Observing The Five Great Elements of Ayurveda

This guided meditation is based on experiencing the interconnectedness of nature, through the Five Great Elements (Sanskrit: pañcha mahābhūta) as they enter the body, perform their various functions, and leave the body again. This short, yet highly soothing practice, involves a body scan and a practice of mindfulness, to deepen feelings of interrelationship with others, appreciation for the natural world, love and compassion for all life, and a sense of awe towards the beautiful mystery of the cosmos. This practice is recorded live so contains some minor background noise.

Transcript

You can adopt the mudra of placing your thumb on your radial artery so that you can feel your pulse under your thumb.

And directing your awareness inward,

Closing your eyes if that helps.

Direct your energy inward,

Sitting with a straight spine.

Taking a moment to observe the breath,

Withdrawing the senses into the body,

Placing your awareness on the pulse under your thumb,

Radial artery,

And with each heartbeat,

Blood is moving through your veins,

Through your arteries,

Circulating the life force that moment to moment keeps your body animated,

Gives a home for your consciousness.

And now consider the earth element.

Solidity,

The nutritive essence of the food that you eat comes in through your digestive system,

Is absorbed into your body,

And is circulated through your blood vessels.

And after a while,

The earth element leaves your body again,

So we can feel under our thumb how the earth element comes from outside of us,

Comes into our body,

Becomes a part of us,

Circulates around,

And then leaves our body again.

Consider the water element,

The fluidity of the blood,

The fluidity of the body,

The lubrication of the joints,

Saliva,

Digestive juices,

Hormones,

And neurotransmitters,

And we can feel under our thumb how this water element comes into our bodies,

Circulates,

And leaves again.

The fire element,

The heat of our body,

Comes into our body from the foods that we eat,

Plants which have absorbed solar energy,

Transformed it into their body,

Which we take into our body,

And that energy is released in the form of heat and mechanical energy,

Allowing our body to move and function,

Creating the light of our consciousness,

And the air element.

The oxygen that we breathe in is absorbed into our blood,

Circulates,

Is used by our body,

And with each exhalation,

We release the air element back into the environment.

And the channels of space,

The structures of our body,

The system of organization,

The four billion or more physiological activities that are happening in our body every instant that we're not even aware of,

All mediated through the channels of space.

We can imagine that the boundaries between our inner environment and outer environment dissolve,

That the surface of our body is just a membrane as we continually take in the elements from outside,

They circulate around inside,

And then leave again.

And so we are in continual interchange with the environment.

And letting the visualization go,

Returning to the room,

Opening the eyes as you're ready.

Reviews

Bringing awareness to the inter-connectedness of all, this meditation is helpful. Thank you.

Loved this! Perfect way to start the day! Thank you!

Nice!! Thank you!

Look to hearing more .....

Wow—that was (third?-) eye-opening. A perfect, crystal clear intro to a practice I am interested in but still pretty new to. I love the element of the pulse—that in itself was enough to open many a possibility in my mind.

There is much more “information” in this brief exercise than most guided meditations of its length i am used to, so I am going to need to listen a few more times to take it all in. Eager to hear more from this instructor on related themes and exercises.

Note: No final bell or signal; the ending is so subtle it may leave you hanging for a second (as it did me).

Thanks for the clear explanation of how we interchange with the environment..it is miraculous!

Thank you 🍁for sharing this short wonderful meditation 🙏Namaste