Exploring the Ayurvedic Concept of Body Types and Their Relevance to Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a significant physiological indicator of autonomic nervous activity and cardiovascular flexibility. Based on the psychological and physiological nature, all human individuals belong to three main doshas (biological energies) in the Ayurveda traditional system of medicine: Vata (wind, associated with movement and change), Pitta (bile, associated with digestion and metabolism), and Kapha (phlegm, associated with structure and lubrication). Utilizing sophisticated signal processing methods such as Phase Space Reconstruction (PSR) and Approximate Entropy (ApEn), this paper examines the correlation between HRV and Ayurvedic dosha types. Typical patterns for each dosha were observed with HRV analysis: Pitta dominant subjects had intermediate variability, Kapha-dominant subjects had stable and periodic rhythms, and Vata-dominant subjects had high heart rate variability. The deep impact of doshic dominance on HRV dynamics was also established by phase spectrum analysis and approximate entropy measurement. The present investigation represents a modern approach in estimating cardiovascular health from an individual viewpoint, combining both the concept of ancient Ayurveda and current computational techniques. The proposed portable approach makes use of wearable technologies with photoplethysmography (PPG) to continuously measure HRV even in daily scenarios. The results illustrate the potential of HRV-derived indices to identify individual physiological trends and offer guidance for the integration of contemporary biomedical science and ancient medicine