Discover Your Dosha
1. How would you describe your physical structure?
- a) Petite
- b) Muscular
- c) Curvy
2. Would you describe your skin as being more:
- a) Dry and rough
- b) Red, sensitive, or prone to inflammation and rashes
- c) Cool and oily
3. Does your body feel:
- a) Boney
- b) Toned
- c) Thick
4. Does your breath tend to be:
- a) Shallow
- b) Restrained
- c) Labored
5. Does your hair tend to be:
- a) Dry and frizzy
- b) Straight and prone to gray and hair loss
- c) Thick and oily
6. Does your body temperature run:
- a) Cold; it’s hard to break a sweat
- b) Hot; you sweat easily
- c) Cold and wet—you’re cold but also a bit sweaty at times
7. When you speak, does your voice tend to be:
- a) Quiet and reserved
- b) Loud and direct
- c) Melodic and comforting
8. Do your bowel movements tend to be:
- a) Constipated and pellet-like
- b) Loose and acidic
- c) Gassy and mucous prone
9. Do you like to eat foods or have cravings for foods that are:
- a) Dry and crunchy
- b) Spicy, acidic, and oily
- c) Dense and sweet
10. Concerning sleep patterns, do you find it:
- a) Difficult to fall asleep and your sleep is easily disrupted
- b) Easy to fall asleep when you want to
- c) Easy to fall asleep and hard to wake up
11. What are you most prone to?
- a) Colds and flus
- b) Allergies and inflammation
- c) Sinus congestion and fatigue
12. What best describes your appetite?
- a) You tend toward low blood sugar and feeling hungry often
- b) You can go a long time without eating but still have stamina
- c) You have a low appetite in the morning, tend to eat a little throughout the day, then indulge in rich or sweet foods in the evening
13. What ecosystems do you feel most comfortable in?
- a) Warm, wet, and humid, such as a tropical climate
- b) Cold and dry, such as a high desert climate
- c) Warm and dry, such as a Mediterranean climate
14. When under stress do you tend to:
- a) Worry and want to escape, or become irritated easily
- b) Overwork and tend toward anger or frustration
- c) Become depressed, shut down, and in the muck
15. When working in a group do you tend to be:
- a) The idea person, super creative
- b) The leader, putting ideas into action
- c) The supportive role, making sure things flow harmoniously
16. Your friends tend to come to you for:
- a) Creative inspiration
- b) Analyzing and problem-solving
- c) A shoulder to cry on
17. Things that come easily to you are:
- a) Discipline, routines, and spiritual concepts
- b) Intellectual ideas, focused activities, and responsibility
- c) Nurturing, supporting, and loving others, being grounded
18. When in conflict you tend to be:
- a) Fearful and put up a lot of boundaries
- b) Direct and easy to anger
- c) Defensive and stubborn
19. What weather aggravates you?
- a) Windy, dry, and cold, like a cold fall breeze
- b) Hot, wet, and humid, like summer showers
- c) Cold and wet, like rain and fog
20. Your emotional state when out of balance tends to be:
- a) Fearful and anxious
- b) Angry and resentful
- c) Grieving and depressed
Tallying the Results: Count how many times you answered: - A - B - C
The two letters that you have the most of indicate your primary and secondary doshas. If you have an equal balance, it’s possible you are tridoshic—having a balance of all three doshas.
Elemental Quiz Results:
- A: You're mostly ether and air elements with cold and dry qualities, known as the Vata dosha.
- B: You're mostly fire and water elements with hot and wet qualities, known as the Pitta dosha.
- C: You're mostly earth and water elements with cold and wet qualities, known as the Kapha dosha.
How to Interpret the Results
This quiz serves as a guidepost to better understand the elemental patterns you are most prone to. You can adjust your nourishment and rituals accordingly.
It’s recommended to consult a practitioner to address specific health concerns, especially for ongoing issues, as this can provide more tailored advice.
When interpreting your results, it's important to consider how you felt as a child when taking the quiz, as this reflects your innate constitution or birth pattern. However, as we age and experience illness or trauma, imbalances may develop, which are known as vikruti in Ayurveda—lifestyle imbalances that reveal which elements need attention.
To keep things simple, pay attention to how you're feeling in the moment and reflect on the season when deciding on the best herbs and foods. Ask yourself two key questions: Am I feeling hot or cold? Am I feeling dry or wet? You can then restore balance by choosing foods and practices with the opposite qualities.
Most people will have a primary (dominant) and a secondary dosha. The primary dosha is the one that appears most in your results, while the next highest is your secondary elemental pattern. If you have nearly equal doshas, it’s possible to be tridoshic, although this is less common. Remember, we all relate to different energetics and doshas throughout our lives, as we experience them in different ways.
When choosing remedies for balancing the doshas, you will want to create balance by using remedies with the opposite qualities.
From Kosmic Kitchen Cook Book by Sarah Kate Benjamin and Summer Singletary