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Agni and Ama

By Alex Duncan

In my last article, I introduced the doshas, three fundamental biological humours that create and maintain all mind-body systems and functions. In this article, I would like to introduce two more important Ayurvedic principles: agni and ama (pronounced ‘aa(r)-ma’, i.e. the first ‘a’ is a long, two-beat ‘a’, normally written with a line over it. Note the letter ‘a’ in Sanskrit words is always pronounced like ‘harp’ not happen).

The word agni literally means fire in Sanskrit. In Vedic thought, agni is the universal principle of transformation behind all manifestation. If something changes from one state to another, it does so due to agni. Think of fire for a minute. Fire is an embodiment of concepts like heat, radiation, and transformation. Whenever there is fire, there is heat, and wherever there is heat, there is some kind of transformation going on. There is fire in our bodies, not literally, but functionally. Agni is behind the collection of agents that are responsible for digesting, transforming and assimilating the raw materials that we receive in terms of food, drink, the air we breathe, and all the sensory information that reaches our brain through the five senses. If one had to pinpoint a biochemical correlate to agni, it would be enzymes. Enzymes are a special kind of protein that catalyse chemical reactions without themselves being used up. They play a pivotal role in the digestion and assimilation of the foods we eat. In fact nothing much happens in the body that doesn’t have an enzyme behind it.

Note that pitta dosha governs transformation and metabolism globally. Agni, always under pitta’s watchful eye, is an agent for pitta, causing transformation at all levels of our being. One can think of agni as being a less intelligent but highly skilled servant to pitta.

In Ayurveda we generally refer to three types of agni: jathara agni (the digestive fire), bhuta agnis (elemental agnis in the liver) and the dhatva agni (agnis in the various bodily tissues). Let’s talk about jathara agni, since its correct function supports the others, which is why it is the most important in practice.

Jathara agni is located primarily in the small intestine and relates to the enzymes that are secreted by the liver, pancreas and small intestine membrane which play a key role in the breaking down of macro nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) into a small enough elements that can absorbed into the bloodstream.

When jathara agni is balanced, the food and drink we consume is optimally digested and assimilated producing a high-quality form of nourishment that feeds all the bodily systems. Unfortunately, jathara agni can easily be disturbed by improper dietary and lifestyle habits which aggravate the doshas thus deranging agni. When jathara agni is imbalanced, it results in the creation of an undigested food mass, in the same way as a fire which burns improperly creates excess soot due to poor combustion. If this food mass accumulates in the intestines, which it has a tendency to do, it putrefies, inhibits nutrient absorption, and eventually mixes with the (by now) cranky doshas ‘spilling over’ into over into the plasma, blood and deeper tissues. This un-eliminated toxic residue is called ama, and has all the qualities of kapha dosha, especially heavy, cold, sticky and wet. However, unlike kapha, it provides no supportive role in the body whatsoever. The main signs of excess ama in our systems are:-

• fatigue and heaviness.
• a tongue coating (a very thin moist coating is normal) upon rising in the morning, as well as teeth marks around the edge of the tongue.
• chronic digestive problems especially constipation and bad breath.
• a stool that regularly sinks to the bottom of the toilet.

Agni, when balanced, prevents the creation of ama. Digestion will happen without us really noticing it: no gurgles, acid reflux, bloating, heaviness, wind, pain, constipation or otherwise. The stool will be well formed and medium-firm, like a ripe banana. Any deviation from this represents some imbalance of agni. When agni goes awry, it has three  basic options, which follow the doshas, these are high, low and variable:-

• When jathara agni is high, there is an excess of enzymes which results in an overly fast, strong metabolism. You will have a ravenous appetite and be capable of digesting large amounts of almost anything without any problem. You might even feel hungry even after eating. High agni usually results in several copious, soft to loose movements per day. If left untreated, digestive complaints involving heat and high acidity will manifest such as acid reflux, or a burning feeling around the navel. High agni tends to be caused by excess pitta dosha (as pitta is hot, light, mobile and penetrating). High agni is like a raging fire that burns the fuel to a cinder making a lots of toxic smoke in the process.

• When agni low, the metabolism is too slow and weak. There will be no or little real hunger and even the most fugal meal can result in feelings of heaviness, indigestion, constipation. If left unchecked, low agni can result in excess mucus production responsible for feelings of nausea, heaviness, and congestion in general. Low agni tends to be caused by high or excess kapha dosha (as kapha is heavy, cold and dull). Low agni is like a fire that lacks oxygen, the fuel is poorly burned, also with excess smoke.

• When it is variable, it is either too fast/strong or too slow/weak. Your appetite and digestive power will be erratic, hence on one day you might be able to digest an extra large pizza, whereas the day after you can’t even manage a bowl of soup. Variable agni leads to abdominal bloating, excess wind and eventually chronic stubborn constipation. It can also manifest as irritable bowel syndrome where diarrhoea and constipation alternate from one day to the next. Variable agni tends to be caused by high or excess vata dosha (as vata is erratic, light, cold and dry).

Apart from balancing your doshas (which we will come to in the next article), we can balance our agni by reducing our consumption of refined, denatured foods, choosing whole foods in their place, by eating our meals in a calm centred mood (less TV, and certainly no debates or arguments!), by eating at regular times of the day and not eating too much (that we feel heavy or sleep afterwards) and chewing adequately. Mindfulness is the key. In addition to this, try these simple digestive formulas—use organic powdered spices—and take ½ a level teaspoon of the mixture (about 1 gram) in a small glass of warm water just before you eat your meals:-

• For high agni (pitta cause) equal parts cumin, coriander, fennel powders.
• For low agni (kapha cause) equal parts cumin, ginger and fenugreek powders.
• For variable agni (vata cause) equal parts cumin, fennel, cardamom powders.

Finally, before you eat, place your hands on your abdomen, over the navel, then close your eyes and centre yourself. Watch the breath for a few cycles, notice that the hands move in and out with the abdomen. Now quietly or mentally repeat the following mantra several times while imaging a healing, balancing fire, like a candle flame, burning steadily behind your navel:-

Om Hum Agniye Namaha (pronounced om, hoom, agn-eye-yaye nama-ha)

Alex Duncan, Ayurvedic Educator, lives in the South of France where he runs Gardoussel Retreat www.gardoussel.com offering Ayurvedic consultations and various Ayurveda & yoga workshops and retreats. Contact Alex on (France): +33 (0) 4 66 60 16 78.