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Agni – Ayurveda Digestion Mantra
Facing digestion doldrums often ? You need to understand that for maintaining natural well being, proper digestion of whatever the food you eat is so essential. And for this, the Agni or the gastric fire has to remain invigorated and be actively working on all the three levels of digestion.
Check Your Agni
In case your digestion is not too good, chances are that your Agni is weak. In this case, whatever food that you eat would remain undigested, and this undigested food—which is referred to as Ama in Ayurveda—is the root cause of a wide variety of ailments (for example, in case of Amavata or rheumatoid arthritis).
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Agents Of Digestion
So as to be able to digest the food properly, these 4 factors play an important role.
1. Agni (Fire):
This digests food with the prime application of Pachaka Pitta.
2. Vayu (Air):
The air moves the food down towards the intestines for digestion and in addition at the same time fans the Agni.
3. Kleda (Moisture and Viscosity):
These are the belongings of Kledaka Kapha, which moistens the food, softening it for proper digestion.
4. Kaala (Time):
This is also considered an important factor in the process of digestion of food. In other words, time is essential for the completing for the process of digestion.
What Is Agni ?
In the exact translation of the word, Agni means fire. And above all, fire is the manifestation of the fire body humor or the Pitta Dosha.
Agni therefore contributes to all the metabolic activities in the body.
How Agni Works In Body?
When we eat food, Agni works on it in the following ways:
- Agni decomposes and transforms the food.
This Agni is responsible for the process of oxygenation.
Also, the agni, as Pachaka Pitta, digests the food in stomach and also in intestines.
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However, Agni is responsible for 2 major processes –
- Digestion
- and Metabolism.
The 4 States of Agni
Ayurveda Sages have distinguished and highlighted four various stages of agni pertaining to their performance in the digestive process.
1.Manda agni:
In this state of agni, kapha dosha is dominant. For this reason, the digestion is slow, weak, and sluggish.
2.Tikshana agni:
In this state, pitta influences the digestion. Therefore, this is a fast and sharp kind of digestion, which is the natural manifestation of pitta dosha.
3.Vishama agni:
This is an irregular and erratic digestion which is mainly influenced by vata dosha.
4.Sama agni:
This state of agni signifies a balanced state of all the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha. This agni is ideal for the digestion of food in the body.
Keep your Agni (Gastric Fire) Invigorated
In conclusion, for perfect digestion of the food that you eat, it is mandatory to keep the Agni burning and invigorated. This is because when Agni is not functioning properly, food would not be digested suitably and there will be impairment of metabolism in the body. This defective Agni produces Ama, or undigested food. Ama further causes fermentation and putrefaction in the stomach and consequently results in formation of diseases.
Article Published here.
About the Author:
Dr Sonica Krishan is Author and Speaker in the areas of Healthy and Joyous Living through Ayurveda, Meditation, Yoga and other Contemplative practices. She is a leading Ayurveda Professional in India. She is also Health Writer, Columnist, Editor, Ayurveda Consultant and Holistic Healing Coach. Dr Sonica is open for National as well as International Collaborations with interested people / institutions in fields of Ayurveda, Meditation and Yoga.
Dr Sonica Krishan’s Books are available at Amazon
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