Vikṛti | The Nature of the Imbalance
Health is not necessarily living according to your constitution. As important as constitution is, the current state of a person’s health and physiology is even more important when it comes to treatment. Constitution (prakriti) is foundational to know for disease prevention. Vikriti, the state of imbalance is more important to know for treatment. See the section below from my textbook: Principles of Ayurvedic Medicine.
“Vikṛti means “after creation.” The Saṃskṛta root “vi” means “after” and the root word “kṛti” means “creation.” A person’s vikṛti is the state of the three doṣas after the moment of conception.
Following the moment of conception, the human embryo is exposed to and altered by its environment. In a healthy environment, the doṣas are not disturbed and the embryo forms in an optimal manner. After birth, if the environment remains optimal, the child grows up healthy. However, in a less than optimal environment, the three doṣas become disturbed and upset the normal physiology, resulting in the symptoms of disease.
In Āyurveda, when we talk about the vikṛti of a patient, we are literally referring to the current state of the three doṣas and how they are expressing themselves in the body and mind. Because the environment that we live in and the choices we make tend to be imperfect, the doṣas within almost everyone are out of balance, resulting in altered physiology and the symptoms of disease. However, it should be understood that in an optimal environment, the vikṛti and the prakṛti are the same. In this state, tendencies exist in the body and the mind but they are not expressing themselves in a manner that is causing a disturbance.”
– From Principles of Ayurvedic Medicine – Textbook for the Ayurvedic Profession.