By Elena del Valle and photos by Amparo Cadavid

Patricia Fonseca, our dosha instructor

We met Patricia Fonseca, a dosha instructor with a bright smile and a friendly demeanor, at the lobby of our hotel late one afternoon during a visit to the town of Sedona, Arizona for a late afternoon Dosha Tour (it proved to be more of an exploration). We were intrigued by the general idea of doshas although we knew little about the details. Since the town is well known for its vortexes (energy centers) and appeal to adepts of the spiritual arts discovering our dosha type seemed appropriate. Doshas are Ayurveda mind and personality profiles; Ayurveda is the Indian concept of living in harmony with nature.

From our hotel in downtown Sedona we drove to the Buddhist Stupa, a place for meditation and contemplation, a few minutes south on Arizona State Route 89A. Once there, we each circled the statue of Buddha thrice in a clockwise direction before settling in Patricia’s “secret place,” a quite corner in the nearby brush. We began by completing a short dosha written questionnaire which addressed our physical characteristics, behavior, and eating habits among other things.

The Sedona Buddhist Stupa

Patricia, who is also a yoga instructor and attorney, discussed the results with us and explained the characteristics of each of the three doshas: Vata (air and ether), Pitta (fire with water) and Kapha (water and earth). She shared daily lifestyle and dosha specific recommendations for meditation, exercise, eating and bathing such as sleeping well enough to wake up on your own (rather than to the sounds of an alarm clock), brushing your teeth and using sesame, coconut or mustard oil in your bathing ritual depending on your mood. We concluded our private two-hour session with a few minutes of Circle Breath of Life meditation in the half light of the early evening. Discovering our dosha profile was fun and expanded our self awareness.

Patricia, who has been teaching Ayurvedic Yoga and offering dosha consultations for eight years, studied with an Ayurvedic teacher for five years and upgrades her knowledge through self study. While we were with Patricia we noticed a pretty stone and Swarovski crystal necklace she was wearing and complimented her on it. The Sedona resident explained it is part of Dosha Designs, a line of jewelry she created to match the color and mood preferences of each the three doshas.

She matches earth and forest tones (amethyst and opals) for Vata, ocean colors (tourmaline and fluorite) for Pitta and vibrant colors such as purple and pastel tones (garnet and citrine) for Kapha types. The earrings, bracelets and necklaces were sold at Sedona Rouge, a local hotel. She hopes to offer a selection online in the coming months.

The Dosha Tour, available for the past three years, was booked through Sedona Red Rock Tours (P.O. Box 4074 Sedona, Arizona 86340, 928-282-0993 and 928-274-1323, www.sedonaredrocktours.com, and sedonaredrocktours@gmail.com).