All living and non-living matter in the universe is made up of five fundamental elements that are called Panchamahabhuta. The five great elements in Ayurveda are ether/space (Akasha), air (Vayu), fire (Agni), water (Jala), and earth (Prithvi). Ayurveda focuses on bringing these five elements into balance, both internally and externally, to bring about superior health.

Ayurveda believes disease (or dis-ease in the body) starts with an emotional response followed by physical symptoms. For that reason, the primary focus is looking at root causes over just treating outward symptoms. The root cause comes down to the elements that exist within us and identifying how they are out of balance.

In the body, each element is associated with different tissues and functions. In the mind, the elements are also associated with personality characteristics and emotional responses.

The following 5 elements holistic formulas are meant to harmonize the excess or deficiency of the elements within ourselves. You can use an element formula to balance either the abundance or deficiency of a given element.