Agni and Ojas
Mascari, Brooke. August 1st, 2024.
What happens when our unique constitution that makes up who we are is in balance? When the foods we eat promote balance? When the movement/fitness choices we make balance us? When we bring in sights, smells, and sounds into our daily lives that help bring our mind into balance? When the flavors we ingest and the touch we utilize on our body bring us into balance?
When we cultivate a lifestyle that promotes balance in our body and mind, we create something called Ojas.
Ojas is vitality, essential life energy, a feeling of lightness in the body and mind, and feeling energetic and purposeful throughout the day. A glowing countenance, radiant skin, excitement for life, mental and emotional peace, and happiness. Ojas is something we see and feel throughout our being, and it is also felt in our mind and emotions.
“Like honey, the nectar of pollen collected by bees, Ojas is the fine nectar of all body tissues. Like what ghee is to milk, Ojas is to the body. To make ghee, we start with milk, churn it into butter, then heat and clarify the butter to create ghee. To make Ojas, the body starts with food, which through excellent digestion is then refined through our tissues to create Ojas.”
Ojas is the result of living a healthy balanced lifestyle in body and mind.
So how do we create and cultivate Ojas?
To answer this question, we must understand Agni. Agni is the fire that digests our food and experiences, and when Agni is strong, we have a better chance of assimilating nutrients and creating Ojas.
The Ayurvedic healing system teaches that health and well-being depend on the body’s ability to metabolize everything it takes in from the environment, including tangible things like food and beverages, but also our experiences, emotions, and sensory stimuli/impressions.
This is Agni - the metabolic power responsible for extracting nourishment and eliminating toxins from the body. Agni is a Sanskrit word that means Fire.
From the perspective of Western science and medicine, Agni is the millions of enzymes that are responsible for biochemical reactions in the body. From the Ayurvedic perspective, Agni is the body’s ability to break down and digest all the input coming into our body from the senses and food.
When Agni is balanced, we take in food and sensory input and digest it into a subtle nourishment… called Ojas! The Agni also eliminates anything that is not serving or nourishing us.
When we don’t fully digest everything that comes into our body, we instead create the opposite of Ojas, known as ama; or toxic residue and toxic buildup in the body or mind. Ojas can only be created in the body when food and experiences are fully digested via Agni.
To help the body create Ojas, we must provide our body with fresh, clean, and nutrient-rich foods.
What are some things that our bodies cannot turn into Ojas or have a hard time converting to Ojas? Some meats, cheeses, leftovers, processed foods, refined sugars, and foods high in salty and sour tastes. Food that’s been canned or reheated or that is old can be difficult for the body to turn into Ojas.
Smoking or drinking alcohol can also destroy the Ojas in the body.
In addition to eating fresh food that is high in Prana (life force energy), some other things that help us cultivate Ojas are having healthy emotional well-being.
Here are some practices that help us cultivate emotional Ojas:
Loving yourself and others, laughing and being playful, meditation, yoga, pranayama (breathwork that brings Prana to the mind and body), spending time in nature, getting abundant restful sleep, and performing meaningful work that you enjoy.
Reflect:
Here are some questions that we can ask ourselves often that will help us cultivate further Ojas in our lives:
Am I holding on to any self-negating labels or beliefs about myself?
What are they?
What painful experiences or stories am I holding on to?
What choices am I making that are not nourishing or that are keeping me from feeling healthy and balanced in my body-mind?
What health challenges am I dealing with right now that I would like to see resolved?
Love and blessings on your journey,
Havah Holistic Health
