Please note that due to variance in monitor calibrations, the on-screen color representations here are not necessarily precise reproductions of actual paint colors. You may bring any of the color chip numbers to your local AFM Safecoat retailer to match and/or order the exact color that you are looking for.

The ABCs of V-P-K
East Indian traditional healing proposes that there are five elements that can be simplified into three groups known as constitutional types or dosha. The elements are ether, air, fire, water, and earth. Ether and air are grouped together and known as vata (wat-a). The vata constitution is akin to the ectomorph: of lean build and a thin frame. Fire stands separately as pitta (pit-ta), and the pitta constitution is akin to the mesomorph: an individual with a moderate frame and musculature. Water and earth are grouped together and known as kapha (kaf-a). Kapha types are akin to the endomorph: substantial in mass. Most of us are hybrids of the dosha types (such as vata/pitta or pitta/kapha), but a key point is that it is usually the aggravation of our primary dosha type that creates imbalance and disharmony.

This information is counterintuitive because most of us think much more symptomatically. Over the course of a lifetime we tend to move very gradually toward the excesses and deficiencies that are the result of our desires and
inclinations. Some of these drives may even be embedded and inherited imbalances. Often, we're attracted to the very things that are the most unbalancing for us, though the effects in the moment are so minute as to be nearly imperceptible. This is precisely why it is necessary to study and learn pattern recognition. At AFM, we've always operated a step beyond the conventional. Now, we're supplying you with innovative color tools and handing you the keys to balanced creativity.

Through our constitution, we all embody a range of physical and emotional potentials, positive as well as negative. When we are well balanced, our positive traits flower more easily. When we become unbalanced, we may notice recurring physical disruptions, and our emotional state may not be optimal. For example, vata types may enjoy expansive mental and spiritual capacities when balanced, but when unbalanced be subject to flights of fancy and physical maladies that involve dryness. Pitta types enjoy high intelligence and penetrating insight, but when unbalanced can become easily angered and suffer from assorted forms of inflammation. Kapha types are loving and steadfast but when imbalanced can suffer from inertia and the problems associated with a slow metabolism. On the Healing Color Combos page insert after the disclaimer and before the first paragraph: It seems that few elements of design throw us more than assembling creative, well-balanced color schemes. Many simply derive choices from a base of feeling and intuition that is not connected to color theory or any system of holistic understanding, and many of us avoid playfulness and complexity altogether. The purpose of AFMs Ayurveda Essence system is to create an enhanced experience of health by deploying color sets that interact harmoniously with individuals and families.

The best way to use the Ayurveda Essence system is to learn by doing and experiencing. Please bear in mind that a scheme that seems radical or even uncomfortable immediately after completion can easily seem second nature after
you've lived with it for a month. We constructed our palettes to be strengthening. They augment, because balancing hues are grouped together. Those portions of the spectrum that would be the most aggravating for a particular constitution have been avoided in each palette.

Please consider these design factors:
• vata is balanced by earthy colors that subdue hot and cold
• pitta is balanced by complex, cooling colors
• kapha is balanced by warming, stimulating colors
All three palettes span the full gamut of chromatic values, so we've got you covered on depth. Also, each palette was designed with complex colors (rather than colors tending toward purer chromatic colors). This approach automatically harmonizes your color choices.

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