Āyurveda teaches that everything in the material and nonmaterial (still physical, think sound is a wave) world - i.e. anything you can experience through your senses, including everything outside of you and everything inside of you, and also including you! - is comprised of the same basic elements, the same building blocks of nature. These building blocks have different attributes which make them simple to recognize and understand. Your being is composed of these building blocks, and everything you are engaging with, everything you can hear, see, touch, taste, and smell, is also composed of these building blocks, simply in different proportions.
One of the initial objectives of Āyurveda is to identify what the proportions of these building blocks of nature are within you, as this gives insight into what qualities you possess. This is what is known in Sanskrit as your prakriti, your constitution, the blue print of you.
Every one of us is born with a certain constitution. It determines how we accept, process, and absorb and eliminate the things we take in (food, experiences, etc.). It influences how we respond to the environment around us. Prakriti means genetic disposition, inherent nature; it also means [Mother] Nature.
We are part of [Mother] nature. Our nature is an extract of nature itself. This is not a metaphorical statement but the firm truth. The foods we eat, the water we drink, the air we breath - all these were outside us once; they were in nature. Once we consume them, they are within us. They become us. We are made from them. It is, therefore, important to understand your own prakriti, your constitution, so that you may know what will suit you from prakriti, nature.
Take this quiz to identify your unique constitution.