Happy Monday dear friends,
Today I'm sharing one of the key learnings that shifted my health journey;
It's about how we consider our digestion.
With so many suffering from digestive issues (where the majority of disease begins), what we need is a fundamental shift on how we view this essential part of our organism.
How we care for our digestion can transform our health on all levels.
So I want you to take a moment to let go of whatever ideas you have around digestion.
Just for a moment.
Then I want you to consider this:
What if your digestion is like a fire?
How you tend to a fire Is very similar to how you look after your digestion.
Hear me out.
It was 2019 and I had finally found "THE mentor".
I had been self-studying and practicing Ayurveda on myself for around 3 years.
Sometimes succesfully.
Many times not.
I had enough "wins on the board" to keep me interested.
I was reading every article across the internet, learning all about the effects of foods, how to combine them well, morning routines, cleansing practices... the lot.
But I was still treating my body like a machine, using a very mechanical logic to try and make it work the way I wanted it to (possibly a hangover from my mechanical engineering past-life).
I was trying to oppress the symptoms with food.
Food became my pain-killer.
I was trying to apply food as a way to fight symptoms.
This is completely opposite to the approach of the Ancient Science I was studying.
Luckily my teacher, Myra, noticed this and helped me to shift it early on during our mentorship.
"If we focus on fixing the symptoms, we are not solving the issue at the root level."
The symptoms are just a message that something deeper is off balance.
At first, I had to zoom out and look at the bigger picture of what was going on in my life. (It can be amazing how much we are "doing to" ourselves)
Then we worked on a practical approach to caring for "Agni" - the sanskrit term for our "digestive fire".
Here are 3 points to consider:
1. The strength of your Agni is linked to the strength of the Sun.
Let's consider how that plays out through the day:
• Morning: the Sun is soft, gentle, and lightly warming, just like your inner fire.
The Sun's intensity is quite low, and it's just starting to build heat for the day.
Imagine a campfire that's been left overnight;
There's heat, the coals might still be simmering, but it's not ready for that big log to be put on yet.
This is the time to tend to the fire.
Think:
- kindling,
- twigs
- paper, things that are easy to burn that will help build up the fire.
In terms of food: Simple is great for "break-fast".
- warm, cooked foods,
- grain porridges,
- fruits (but if you've been quite active in the morning i'd suggest something more sustaining like the porridges)
I like sweet potato porridge, spiced for the season, stewed fruits (or fresh fruits @ room temperature if it's already quite warm in the morning where you are).
Whole-grain pancakes also make for a solid start, and fun for the kids too (but take a little more time - nicer for the weekend)
The aim for our morning meal is to rebuild our fire.
That way, by lunch time, Agni is burning nice and bright.
• Midday: Hot sun = strong fire. It's time for the main meal.
Midday sun is hot.
The easiest time to get sunburnt.
Your digestion is ready for it's biggest, most nutritious meal.
The idea of your biggest meal being lunch will land differently for a lot of people.
Busy work schedules often don't afford us to take the time to sit and enjoy our main meal at lunch, and this often pushes our biggest meal to dinner time.
Where you can, carve out that time to make lunch your key meal for the day.
Doing so honours your Agni, supports the building of high-quality body tissues, and energises you for your daily activities.
(A note for my summer friends, when it's extremely hot, our Agni is also trying to keep our body temperature stable, so in hotter places, our digestion may feel lower at lunch time. if this is the case for you, eating a bit lighter may be the best support you can offer yourself - listen to your body - observe: what is nature doing at this time?)
• Evening / Dinner time: the sun is lower, bright, but much softer.
The final meal of the day.
Our fire is winding down.
Let dinner be a gentle feed.
think:
- lighter qualities than our lunch, (I.e. whole mung beans for lunch swaps for a split mung soup at dinner, or a sweet potato gets changed out for zucchini)
- you're support the fire to have enough energy to take on the night-cleaning, but not be overburdened as we move into our rest phase.
(this is a key space for improving your sleep game)
2. The ideal fire is bright and clean.
Some key points to reflect on here:
- Is what you're putting in burning well, or is it causing a lot of heat and smoke?
- Is the fire sputtering (under all the icy drinks)?
- Or is it generating a nice steady flame, turning your inputs into consistent energy?
- How do you feel after what you eat and drink?
Imagine the flame of a steady candle.
When our fire is burning like this, it gives us the right warmth, clean energy, and the ability to clean up (detox), and digest everything that's coming our way in life.
3. Fire is the energy of transformation.
Everything we consume requires our Agni to digest.
Everything.
We are transforming our inputs into our physical body, our mind, and understanding of life.
Agni is considered responsible for:
- our enthusiasm and love for life
- mental clarity
- balanced appetite + body weight
- capacity for logic and reasoning
- good quality sleep
- smooth elimination.
- and pretty much all the processes involved in keeping you well and thriving!
So much is connected to our Agni.
This week I invite you to take care of yours, considering the above points.
And as always, feel free to reach out if you have any quesitons.
How did this land for you?
Hit 'reply' and let me know.
I hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter.
Let's look after our Agni, and have another great week.
Namaste
Kosta Gee
P.S If you want to support your digestive fire, and stop chasing symptoms, You can book a call with me to create your way forward.
See you next week for more Living From the Heart!
