Ayurveda & Energy: What the Doshas Can Teach Us About Cyclical Capacity
Ayurveda isn’t just spa menu decor.
It’s a pattern-based system with 5,000 years of history, and it explains exactly why your brain can fire like a rocket one week and short-circuit the next.
Pair it with ADHD and perimenopause? Suddenly, your energy isn’t a mystery, it’s a rhythm.
Let’s talk doshas. Not to mystify or spiritualize your burnout, but to give you a framework that respects the complexity of your body and brain.
🔥💨🌿 The Quick + Dirty Dosha Overview
In Ayurveda, your energy runs in patterns called doshas. Everyone has all three, but most people lean toward one or two dominants.
Here’s the short version:
Vata (air + space)
Quick-witted, creative, scattered.
When balanced? Sparkling ideas.
When imbalanced? Anxious, overwhelmed, forgetful, can’t finish a thought, let alone a project.
Sounds a bit like ADHD, right?Pitta (fire + water)
Driven, focused, intense.
When balanced? Sharp, productive, unstoppable.
When imbalanced? Irritable, ragey, burned out.
Perimenopause anyone?Kapha (earth + water)
Grounded, nurturing, steady.
When balanced? Calm AF.
When imbalanced? Sluggish, stuck, depressed.
Aka: “Why do I feel like I’m wading through glue?”
We move through all three, but knowing which one you default to (or which one’s currently running the show) helps you plan your day without self-betrayal.
🌪️ What This Looks Like in Real Life (Not a Wellness Retreat)
You’re not sipping golden milk on a silk cushion. You’re answering emails with greasy hair, your third coffee, and a body that feels like a betrayal.
Ayurveda still applies.
That “I’m full of ideas but can’t finish anything” vibe? Vata spike.
That “Why is everyone so damn incompetent except me?” mood? Pitta overload.
That “Don’t talk to me, I’m under this blanket” moment? Kapha dragging you under.
This isn’t aesthetic wellness. This is a survival strategy.
⛅ Doshas = Energy Weather for ADHD + Hormones
Think of your doshas like energy weather patterns:
Vata = unpredictable windstorms. Mental swirl, body restlessness, no structure.
Pitta = scorching heat. You do all the things—until you fry.
Kapha = foggy overcast. Everything is slow. Even basic tasks feel heavy.
ADHD and hormone shifts make these weather patterns more volatile. What would normally be a breeze becomes a tornado. What would be a gentle fog becomes three days of “I can’t move.”
When you know the forecast, you can plan around it. You stop blaming your willpower and start adapting your routine.
🧠 How to Recognize Your Dosha (and Spot Your Energy Traps)
No need to take a quiz and obsess over purity. Use observation:
Do you start fast but fizzle? Likely Vata dominant.
Do you overwork, get irritable, and crash hard? Probably Pitta driven.
Do you move slowly, avoid starting, but once in flow, you’re consistent? Classic Kapha.
Your energy traps show up in cycles too:
Vata trap: starting too many things → mental overwhelm → panic shutdown
Pitta trap: pushing past signals → burnout → rage nap
Kapha trap: not starting at all → shame spiral → paralysis
When you know your default trap, you can interrupt the cycle before it hijacks your week.
🛠️ Use Dosha Rhythm to Time Your Routine (Not Punish Yourself)
This is not another rigid system to fail at.
It’s a way to respect your natural rhythm and stop expecting consistency from a body that’s undergoing hormonal fluctuations while managing a neurodivergent brain.
Try this:
Start with Kapha-friendly grounding: hydrate, move gently, no pressure
Do your heavy-lift tasks during your Pitta spike: usually late morning to early afternoon
Leave Vata space in the late day: creativity, movement, journaling, sensory resets
Build your MVP Menu (Minimum Viable Productivity) to include options for each dosha state.
Kapha day? Choose ONE thing and move your body.
Pitta day? Block off focused time—but build in recovery.
Vata day? External structure. Timer. Music. Minimal choices.
📍 Ayurveda’s Not a Fix-All—But It’s a Good Map
You don’t need another routine to follow blindly. You need a system that responds to your energy, not punishes it.
Inside The Lab, we utilize dosha mapping, cycle syncing, and chronotype tracking to create routines that adapt to your brain and biology.
You’ll stop asking “Why can’t I stick to anything?”
And start asking, “What does my energy need today?”
👉 Join The Lab to build a system that works—even when your body doesn’t cooperate.
No pressure. No judgment. Just a smarter way to work with your energy, not against it.
