The first is offered by a diverse variety of teachers and practitioners, many of whom are either from India or were trained there. Though some of these are licensed as primary health-care providers in this country, many are not, and instead function in the role of health consultant or health educator. Using an Ayurvedic practitioner usually involves an extensive individual interview for taking a health history and making a diagnostic assessment. Diagnosis means diagnosing one's constitution, not diagnosing specific diseases in Western terms. Once the diagnosis is established, it is followed by detailed dietary guidelines and possibly recommendations for herbs and other treatments.
Many practitioners use a written questionnaire to establish the person's tridosha.
This includes questions about the body, metabolism, habits, sleep, self-image, interests, preferences, emotional and psychological attributes and other aspects that will help to paint an accurate picture of the person's overall characteristics. In pulse diagnosis what the practitioner is feeling are patterns of vibration that represent the metabolic processes happening in the body at that time. Every process that occurs sends out a vibratory signal. In Ayurveda there are three basic pulses on each wrist, corresponding to each of the three doshas. There are also pulses representing combinations of those and each has several subdivisions.