When we look to nature, we find that 5 primary elements form the foundation for the entire physical world. According to Ayurveda, an ancient system of healing, Ether (Space), Air, Fire, Water,and Earth are recognized as the building blocks of all existence.
The outside is inside us all. Everything in the world, every object, every human and living being, including our bodies, minds, emotions, are all made up of a combination of these 5 primary elements. What makes us all different is the amount or proportion each of us has. Individually, we all have a unique combination of these elements.
In a healthy body, these 5 elements are maintained in balance. When there is an imbalance, disease occurs. In the body, each element is associated with different tissues and functions. In the mind, the elements are associated with personality characteristics.
Each element is related to a primary organ of action, which allows the body to respond to each of the sense organs. Each also has a set of attributes which can give us a clearer understanding of the realm of cause and effect, anatomy and physiology, structure and function.
Ether (Space) is subtle, ever-present and expansive. It allows for movement, growth and change to take place. It includes all hollow or empty spaces in the body, like channels and pores. It is the space between our cells, our breath, and our thoughts. It is associated with the sense of hearing, sound and the ears.
Air is movable, changeable, light, dry, mobile, and dynamic.Itflows freely throughout the body, giving movement to biological and motor functions and feeding every cell with oxygen. It governs the nervous system and is responsible for respiration and elimination. Examples include the various gases in the body. It is associated with the sense of touch and the skin.
Fire is hot, light, intense, powerful, and transformative. It provides the body with heat and radiant energy. It exists within all metabolic and chemical actions. It is responsible for body temperature, digestion, absorption, transformation and assimilation of thoughts as well as food. It is associated with the sense of sight, vision and the eyes.
Water is fluid, cohesive and binds everything together. It transports, connects, and provides protection and nourishment. It’s what sustains us, making up more than 70 percent of our total body mass. It consists of anything fluid in the body such as blood, plasma, lymph, urine, sweat and saliva. It’s associated with the sense of taste and the tongue.
Earth gives stability, structure, strength and stamina to our bodies in the form of bones, teeth, skin, tissue, muscles, tendons, etc. We nourish ourselves with foods from the Earth, and eventually, our body returns to the earthly matter from which it came. It’s associated with the sense of smell and the nose.
Using the idea of the 5 elements, we can start to understand what foods might help us and which might cause problems. For example, if a person has more of the fire element, with rosy cheeks and a tendency to overheat, they would do best to limit spicy food and other sources of heat, such as sunbathing and saunas.
Similarly, fresh ginger root, which is warming, can be used to help a person predominant in the air and ether elements which are both cold by nature. High-impact exercise, which is stimulating and warming, would help someone predominant in the earth and water elements, which are both cold and heavy.
Through consciously working with the elements in nature, we learn how to attain and maintain health and also how to enjoy a long and fulfilling life based on greater awareness.
Stay tuned over the next month as we dive deeper into each element on it’s own.
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