The Air Element – Air Energy Balancing

Air Element For Natural Healing And Well Being

Air Element’s Basic Characteristics

Air is the wind and is associated with movement. Located in the heart chakra, air reflects our lightness and ease of movement. Like the wind, air is pervasive and only perceptible when it moves. Like the wind, air is changeable. On a still day we feel listless and heavy, while on a windy day we feel refreshed and enlivened. Air is the medium for carrying things. Externally it carries seeds, birds, sounds, while internally it carries energy and motion. The air element is associated with the East – manifestation, dawning of the day, new beginnings and things coming into being. Air is movement and life!

In essence, Air is the movement of all things within the space of Ether. A person who feels that they have to rush around all the time, have to move quickly, has their air out of balance. Air in balance allows free and relaxed motion, a sense of ease and flow.

Air Element And Movement

Air is associated with the five forms of movement in the body. Speed reflects air in air. A person who can’t slow down, or one who can’t speed up, or is scattered reflects air in air imbalance. Stretching is ether in air. One may “stretch” either physically or mentally! Shaking is fire in air. Trembling, uncertainty, indecisiveness indicate a need for grounding. Flowing reflects water in air. A sense of all movement flowing, all words in rhythm and harmony, a mental flow. Contracting is earth in air. Too much earth may manifest as a tightening, a closing off on every level.

Air Element And The Body

Air has its positive pole in the shoulders, ruled by Gemini, its neutral pole in the kidneys and adrenals, ruled by Libra, and its negative pole in the calves and ankles, ruled by Aquarius. The shoulders have been called the “wings of life”. When the shoulders are rigid and tight, the air element is congested in its positive pole, not flowing downward. Air also governs three major body systems – the respiratory system, the nervous system and the circulatory system. In my practice of Polarity Therapy, Air is the most common element to be out of balance. We stop “circulating”. Stress stimulates the adrenals and simultaneously tenses the shoulders. Our energy becomes locked in the upper body and we are unable to ground and flow.

Air Element And Dis-Ease

The medical profession currently diagnoses a disease by placing a label on a complex set of physical signs and symptoms. This label “encapsulates” the problem and places it in a category in which mechanical and chemical means may be used to resolve the problem. Polarity Therapy recognizes areas of dis-ease, areas where energy is not flowing smoothly. Dr. Stone stated “Causes are always in the Energy Field, never in Matter”. Lack of flow in the energy field may well invite dis-ease, however, it is a simple matter to encourage the energy to return to its natural, healthy state of flow. With this in mind, I now list potential dis-ease associated with the Air element.

Problems in the following areas may indicate an imbalance of the Air energies.

Shallow breathing

Tension in the chest, locked scapulae (shoulder blades)

Heart problems

Shoulder and/or arm problems

All nervous system problems

Gas in the abdominal area (flatulence and bloating)

Pain, especially headaches, neck pain, and muscle spasm

Exhaustion

Arms feel numb

Radiating pain (neuralgias)

Balancing The Air Element

The Air element is associated with the negative (receiving) energy of the index finger and second toe. A very simple way to encourage the flow of air is to massage these digits. A friend of mind was experiencing some of the dis-ease listed above and called me on the phone. I asked her to check out her second toe on both feet. “Wow” she said when she returned to the phone. “My right second toe is flexible, but my left is like concrete – its really solid!” Needless to say, she was experiencing most of her dis-ease on the left side of her body. She began a diligent program of toe massage and the symptoms cleared. Dr. Stone insisted that the sign of healthy air flow was the ability to “pop” your second toe. (ie. Pull gently on your toe and hear/feel the pop of joints releasing).

An excellent exercise to mobilize the flow of air in the shoulder area is called the Cliffhanger. Stand with your back to a sturdy table, countertop, or back of a chair. Place the heels of your hands slightly behind you on the supporting surface. Now gently slide your bottom straight down towards the floor, allowing your hands to receive the weight of your body. Feel your shoulder blades stretching and moving closer together. Maintain this position without strain for several seconds, then slowly stand up. This exercise is great to do hourly if you work at a desk or computer.

Summary

Balanced Air allows you to open up the heart chakra and flow with the universal force of Love in your life. With shoulders relaxed, breath deep, and heart open, you can meet any circumstance with flexibility. Change occurs. It really does! When we meet change with resistance and fear, we contract and temporarily lose this wonderful movement of air. Relax and greet the winds of change in your life. They are bringing you movement and growth.

© 2010 Jill N. Henry, Ed.D. PT, APP. All Rights Reserved.

References

Henry, Jill (2004) Energy SourceBook – The Fundamentals of Personal Energy. Llewellyn Worldwide Publishers

Beaulieu, John (1994) Polarity Therapy Workbook. BioSonic Enterprises, Ltd. New York, New York.

Campbell, Morag (1995) Quinta Essentia: The Five Elements. Masterworks, Devon, England.

Stone, Randolph (1986) Polarity Therapy, Volume One, Two and Health Building. CRCS Publications, Sebastopol, CA.

And special thanks to my Polarity Teacher, Angela Plum, PhD, RPP, Academy of Natural Therapies, Marshall, NC