The Five Elements of Life
Have you ever heard of the 5 elements? Do you know what they are? If not, this free series will teach you all about the elements and how they show up in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body.
The 5 elements are fundamental and the cornerstones of health. They are present in everything, everyone, and all the time.
Your daily practices, habits, and rituals shape your health. We do the same things every single day and some are contributing to your health and some are chipping away at it. Often times, we don't even notice our habits until we experience symptoms or become ill.
Understanding the 5 elements of life is the foundation for Ayurveda, TCM, and holistic wellness. This is the start!
So let's dive in, shall we?
Part 3: The Fire Element
Let's just say that you can spot someone with a lot of the fire element by looking at their hair. If they have red hair best believe this person has a good amount of the fire element within them. Now looking back at every single red head I know (including myself) I have found this to be true.
I identify with the fire element the most out of all the elements. Not only in my physical body in terms of my digestion and sensitivity to heat but also in my emotions such as quick to reactivity and frustration. I've worked many years to be less reactive and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. You know why? Because it's a part of my original nature.
The Qualities of the Fire Element
It's easy to recall the qualities of the fire element because it's so intense. If you've ever been near a bonfire you can feel the heat, intensity, sharpness, and it's all consuming nature. If you let a fire go unattended it will spread (like wildfire).
Fire is able to keep us alive in terms of heat and being able to cook food but it also had a shadow side where it can burn down anything in its path.
The Fire Element in the Physical Body
The fire element in the physical body is the digestion, digestive enzymes, and appetite. This is why in Ayurveda we talk all the time about 'eat warming foods.'
We can think about our stomach as being a big warm pot and it needs to be heated in order to break down and digest food.
Why it's Important to Eat Warm Food
Think about the qualities of the food you eat. Are you ingesting cold food all of the time? Smoothies, salads, acai bowls, chicken/egg salad, yogurt, etc are some very popular foods but they are all cold. You are essentially dampening your internal fire with these cold foods therefore decreasing your ability to digest well.
Also note that drinking iced water is one of the worst things you can do for your digestion. Can you believe I just said that? Well, I did. This is killing your digestion.
Disease starts at digestion.
The Fire Element and Puberty
Around the teenage years and puberty is when the fire element really begins to increase in our body. Remember, water is the element most predominate at birth, then the earth element from 6 months old to puberty, and now the fire element increases until menopause. But please don't forget that we have all 5 elements within us at all times! However, they can be more dominate at certain seasons of life.
At puberty, this is when our hormones really begin to change, we experience acne, we get our periods, and most notably - we start to become our own person. Teenagers are notorious for having their own opinions and wanting to express themselves in their unique style. This is the fire.
Transformation is a quality of the fire element and puberty transforms us into our next version and breaking out of the kid phase.
The Fire Element and Elimination
Diarrhea is a tale tale sign of too much of the fire element in the digestion. Essentially, once you eat food and it enters the stomach, the burning hot digestive fire is burning through your food so fast that you aren't even able to assimilate the nutrients.
Diarrhea and intense digestion (where you have to eat every 2 hours) is your body trying to communicate that it's experiencing too much heat.
What Do Cold Hands and Feet Mean?
If you have cold hands and feet then this is a sign that you do not have enough circulation to pump blood to the extremities. The fire element is responsible for heating up the blood and providing warmth. If there isn't enough warmth then it tends to stay in the center of our body to warm the organs.
Once you increase the fire element then your body says 'ok, the organs are warm enough, go ahead and warm the rest of the body.'
The Fire Element in the Mental & Emotional Body
If you're catching on to these qualities you may start to get a theme of the fire element. It's transformative.
Have you ever had a season of your life where you feel like you are on a rocket ship of evolution? Where you are super excited about where you are going and what you are doing? This is a fiery time of life.
Think about some of the most intense jobs such as CEO's, lawyers, teachers, etc. Or those times of life where you are absorbing information and a passion for growth.
While this is super important, if there is too much fire, and we find ourselves overdoing or overworking - we become depleted. We burn ourselves out.
Imbalanced Fire Element
Have you ever come across those people who are super critical, judgmental, and they always have something to say. It's almost like you don't even want to tell them anything because you don't want to hear what they have to say. They have way too much fire in their mental/emotional body.
Anger, frustration, being hyper critical, and quick to reactivity are all signs of too much fire.
There is a reason why people say 'you need to take a chill pill.' It's because to balance this intensity they need to bring in the opposite qualities of softness and coolness.
How Does the Fire Element Show Up For You?
Take a moment to notice how the fire element is presenting itself in the physical, mental, and emotional body. Do you feel balanced or like there is too much or too little.
Interested to learn more? Watch the full video HERE.
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