PEOPLE WATCHING... ELEMENTS AT PLAY

New adepts of Ayurveda
at Encounters of Canada

Do you enjoy watching people or yourself? Consider Ayurveda as a starting point of your observations and you will see a new world unfolding in front of you. I recently had two ideal situations that provided unique vantage points to observe the impact of fire and the other elements in people and their interactions. The first one occurred during a workshop to a group of teenagers, the second one during the journey

to Kannur, India, mentioned in the previous blog.

Hot day, hot students, hot class

Teaching three groups of teenagers at Encounters of Canada provided a fascinating perspective of the interactions of the elements, confirming the Ayurvedic teachings.

The third class occurred on an unexpectedly hot  day (28 C) in Ottawa’s early spring. Expecting air conditioning in the classroom and wanting to provide an experience of purity in the air, I put a lemon-eucalyptus essential oils mix in a diffuser before the students arrived.

The scent is the first thing the girls and guys noticed as they came in. Within seconds, they also realized that the room was extremely hot. The air conditioning had not yet had a chance to kick in. In hindsight, I realized that the essential oil mix, although neutral  temperature wise, was not ideal given it’s stimulating properties on the nervous system. The students were already excited by travelling (movement of air) to Ottawa from everywhere in Canada and meeting many new people, activities and situations in a new environment.

Fire, Air and Earth at Play

The students with a dominant fire, air-fire or fire-earth constitution were those most obviously affected by the temperature in the class. Their cheeks, chin, forehead and ears were redder than anyone else’s. Let’s remember that teenage years are the most fiery time of life, which makes them more sensitive to heat than at other times in their life. How they cope with it depends on their overall constitution, health and lifestyle.

Earth and water, nothing better to cool off
a hot teenager.

It was fascinating to observe the sway between irritation, impatience, agitation and occasional sulking among some of them. Emotional irritation? Normal; physical heat increases mental and emotional heat, which can manifest quite passionately. Agitation? Not a surprise. Fire has an expanding effect on air and causes it to move. But why sulking? Likely because it is a cool, heavy emotion. Without proper knowledge of how to bring balance, it can be perceived as a valid yet not fulfilling option. The yogourt-aloe vera gel facial mix I proposed to class for the fire constitution was ideal. It could even have been used on the neck, the wrists and the spine.

When One Moves, Others Move Too

One of the participants with a light, air constitution stated that she was greatly enjoying the heat and the opportunity to try many oils. Beeing cool and dry by nature, it is easy to understand why she felt that way. She was not aware, however, that she was moving more than others physically, to the point of standing up to talk to participants at tables close by. The heat was expanding her ‘air’, stimulating her natural propensity to move.

No, not a comparison of manicures! 
Observing bone structure and complexion
 to identify body constitution.

The participants with a dominant earth constitution seemed to tolerated the heat and their peers’ irritability and agitation reasonably well. If they felt bothered or irritated, they didn’t show it. One young woman stated that she could deal with ‘hot tempers without any problem because she is generally cool and calm’, the perfect balancing polarity aspects of fire.


Learning from Observation
Reflecting after class, I noticed that I had felt a need to ground and exhibit a certain rigidity. I first judged the rigid aspect negatively, but realized ultimately that both the rigid and cooling qualities of my earth constitution were useful to contain the fire and agitation without confrontation. The cooling aspects of the students with air, water and earth constitutions, no doubt, were helpful too. Overall, I thank all three groups for being a gratifying source of inspiration.

Paradise experienced from
the terrace at our hotel.

Boredom in Paradise!!??!!
While everything was absolutely amazing in Kannur (India), from the location to the accommodation, the food, the treatments, the shopping, transportation, and amazing friendliness of the locals, I often oscillated between impatience and irritability and boredom. But why? I could certainly understand that the 37C to 41C temperature would increase my fire, but boredom in Paradise! What was happening to me? Some awareness came after returning home.

First, there had been an expectation that we would ‘do’ more than we actually did, eg. explore the area after a series of treatments and hold ceremonies and healing sessions as we had done on previous trips. Secondly, we had a routine and meals that were pretty much the same every day. The potent mix of: 

•  a lot of fire stimulating the air (mind) provoking an urge for movement, expansion and desires
•  a lot of fire evaporating excess water (physically and emotionally) and removing toxins from the earth through the skin
•  in a context where the earth element (body) was expected to relax and move little

created total discomfort. My gunas were out of balance.

The three gunas : Sattva, Rajas and Tamas

‘Gunas’ is a Sanskrit word that are three qualities of nature. Sattva is about purity, harmony, truth, perception, and honesty. Rajas is about activity, turbulence, power and control. And Tamas deals with inertia, dullness, resistance , fear and decay. The thing is, each wants to gain control over the other. All three are needed to provide consciousness, activity and rest. When in balance you would feel great with yourself and others. You feel joyful and your life flows easily.

Coconut: Mother Nature's gift to balance Pitta.

There were other factors that helped come to terms with the discomfort. Meditating in the morning provided calm for the mind, and bathing (not swimming) in the ocean met a need to move, cool  and connect the body with a gentle environment. Teachings from our teacher satisfied the hunger of the mind for expansion. The simple healthy meals, taken in relaxed and joyful company harmonised emotions. Milk shirodaras and fresh coconut milk cooled the fire in body and mind. The only thing missing was integration and that would came over time.

Everyone to comment on your own awareness of how the elements manifest in your life. I particularly encourage teachers and those of you who attended that Ayurveda and Skin Care workshop to share your perspective.