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

H. A. I. Madusankha; D. L. C. P. Liyanage; S. Amarakeerthi; H. S. Sakunthala; E. V. A. Premalal

doi:10.2991/978-94-6463-720-5_17

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

Authors

H. A. I. Madusankha¹^{, *}, D. L. C. P. Liyanage², S. Amarakeerthi³, H. S. Sakunthala⁴, E. V. A. Premalal⁵

¹Department of Information & Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Sri Lanka

²Department of Information & Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Sri Lanka

³Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus, 350 Queen Street, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand

⁴Department of Dravyaguna Vignana, Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine, Yakkala, Sri Lanka

⁵Department of Civil and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, Sri Lanka

^*Corresponding author. Email: isharamadusankha5@gmail.com

Corresponding Author

H. A. I. Madusankha

Available Online 30 June 2025.

DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6463-720-5_17 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Heart Rate Variability (HRV); Ayurvedic Doshas; Phase Space Reconstruction (PSR); Approximate Entropy (ApEn)
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.
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title: Proceedings of the Smart Sustainable Development Conference 2025 (SSD 2025)
Series: Atlantis Highlights in Sustainable Development
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
ISBN: 978-94-6463-720-5
ISSN: 3005-155X
DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6463-720-5_17 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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ris enw bib

TY  - CONF
AU  - H. A. I. Madusankha
AU  - D. L. C. P. Liyanage
AU  - S. Amarakeerthi
AU  - H. S. Sakunthala
AU  - E. V. A. Premalal
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/30
TI  - Exploring the Ayurvedic Concept of Body Types and Their Relevance to Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
BT  - Proceedings of the Smart Sustainable Development Conference 2025 (SSD 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 191
EP  - 202
SN  - 3005-155X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-720-5_17
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-720-5_17
ID  - Madusankha2025
ER  -

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