YOGA of the ELEMENTS SERIE: 6 new classes starting 8th NOV 2021!

From the yoga & ayurveda perspective it’s as simple as this:

Your elements are balanced (or in line with your base constitution) = you are in good health!

Upcoming Yoga Series “the Elements in you” will get you in touch with the elements. Teaching you to feel and notice them in you and therefore giving you some initial keys to rebalance yourself & stay healthy!

Join us Mondays @ 19h30 Lisbon Time (Lisbon studio & Online)
8 NOV : FIRE
15 NOV : ETHER
22 NOV : AIR
29 DEC : WATER
6 DEC : EARTH
13 DEC : ELEMENTS & CHAKRAS

I’d like to register for the Yoga serie “the elements in you”:

Elements, ayurveda et doshas:

As the universe in which we evolve, we are made of 5 elements – Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Ether – which derives into 3 Doshas (powers/forces):
Vata Dosha (the combinaison of Air + Ether)
Pitta Dosha (Fire + Water)
Kapha Dosha (Earth + Water).

All of us are a unique mix of the 3 Powers, which constitutes our base constitution.
From the ayurvedic and yoga standpoints, balancing these forces are crucial to be healthy.
In fact, all illnesses, from insomnia to blood pressure disfunction, inflammatory problems to digestion issues, auto immune diseases to heart problem. All. All illnesses find their source in an imbalance of the doshas. To name a few, a pitta disorder (excess of fire) may lead to high blood pressure or heart attack. A vata disorder (excess of Air) to insomnia, Alzheimer disease or what is commonly call “a burnout”. A kapha disorder (Excess of Earth) to weight gain issues or digestive complaints. So to keep your physical and mental balance, you must keep the elements in you in good proportion. It’s all in your hands!

The yoga & ayurveda teachings have literally changed my life. Why not yours?

I am currently working on the theme of “balance” with my students. Balancing your energies, connecting with the elements within us (doshas), understanding our dominant and weaker elements, and doing your best to keep them in balance. From their feedback on the practices and the questions asked, I realised to what extent the teachings of Yoga and Ayurveda on the notion of balance are still unknown. Yet they are so rich. This is why I wanted to write this article which I hope will make you want to know more and take action to stay or come back in balance and therefore healthy!

Yoga and Health: Balancing Prāna and the Elements in us is a pillar of good health

Balance is a fundamental theme in Yogic and Ayurvedic teachings. Indeed, under their prism, health simply goes hand in hand with Balance (with a capital E!). Be patient and read to the end. I cannot avoid a passage that is a little more theoretical.

The balance of our vital energy (prāna) to begin with.

We must have enough prāna in us, but not too much either. It must be well distributed in the 7 energy centers of our body (chakras). Vital energy manifests itself in 5 forms (the 5 vāyus) which correspond to different regions and functions of the body. If there is an energy imbalance, it is a function of the body that will be affected. We will not go into detail today, however, the study of vāyus (udāna, prāna, samāna, apāna and vyāna) and their experimentation through certain practices are fascinating!

The balance of the elements within us (the balance of the doshas).

We are made, just like the universe in which we evolve of 5 elements: the ether which creates the space for the other elements to exist, the air which is associated with the movement, the water with the fluids, the fire with transformation and earth to the concept of density and grounding. We are all a unique combination of these elements. They exist in us in proportions that vary with each other and also evolve over time. They define us physically and are also found in our character. For example a person who has a lot of fire in himself (dominant Pitta Dosha) will often be very willful and will also tend to get angry more easily while a person with a strongly present Air element (dominant Vata Dosha) will often show up. funny and “easy going”, gifted in creative and interpersonal skills, but will also tend to be unreliable and less loyal than a person with Earth dominance for example (dominant Kapha Dosha). This is a vast subject again and the idea here is not to be exhaustive but to give you the angle from the point of view of Yoga and Ayurveda:

The more you adjust your lifestyle to your basic constitution, the more you will be able to live in harmony (and therefore in health) and to avoid imbalances as much as possible.

What “disease or illness” means through the lens of Yoga and Ayurveda?

Too much, not enough, in short an imbalance (of prāna or of the elements in us) inevitably leads to a “manifestation” also called “illness”. This manifestation can be mild or more serious but it always indicates an imbalance. It is also good to know, and this is important, that the “manifestations” are generally going crescendo. The body sends us a first signal. If we don’t pick up he sends a stronger one etc.

For example, 1st sign, you are short of breath, feeling oppressed / restricted into the chest. This is a first sign of imbalance because the breath is a reflection of our physical and / or mental state. Fluid, long and powerful, it indicates good health. Jerky, irregular, short, it sends us signals. You do nothing. Second sign, sleep is light, does not allow you to recharge your batteries. You wake up tired. You still don’t do anything. Then it might be a more serious injury. Something that forces you to consult, to take care of yourself, or that put you to bed. And sometimes it’s even more serious. I’m sure you all see what I’m talking about. You may also have once found yourself in a similar situation saying to yourself “I should have seen and listened to the signs before”!

Good news! In the language of “Yoga & Ayurveda”, if imbalance = illness, balance = good health. In other words, it is up to us to take charge of ourselves and act on our daily life, our diet, our relationships etc. to stay in balance and therefore in good health. And Yoga and Ayurveda provide us with a wide range of proposals adapted to the specific needs of each. To your mats!

Celine Chambat

Yoga Teacher in Lisbon & Therapist

Interested to join next workshop: Yoga & Ayurveda

5 Key Tips for Cultivating Balance, Good Health and Happiness

Bibliographie (Français)

Bibliographie (English)

Yoga & Ayurveda – Self-Healing and Self-Realization from David Frawley
The Yogasūtra of Patañjali I Liberating Isolation from Frans Moor
The heart of Yoga from TKV Desikachar