and intact because of its efficiencies. The world, what is binded together is only due to the Kapha that is the reason Shleshma (the other name of Kapha) literally means one which “hugs”. Think if Kapha will not be there your cells will be flying in the sky, in a room or somewhere….here and there. It would have been hard for you to keep your liver with your stomach. So this is the greatest importance of the Kapha Dosha….which make it a perfect balancing trait for Vata and Pitta.
When this Kapha binds things together, there will surely be some structure and things will be gross. You keep on attaching the smaller things, these will be large at last because these are the smaller things which make things larger. The idea of storage inside the body is same. So what is thick like “phlegm”, “mucus” or “sputum” is full of Kapha always, but this is not exactly the Kapha. Kapha is energy behind this form of all these materials inside the body. For example- To fall towards the earth is gravity but you cannot say falling thing is gravity, even it represents the gravity. The same applies with all the three Doshas.
Kapha is a protector too. It protects us from diseases and even from the corrosion what Pitta can do with the body, due to its acidic or alkali capabilities.
In brief- properties of the Kapha Dosha are- to bind, cold, heavy, gross, protector, gives us stability and shape.
