Ayurveda being one of the health care systems that rests on the concept of individualization and person-centric approach, the clinical assessment of Agni and Koshtta becomes vital in the context of dietary recommendations, lifestyle-related advises, and the choice of therapeutic interventions.

Furthermore, since the status of Agni is likely to vary according to individual constitution, age, seasonal rhythm, and so on, it becomes even more important to accurately evaluate the strength of Agni in an individual from an Ayurveda point of view. From a purely therapeutic viewpoint too, Agni has been considered to be important since the nature of drugs, dosage, and routes of administration—all depend on the strength of Agni.

KOSHTA is a unique concept in ayurveda. It is defined as the nature of the digestive tract, which represents motility of the intestines and movement of food and faecal matter in the alimentary canal and elimination of the stool.

In ayurveda, the term agni is used to describe the quintessence of digestion and metabolism. Agni, in Sanskrit literally translates as fire; it is the component within the body that is responsible for the subtle transformative processes associated with digestion, all the way through to the functions of cellular metabolism.The concept of agni is not however limited to its role in digestion and metabolism; it also refers to the subtle transformational mechanisms within the mind as well as functions associated with our sense organs such as touch, taste, smell, vision and hearing.

Stronger the Agni, quicker is the transformation, in general. On the contrary, if this Agni is weak, the transformation also is slow and incomplete. Ayurveda proposes four kinds of functional states of Agni: Sama (Regular), Vishama (Irregular), Tikshna (Intense), and Manda (Weak). Tikshnagni is supposed to be intense and hence, easily digests even a very heavy meal, in a very short span of time. Mandagni is opposite to the Tikshnagni: it is subdued in its activity. This Agni is unable to digest and metabolize even a small quantity of food. Vishamagni represents an unpredictable state of Agni: It sometimes quickly digests the food and at other times it does so very slowly. Samagni ensures complete digestion of the food ingested at the proper time without any irregularity. Its activity is neither too intense nor too weak. It is just appropriate and therefore, is ideal too. Samagni gets affected by improper diet and inappropriate eating habits.

The strength of agni is inevitably affected when its qualities are muted by a poor diet, improper food combinations, an unsupportive lifestyle, emotional disturbances, or even damp, rainy weather. If we can learn to recognize and address imbalances with agni relatively quickly, the effects need not be long lasting. Otherwise, they will undoubtedly lead to ill health and disease.

Here are some important warning signs that agni is not operating at full strength:

While these disturbances can be short-lived or chronic, the impaired digestive process inevitably leads to the accumulation of wastes, the vitiation of the doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha), and the stagnation of emotions. Unfortunately, these are all causative factors in the formation of ama, a toxic residue that is capable of completely disrupting our health and well-being.

Strong Agni is a key component in boosting good physical and mental health, and in maintaining emotional balance.

Here are some tips to keep all your digestive processes in top condition:

Disturbed agni can manifest in countless ways, so it is critically important to look beneath the symptoms and to address the root cause of the problem. The appropriate treatment is going to depend on which qualities of agni are most impaired, how they became that way, and where in the body the disturbance is most active. The first and perhaps most critical step in reclaiming health is to begin to understand the nature of your particular imbalance. If you would like to explore the different types of imbalances that can disturb agni, please consult a nearby Ayurvedic practitioner. He can also help to monitor your unique situation and can recommend a personally tailored treatment program to support your agni, alongside any other imbalances that need addressing.