Become Healthier with a Balanced Agni
An important principle in the ancient science of Ayurveda is Agni or “digestive fire.” According to Ayurveda, reaching a healthy state of being, both physically and mentally, depends on our ability to properly digest everything we take in from the world around us: food, experiences and our sensory impressions.
Humans are \”agnipurusha\” or beings of light. Fire is what we are: we are radiance and brilliance and the nature of everything in the Universe is this same light.
Whenever there is transformation or change, there is agni. Each breath, each thought, each emotion becomes an experience and agni helps us digest these experiences. Everything that comes in through the senses makes an impression and agni processes these impressions into knowledge, understanding and awareness.
Agni transforms everything we ingest into energy. Agni \”cooks\” our food and is responsible for digestion, absorption and assimilation. It is responsible for nourishing all the tissues in our body. On a cellular level, it is the communication between the cells and the intelligence that exists within each cell. The food we eat becomes our consciousness on this level, so we actually are what we eat.
Ayurveda says that \”a man is as old as his agni,\” so a healthy agni equals a healthy person. With a strong, balanced agni, a person is able to digest all of life\’s experiences. Immunity, longevity, vitality and strength are all maintained by agni. Some other functions of agni in the body include visual perception – agni governs our eyesight as well as our insight – allowing us to \”see things in the right light.\” It also maintains our body temperature and our complexion. Healthy agni creates a warm, healthy glow in the skin.
Emotionally, a healthy agni gives confidence and courage, allowing a person to be with any given situation. It creates joy and contentment so that all cells in the body are smiling, without conflict. Agni also brings patience and stability. Patience allows us to live in the here and now. On an intellectual level, agni is responsible for logical thinking and discrimination. It is a clear state of mind. It is wholeness, completeness and contentment.
While sitting in mediation, the body takes the shape of a triangle. The triangle is the shape representative of the Fire element. Fire is the only element that naturally moves upward. In meditation posture, fire brings concentration and the possibility of change. Agni uplifts and transforms and allows our inner light to shine …
The light in me honors the light in you,
Namaste, Tish