The Five Elements – What are they and how they can Guide our Practice

What They Are and How They Can Guide Our Practice

According to yoga, the material world (Prakriti) is composed of five gross elements, or Mahābhūtas. In Astadala Yoga Mala (AYM), B.K.S. Iyengar writes:

“Performance of asana can also be studied and understood in terms of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether.” (Vol. II, p. 210)

Indeed, these Five Elements can serve as a paradigm to guide and deepen our practice of āsana and prāṇāyāma. One of the online courses I offer explores this. subject

In this article, I will briefly explain the Five Elements and then share some insights from my practice that is sometimes guided by them.

What Are the Five Elements?

For the Western scientific mind, descriptions such as “earth” and “water” as the basic constituents of nature may seem primitive. However, the ancient yogis and Ayurvedic healers used metaphors. We can reinterpret them in modern terminology as follows:

1. Earth – solid state
2. Water – liquid state
3. Fire – energy
4. Air – gaseous state
5. Ether – space

In fact, the ancient metaphors may be more vivid and evocative than their modern equivalent.

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Characteristics of the Elements

• Earth – solidity, hardness, heaviness, firmness, compactness, robustness.
• Water – flow and softness. Water also represents contact and balance: when poured into a container, it fills it evenly, touching every side and balancing itself horizontally.
• Fire – heat, dynamism, and energy. Fire purifies at many levels. Without Fire, no movement would be possible, whether at the micro (subatomic) or macro (cosmic) level.
• Air – movement and mobility. Unlike Water, which flows on the earth, Air expands freely in three-dimensional space. It can be gentle or fierce, as seen in typhoon storms.
• Ether – space, extension, expansion, and spaciousness. Space holds everything; without it, the other Elements could not exist.

The Elements in Āsana Practice

• Earth provides grounding and stability. It corresponds to the skeleton—the bones are the body’s most solid part and give it shape. In practice, bones (and skin) are more important than muscles. Earth-oriented work involves strengthening the bones by placing load on them and drawing the muscles toward the bones, which nourishes them and stimulates bone-cell growth.

While much attention is given to building muscle mass, without bone density, the muscles cannot function effectively. In everyday life, most people load only the leg bones (through walking), while rarely placing weight on the arms, spine, or head. Many āsanas load these areas, helping to maintain the strength of the entire skeleton.

• Water corresponds to the body’s soft tissues and internal organs. In practice, we must preserve the softness and suppleness of these “watery” aspects of the body.
• Fire symbolizes purification, assimilation, and transformation. Positioned at the center of the Elements, Fire (Tejas) connects the denser elements (Earth and Water) with the subtler ones (Air and Ether). As Iyengar explains:

“If you take the five elements of nature—Prithvi, Ap, Tej, Vayu, and Akasha—Tejas is in the middle of all elements. As Tejas is connected to the mind (Manomaya kośa), it connects the first two gross elements, Prithvi (physical body) and Ap (vital body), with the later subtle elements Vayu (intellectual body) and Akasha (the space, i.e., the core).” (AYM, Vol. VIII, p. 20)

Fire (Agni) is purifying. In India, every sacrifice involves fire; offerings are cast into it to be transformed. In yoga, the sacrifice is internal: our efforts and willpower (tapas).

There are five levels of purification through Fire:

• Jathara Agni – Annamaya kośa, the digestive fire.
• Prāṇa Agni – Prāṇamaya kośa, the chest; assimilating breath.
• Mānasa Agni – Manomaya kośa, digesting sensory inputs.
• Bodhika Agni – Vijñānamaya kośa, burning away ignorance (avidyā) and assimilating wisdom.
• Ānanda Agni – Ānandamaya kośa, the fire of love and light, transforming desire into the longing for self-realization.

Air represents 3-dimensional movement. The chest is the region of Air in our body. Movement of air in the form of breathing is an essential component of the performance of āsanas.

Ether (Ākāśa) in practice is the creation of space—both physically and mentally. Extending the limbs enlarges the body’s cavities. Mentally, a relaxed and quiet mind opens spaciousness. Freed from constant thought and worry, the mind becomes clear, creative, and expansive, like a vast open sky.

Summary: Elements in Āsana Practice

1. Earth – Grounding, compactness, skeletal strength.
2. Water – Softness of organs, relaxation of the senses.
3. Fire – Heat, purification, dynamic movement.
4. Air – Chest opening, breathing.
5. Space – Relaxation, concentration, mental clarity.

Mental Characteristics of the Elements

• Earth – determination, firmness, persistence.
• Water – adaptability, flexibility, receptivity.
• Fire – intensity, sharpness, forcefulness.
• Air – mental agility, openness to changing perspectives.
• Space – tranquility, equanimity, creativity, expansiveness.

When Unbalanced:

• Earth – stubbornness, heaviness, inertia (tamas).
• Water – instability, being easily influenced.
• Fire – restlessness, agitation, excess rajas.
• Air – inconsistency, lack of focus, scattering.
• Space – lack of grounding, detachment from reality.

The Five Elements and the Kośas

The Elements also correspond to the five sheaths (kośas) that constitute human embodiment (see Light on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, p. 45):

Iyengar elaborates on this in AYM, explaining how the subtle Elements correspond to the gross Elements and how they inform practice:

“Performance of asana can also be studied and understood in terms of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—and their counterparts, namely odour, taste, shape, touch and sound (as vibration), to gain rich insight into the structure and functions of each asana.

Earth and odour represent the anatomical sheath; water and taste represent the physiological sheath, giving organic health. Fire and shape characterize mental health by burning out toxins and bringing coolness and poise to the mind. Air and touch help the intelligence to discriminate and diffuse the effects of asana throughout the body, mind, and self. This contact enlivens the ātman to expand or contract in the ethereal sheath, listening to the body’s language in the vibration of sound.

Each practitioner has to feel these five elements with their dynamic qualities working in unison in each asana or each flow of energy in pranayama. Then the asana is perfect, comfortable, and stable according to Patañjali. Till then, it is not perfection but the process leading towards it.

In the final stage of perfection, the ego or ‘I’-consciousness has to become humble and drop down like a ripe, juicy fruit falling from the tree…” (Vol. II, p. 210)

Conquering the Elements

In Yoga Sūtra III.45, Patañjali describes mastery over the Elements (bhūta-jaya):

sthūla svarūpa sūkṣma anvaya arthavattva samyamād bhūta-jayah

By samyama on the elements—their gross and subtle nature, their conjunction, and their purposes—the yogi becomes master over them all.

References

• LOYSP – Light on the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, B.K.S. Iyengar
• AYM – Astadala Yoga Mala, Vol. I–VIII, B.K.S. Iyengar

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