Tears

Reading from Tuesday, November 24, 2015 yoga class

Fron an article entitled "What your tears say about your dosha" found on the Yoga International website

I found the following article just FASCINATING.

"Yes, it is true!  Ayurveda explains that there are three different aspects to our tears, and they are each governed by a different dosha or elemental nature.  So how do the doshas cry?

Vata tears are tears of fear and insecurity, and they fall down from the inner corner of the eye.  They can be bitter to taste.  These tears fall when we feel overwhelmed, or when we are in some situation we feel unable to control.  Nervous tears are vata tears.  We can all have them, not just vata-dominant people.  Remember that everyone has all three doshas present in their constitution, just in different amounts.  These different combinations are what make each of us unique.

Pitta tears are salty to taste and generally come from anger or frustration.  Envy, jealousy, and competitiveness can generate pitta tears too.  They fall down the center of the eye, and these are the tears that leave those salt stains on our cheeks!  Saltiness is related to pitta.  Salt offers intensity to whatever it touches: our soups, our bathwater, or our angry tears.

Kapha tears are of compassion, love, and joy.  They are tears that result from witnessing or thinking of that which is beautiful or delightful.  Tears of laughter are kapha tears too. They fall down from the outer edge of our eye.  Sometimes they are tears of grief, as when we remember those we love who are gone.  The tears of love for our family, country, nature, and faith all taste sweet because they are kapha tears.  According to the ayurvedic "tridosha theory," sweet is made of earth and water just like kapha; salt is made of fire and water like pitta; and bitter is made of ether and air just like vata.

Next time you reach for that tissue, consider what your tears are telling you--then you can wipe them away with appreciation.  Because sometimes we start to cry without fully knowing why!  Just keeping this info in your pocket and knowing which dosha may be crying might help you to comfort yourself, to wash the tears away, or even to feel gratitude for them."