Agni – Digestive Fire, Secret to Health

The Word “Agni” literally means “Fire”. According to Ayurveda, Agni has got prime importance as it is responsible for all digestive or metabolic processes in our body. Most of the diseases are caused due to malfunctioning of Agni. The food that we eat if not properly digested gets converted to ‘Ama’ or toxic material, which is root cause of many diseases. According to Ayurveda, when the agni is extinguished, death soon follows.

There are 13 types of Agni described by Charaka Rishi, but let us not get in to that details. From a common man’s perspective, how can we strengthen Agni & become healthier is more important.

Agni, Digestive Fire
Agni, Digestive Fire

First let’s see what are the symptoms of disturbed Agni in a person, both physically & emotionally –

Physical

  • Indigestion: gas, bloating, constipation, nausea, hyper-acidity, loose stools, a sense of heaviness, feeling tired or mentally foggy after meals.
  • Generally very weak appetite.
  • Higher Pulse rate
  • Feeling of excess heat in body

Emotional

  • Fear, anxiety, anger, confusion, lethargy, or depression
  • Disturbed sleep

While these disturbances can be short-lived or chronic, it is capable of completely disrupting our health and well-being.

Agni plays very important in our lives, as it not only plays role in digestion & maintenance of health it also governs mental capacity, emotional health, and enthusiasm for life.

How we can strengthen our Agni with some minor adjustments to our lifestyle?

There are some easy adoptable changes in our lifestyle which are applicable to all & should help in improving your Agni.

  • Avoid cold substances or chilled drinks (imagine what will happen when you put very cold substance or ice in fire, it can extinguish the fire/Agni)
  • Avoid drinking water during meals & pre & post meals– at least 30 to 45 minutes gap has to be there.
  • If you are able to get pure Giloy juice, nothing like it. It pacifies excess heat & also helps in general metabolism. Recommended time, consume it on empty stomach early morning.
  • Eating Ghee enhances Agni, hence we should make it a practise to regularly include Ghee in our daily food (you must have seen this, when we pour Ghee in Fire it enhances fire)
  • Milk is also very good for enhancing Agni, drink it regularly.
  • Keep moderation in eating pitta aggravating substances like very spicy foods or oily foods.

After adopting the above, you can definitely see the improvement in your Agni, which can be evident from following signs –

Physical

  • Normal appetite
  • Good digestion, balanced metabolism
  • Good immunity & Stable health
  • High energy, strong vitality

Emotional

  • Calm mind, clear perception, cheerfulness, optimism, and enthusiasm
  • Sound sleep

Kindly practice & follow this & do let us know your experience after you adopt these changes in your lifestyle.

 

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