To take advantage of these benefits, you first must understand one of the basic tenets of Ayurveda: your dosha, or mind-body type. There are three doshas - vata, pitta and kapha. Just as no two people have the same thumbprint, each person is a unique amalgam of all three doshas, though one or two doshas are usually dominant. "Finding your dominant dosha and embracing headache the appropriate lifestyle can have a profound effect on your health and well-being. according to ayurvedic philosophy, when your doshas are in balance you will exhibit the positive traits associated with your dominant dosha and feel your best. when they''re out of whack, the negative characteristics emerge and you headache get sick or stress-out. fortunately, once you have identified your dominant dosha, you can take steps to restore an imbalance - or, if you''re already in a state of physical and mental equilibrium, remain on an even keel. basically, achieving balance means understanding and working with your natural tendencies: flighty vatas need grounding; driven pittas need to practice moderation; slow-moving kaphas need stimulation. the changes that ayurveda prescribes - whether it''s to your diet, exercise routine or sleep schedule - may initially seem frustrating, but they are well worth the health benefits, as alison may, a kapha, can attest. it was difficult to stick to my workouts and eat my biggest meal headache in the middle of the day. but i feel so much better since i''ve made the changes that now i want to do them!

once i was diagnosed (too much kapha-no surprise there!), i received a personalized herbal regimen and a series of panchakarma massage treatments aimed at prying the toxins from my body''s tissue. first was the abhyanga- a two-hour, over-all sesame-oil massage performed simultaneously by two technicians; next came the shirodhara, a slow stream of oil wandering to and fro over my forehead that set me afloat somewhere between sleep and waking. sometimes i don''t know where people go with that one. (the only disturbing note was the basti, or herbal enema, that finished each daily session. if you find the notion off-putting, you''re not alone; but keep in mind that these treatments are optional-and given with a minimum of fuss or discomfort.) after two days of panchakarma plus daily yoga, i felt i''d entered the uncharted zones beyond relaxation-and could easily get used to the feeling. fellow guests who had been here for several weeks, on longer detoxification programs, looked positively radiant. evenings, headache we had lectures in the library, followed by delicious hot-milk toddies and chats with our fellow guests, then bedtime (officially 10 p.m.). other offerings (at headache additional cost) included ayurvedic astrological readings and a four-day course in tm. videos about ayurveda and tm were available for viewing. although raj and their staff are tm practitioners, we felt no pressure to study it.

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