To enjoy great health, start by resetting your digestion.
Maybe you suffer from gas, bloating or acid reflux. Or perhaps your tummy complains loudly when you eat too much fatty food.
Whatever your concerns, an Ayurvedic diet can help you strengthen your digestion by building a strong digestive fire (agni).
The word agni is derived from the Latin word "ignite" and literally means fire in Sanskrit.
It measures your strength, power and resilience, and may be compared to your metabolism in Western medicine.
If you are ready to reset your digestion with strong agni so you can experience better health, read on.
Agni, Change & Your Digestion
Every day, the changing environment in which you live threatens to knock you out of balance physically, emotionally, and mentally.
To stay healthy and maintain balance, your body must protect itself from this change. Your success is a measure of your strength and ability to heal, as disease comes when you are unable to process change effectively.
Agni is the processing power of your body. Its strength measures the ability of your body to "digest" change and maintain balance. It gives your organs the strength to work well. In your mind, it gives you emotional strength and stability.
Ayurveda pays careful attention to building and maintaining agni, because it is the source of your vitality, clarity and enthusiasm.
Ayurveda's model of digestion expands beyond mere processing of food. It also includes the digestion of chemicals, hormones, and all other physiological changes.
Perhaps a better word for digestion in Ayurveda is "processing."
In fact, everything that happens to you must be processed. If you catch a chill, processing includes restoring your healthy temperature of 98.6 degrees.
If you are exposed to poison ivy, processing means neutralizing the irritation so your skin can get back to normal.
Information coming through the five senses, trauma, and any residual emotions must also be processed or "digested."
In this case, processing could mean helping you stay calm in the face of negative news arriving daily online.
Signs You Have Good Agni
In your body, good agni feels like the following:
So, using substances, such as black pepper, which is clear, hot and light, will build the strength of your agni. Black pepper's fiery quality stimulates blood flow to your stomach, increasing agni.
On the other hand, heavy, cold, sticky foods such as wheat or cheese generally reduce agni.
When your agni is strong you will:
- Feel energized, light, fresh and clean.
- Experience mental clarity.
- Have brightness in your eyes
- Enjoy a good appetite
- Regularly eliminate your bowels.
- Have stools that are well-formed like a banana in size, shape and consistency.
Why Good Agni Is Critical for Improving Your Digestion
In your GI tract, good agni builds a healthy appetite and helps you digest food, freeing you from
difficult digestion
When your digestive organs have good agni, they secrete plenty of enzymes, absorb nutrients well, and move wastes out of the body in a regular and timely fashion.
When agni is working well, it "cooks" the food you've eaten, turning it into nutrients.
How to Strengthen Your Agni & Reset Your Gut Naturally
Strong agni is built upon 3 main factors
- Hydration: When you are adequately hydrated you will produce plenty of digestive fluids.
- Circulation: When you improve circulation and the strength of your blood, your whole body will be energized.
- Clean: When your digestive organs are clean and free of excessive mucus, your enzymes can quickly break down your food.
These are the 3 most important factors of strong agni. In addition, however, your intestines should be free of parasites and inflammation and your intestinal flora should be balanced.
Techniques to improve hydration, circulation, blood, and mucus conditions are as varied as the individual, and require the expert advice of an Ayurvedic practitioner.
However one of the most powerful techniques for improving your digestion is to drink a glass of warm water a half hour before meals.
The following techniques also generally help to improve agni:
- Herbal teas with spices such as ginger, black pepper, fennel, cumin, cinnamon, and cardamom
- A wedge of lime with a slice of fresh ginger and a pinch of salt before meals
- Rice & easy to digest vegetable soups with spices
- Skip a meal or fast for the day until you feel true hunger
- Restorative stretching
- Daily use of triphala
Note: If your agni is low due to inflammation and irritation, ignore the above suggestions and eat soothing, anti-inflammatory foods instead.
Leave a Comment / Question
On MeWe
On Pinterest
On Facebook
On Twitter
On WhatsApp
On Email
