Agni is the fire of transformation, the force of digestion in our body. In Ayurveda healthy agni is a the foundation for wellness. First Aid practices for agni are a key part of self care.
Ayurveda defines 40 or so different types of agni at work in your body, digesting transforming and creating your life. Many have an over abundance of everything, experience, food our medicines. Too much of this stuff can throw a wet blanket on your digestive fire and generate excess ama. Is it any wonder agni gets thrown out of whack?
Ideally, you want more experience and growth and less ama. The relationship between agni and ama highlights the need for quality food and healthy agni,to fully engage with your life and live at your highest vibration.
Manufactured junk foods are not suited to build our agni nor balance dosha. Formulated filler foods do not promote physical vibrancy. The nutrient levels are lowered through processing and are comprised of ingredients the body does not recognize, or understands, thereby creating confusion and waste.
Over stimulation and empty foods pull resources from your body’s agni and disturb natural detoxification processes. Ama and inflammation build up in the body and cause a world of hurt. Fanning your digestive fire with some basic first aid to help your body take care of you can is important to support wellness and health.
Agni First Aid Practices
1. Build your Digestive Agni
Aim for satisfied, not stuffed.Don’t overeat at meals.
Eat 3 meals, spaced to allow agni to build.We are not meant to nibble. Don’t graze constantly. Your body needs to burn fat, not just carbohydrates. Stay out of the kitchen after dinner.
Find a way to feel hunger once in a while and make it your friend. Hunger lets agni breathe and build.
Eat living foods. 70 to 80% of your immune system lives in your gut.Life affirming bacterial buddies are the fire keepers. Add back the probiotics to replenish these fire keepers on an ongoing basis. Healthy agni, or complete digestion, means more nutrients for your body and less ama, and less inflammation.
2. Unload Ama
Cleanse regularly, Spring and Fall by simplifying your diet, and your life, for a week or two.
Sleep -Sleep on a regular schedule and let your body trust you will give it good rest. Sleep is detox, repair and rebuild time.
Eat whole natural foods; eliminate pesticides and food additives that are chemically based.
Cut out recreational drugs, like tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol. All these things put stress on your liver and depress immune response.
If you need help to do this you are not alone. Find a really good group cleanse or detox program and join.
3. Support your Detox Pathways
Sweat – Sweating through the skin is often a completely underutilized detox pathway. Muscle movement pumps lymph the fluid that moves toxins out.
Dry Brush– Dry brushing moves rasa Lymph and promotes healthy glowing skin.
Drink – Clean Water, sip regularly over the course of your day.This saturates and flushes our tissues and releases toxins for disposal
Antioxidants – Up your antioxidant levels.Key antioxidants, Vitamin C, E, Co Q 10 and glutathione give your body a detox boost.
A little agni first aid can go a long way towards a fuller more vibrant experience of life. Check in with your agni and add the self care practices that you need to burn steady and bright.
