To be effective in treating stress, it’s important to be specific. With the Ayurvedic approach, we always try to target the etiological (causal) factors and then bring that area into balance. But we are careful not to create imbalance in other areas that may produce negative side effects.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the three psycho-physiological Ayurvedic principles (called doshas) that govern all the activities of the mind and body. A person enjoys perfect health if these principles are in perfect balance.
Each person’s constitution tends to be dominated by either one or two of these three doshas and very rarely by all three doshas. But whatever one’s constitution is, when a person goes out of balance, Vata destabilizes most easily. Vata is the dosha mainly affected by stress. We can explain this because Vata governs all movements in the body and the nervous system. This includes the in-and-out flow of the breath, the action of our limbs, the circulation of subtle energy in our organism, every current running through a nerve and the mind’s ceaseless flow of thoughts, words, and images. If there is too much movement in body or mind, which happens if stressed, the balance of Vata will be affected and imbalance created.

The nervous system becomes overstimulated with stress, creating an imbalance. Therefore Vata goes easily out of balance. Since dry, rough, airy, fast-moving, and irregularity are the core qualities of Vata, the Ayurvedic approach is to prescribe treatments, activities and foods that provide the opposite qualities: oiliness, grounding, slowness, heaviness, consistency and regularity.

There are three different manifestations of day-to-day stress from the perspective of Ayurveda - mental, emotional, and physical. Each requires different approaches and therapies.
Mental Stress
Mental stress, according to Ayurveda, is caused by an overuse or misuse of the mind. For instance, if you perform intense mental work many hours a day, or if you work long hours on the computer, it can cause an imbalance in Prana Vata, the mind-body operator concerned with brain activity, energy and the mind. The first symptom of Prana Vata imbalance is losing the ability to handle day-to-day stress. As the person becomes more stressed, it impacts mental functions such as dhi, dhriti, and smriti-acquisition, retention, and recall. The person’s mind becomes hyperactive, yet the person loses the ability to make clear decisions, to think positively, to feel enthusiastic, and even to fall asleep at night.
Therapies for mental stress
To address day-to-day mental stress, it is important to begin by managing mental activity. Secondly, you can take measures to pacify Prana Vata, for example, by:
• Favouring Vata-balancing foods, such as sweet, sour, and salty tastes, warm, nourishing, liquid and heavier foods
• Favouring warm milk and other light dairy products
• Performing a full-body warm oil self-massage everyday in the morning before the shower. This is called abhyanga in Ayurveda
• Doing breathing exercises (Pranayama) in the morning and evening
• Having a regular daily routine
• Eating meals at regular times and taking your time when you eat, avoiding eating on the run
• It is important to get plenty of rest, and if you are having trouble falling sleep, avoid stimulants like caffeine and sip on herbal tea instead. Relaxing aromatherapy and meditation can help calm the mind.
Emotional stress
Emotional stress can be caused by a problem in a relationship, the loss of a relative, or any situation that might hurt the heart. Emotional stress shows up as irritability, depression, and emotional instability. It affects sleep in a different way than mental stress - it can cause you to wake up in the night and not be able to go back to sleep.

Emotional stress disturbs Sadhaka Pitta, the mind-body operator concerned with the emotions and functioning of the heart.
Therapies for emotional stress
To balance emotional stress, you need to favour Pitta-pacifying foods and routine, such as:
• Favouring Pitta-pacifying foods such as the sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.
• Eating lots of sweet juicy fruits
• Drinking a cup of warm milk with cooling rose petal preserve or a pinch of fennel and cardamom before bed
• Cooking with Pitta-pacifying spices such as cardamom, coriander, cilantro (fresh coriander), fennel, and mint
• Going to bed before 10:00 p.m
• Taking regular breaks and time out avoiding overworking or trying to be an over achiever and Mr or Mrs Perfect. Moderation, don’t overwork.
• Keep cool. Avoid hot temperatures and food. Favour cool foods and drinks. Sweet, bitter and astringent tastes. Cool means at room temperature but not fridge or freezer temperature.
• Reduce spicy, pungent, sour, salty tastes and hot, oily foods.
• Allow for leisure time.
• Regular mealtimes, especially lunch at noon.
• Abhyanga (Ayurvedic oil massage) with cooling oil such as coconut.

All Pitta products: drink Pitta tea and season meals with Pitta churna (powder), practice cooling aromatherapy with Pitta aroma oil e.g. mint, sandalwood.
Physical stress
Physical stress is caused by misuse or overuse of the body, such as exercising too much or working for extended periods at a job that is physically taxing. This can cause a person to experience physical fatigue, along with mental fogginess, difficulty in concentrating, and dullness of the mind.

Excessive physical strain causes three sub-doshas to go out of balance: Shleshaka Kapha, the subdosha concerned with lubrication of the joints and moisture balance in the skin, Vyana Vata, which governs the circulation, nerve impulses and the sense of touch, and Tarpaka Kapha, which governs the neuro humors.
Another reason for physical stress can be too little exercise, which results in a sluggish digestion and the formation of ama, the digestive impurities that clog the channels. In either type of physical fatigue, the process of regenerating cells slows down, and thus the cells themselves become physically tired.
Therapies for physical stress
The solution is to balance Vata and to support Kapha to make the body more stable and nurturing, for example, by:
• Getting adequate rest and moderate exercise
• Taking breaks and time out
• Following a Vata-Kapha pacifying diet (like warm meals, not to light nor to heavy or oily, see your Ayurvedic practitioner for more particular information)
• Eating regularly and avoiding to eat on the run
• Performing the full-body warm oil self massage everyday