Spend some time at your neighborhood playground and you'll get a good idea of how children -- and the adults they become -- approach exercise. Some kids spin in circles until they collapse, others bet on who can sail the highest on the swing set, and one or two are content to simply sit in the sandbox and watch it all.

This may seem like child's play, but in Ayurveda, the holistic healing system that originated in India thousands of years ago, such tendencies help indicate your dosha, or mind/body type. The children spinning to exhaustion are vatas, the competitive kids are pittas, and the ones happily sifting sand are kaphas.

According to Ayurveda, each of us possesses all three doshas, but one of these traits is usually dominant, defining many aspects of your health, your shape, and your personality. Left unchecked, your dominant dosha can cause physical or emotional imbalance.

Someone with vata qualities, for instance, is energetic and talkative, but when that vata gets out of balance it can manifest as anxiety and insomnia. Being creatures of nature, everything -- from the food on our plates to the weather to the color of our walls -- affects our doshas' balance.

The Ayurvedic system uses the principles of nature to bring people back into equilibrium, maintaining well-being. And although diet tends to get most of the attention in Ayurveda, exercise choices are a critical and often overlooked cause of physical and emotional dosha imbalance. Balancing your exercise choices according to your dosha can make a big difference in your overall health and well-being.

Each dosha is naturally inclined toward certain activities, but these should be complemented by their energetic opposites to achieve balanced bodies and minds. For example, if you're a pitta, your passionate, aggressive nature may draw you to competitive, high-energy sports like tennis. But competition tends to aggravate, rather than balance out, pitta. You'll probably enjoy exercise more and reap more health benefits if you also pursue activities that cool your fire, like swimming or skiing.

To guide you to the right fitness choices, first identify your dosha by taking the quiz below. Give yourself one point for each characteristic that typically describes you. At the end of each section, total your points. The dosha with the highest score is your dominant dosha, and the one to which you should gear your fitness choices. Then look for the dosha-specific fitness recommendations developed by Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, medical director of the Raj Ayurvedic Health Spa in Vedic City, outside Fairfield, Iowa, and Hillary Garivaltis, D.Ay., director of the Ayurvedic program at the Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Tips for modifying three activities that are suitable for all doshas -- walking, cycling, and yoga -- are included. Whether you bounce out of bed at dawn for morning aerobics or prefer an occasional afternoon stroll, you'll find options here that both balance your dosha and keep you engaged in your fitness routine.