Agni: Your Digestive Fire Knowing the right temperature

When I was a little girl, I have many memories of my grandma’s place. She lived in an apartment, which I thought was so neat. She had little figurines everywhere and let me play with her jewelry.

I also remember that my grandma’s apartment was always very hot. Even in the dead of winter, my mom would allow us to take off layers when we were at her house to get some relief.

She was most comfortable with the thermostat set at 80 or more! While we would all be sweating, she was happy as could be. It was the right temperature for her.

When we look at our digestive system through the lens of Ayurveda, we consider our Agni - our digestive fire. We aim to keep our Agni balanced for our constitution. We learn to notice when it may be getting too hot, and learn to not burn out our system. We also want to learn to not let the fire go out.

Finding the right temperature for our digestive system - a balanced Agni - is at the core of good health in Ayurveda.

In our last newsletter, we noted that if our digestive system is weak, even the most healthy food in the world can still make us sick. On the other hand, if we have committed to strengthening our digestive system through a healthy lifestyle, then should we intake some unhealthy food - we will most likely be okay.

A balanced Agni reflects strength, energy, radiance, alertness, clarity, digestion, metabolism, assimilation, sense perception, mental well-being, emotional balance, immunity, and vitality.

If one has a good appetite, strong digestion, and regular bowel movements, it means his/her Agni is balanced.

Why study Ayurveda? Unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyles and unresolved emotions can damage the Agni, causing various imbalances and diseases in the system. Following our Standard American Diet (SAD) has left us in a state of wide-spread poor nutrition, chronic disease and depression.

Poor Nutrition (ref) is associated with the most common chronic diseases in the United States: obesity, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and as many as 13 types of cancer (which account for 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States). Obesity now affects 42 percent of American adults, or 109.5 million individuals.

In our next issue, we will continue to explore what it means to be in balance, have a healthy Agni, and strengthen our digestive system. We don’t have to suffer.