How’s your Agni? According to Ayurveda, your general health is directly linked w…

How’s your Agni?
According to Ayurveda, your general health is directly linked with your digestive health. Agni means fire and it is seen as the metaphor for all metabolic functions in the body. It includes the digestive function, sense perception, cellular metabolism and mental assimilation. There is a link between mental well-being and digestive health which goes both ways. According to Ayurveda, when agni is balanced it causes emotions that are beneficial to health, e.g. courage, cheerfulness, lucid, intelligence, etc but when agni is out of balance it causes emotions that are destructive to health such as fear, anger, confusion, idiocy, etc.

When your digestive fire is low a plethora of health problems can arise depending on your constitution (Dosha). Low Agni can result in excess mucous, coughs, asthma, diabetes, obesity, skin problems, heart problems, inflammatory problems, nervous conditions, blood disorders, etc.
If Agni is low for an extended period of time this results in toxins (ama) building up in your body and can result in more serious health problems such as high cholesterol, fatigue syndromes, tumours, cysts, skin conditions, allergies, cancers, etc
Tomorrow: tips on how to increase your Agni