Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Agni: The digestive fire of life

Source: http://chopra.com
Agni or the “digestive fire,” is one of the most important principles in the ancient science of Ayurveda. It refers broadly to our ability to process all aspects of life, including food, experiences, memories and sensory impressions. Agni is responsible for absorbing the nutrients and essential elements the body needs while burning off waste products (agni is the root of the English word “ignite”).

If our agni is strong, we’re able to digest food efficiently and easily assimilate our daily experiences. On the other hand, if agni is weak, our body won’t digest well, creating toxic residue or ama that lodges deep in our cells.

According to Ayurvedic teaching, strong agni leads to excellent health and well-being, while the accumulation of ama results in the slow deterioration of the body and—ultimately—disease. The inability to metabolize emotions produces just as much toxic residue as undigested food. In fact, pent-up anger, long-held sadness and lingering guilt are more debilitating for most people than problems with physical digestion.

I have been interested and studying Ayurveda for nearly 20 years. I know from personal experience that undigested feelings, as well as undigested food, lead to dis-ease. Angers, sadness, guilt and shame lead to generalised anxiety, chronic stress, depression and physical conditions to name a few. Unless these causes are dealt with, processed and felt, they will lead to dis-ease physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. EFT is an excellent effective technique for dealing with the underlying causes of dis-ease.

Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself ~ Rumi

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