Air Element Dominance. How to ground yourself and find balance.

Do you find it hard to remain focused on a single project? Always easily distracted by something else? Do you feel you are a restless soul, who loves to move, and if you are not moving physically your mind is in constant motion, often jumping from one thought to another? Perhaps the only time it can switch off is when you are doing something very physical, like running, or playing a sport. A talk or lecture has to be totally captivating to hold your full attention and even then, it can be difficult not to drift off on a thought voyage or resist the urge to fidget. For folk like you, meditation is a huge challenge and may even be something you shy away from, feeling that its just impossible to get your mind to switch off. Every time you feel you have made a small space where you begin to feel the stillness, another thought jumps right in, and starts demanding your attention again – and often its something you are anxious about. Does this sound like you, or someone you know?

These characteristics are typical of someone who is air dominant.

Picture a creature of the air. A bird. An aerodynamically designed creature who floats and glides through the element it is most akin to. A bird is at its most magnificent when its in full flight. It displays its energy, its stamina, and beauty all at once – but it cannot fly like this without coming to land frequently. When the air dominant person is at his or her best they are in full flight. The comedian, the centre of attention in a group, the source of energy in the room. They talk a lot and move a lot and because of these qualities are often very attractive. We are attracted to movement and colour, because these qualities give us energy. But the air person needs to take care of that energy, to ensure they re-charge it, because these are also the people that burn out easily.

They can also be easily overwhelmed in a sensory capacity, finding it draining. For example too much screen time or being plugged into electronic devices can cause sensory overload, resulting in elevated stress levels.

The physiological challenges that air dominance can create if not managed within the body have the greatest effect on the nervous system. This is because air is all about movement, and the nervous system relies on movement ( the relaying of information) to efficiently send and receive messages through the central and peripheral nervous system.   

High blood sugar can cause damage to the nervous system, and our air dominant friends can benefit from maintaining a steady level avoiding spiking. Add cinnamon to hot drinks to help balance blood sugars.

Air dominant people are most vulnerable in the cooler weather particularly the windy autumn and the chilly winter. Keeping warm and cosy during these months will help to ground you, and bring calm to your body and mind. Light a fire, play some nice music and sit down to a warm-spiced root veg casserole and feel the gentle heat bring calm to your nervous system.

Choose  soups, stews, porridges, warm spices and beverages over dry, crunchy or fried food, cold drinks or cold raw food.

Cook with black pepper, ginger, caynne pepper. Adaptogenic herbs work on the adrenals (they are herbs that reduce stress in our nervous system, through the regulation of cortisol), and thus help to soothe and heal the nervous system. Some more common ones include – rosemary, ginger, turmeric, ginseng and ashwagandha.

Be sure to get plenty of sleep especially during the cold weather, and try to select calming, grounding pastimes’, like fishing, walking, gardening, reading or painting.

When air dominant people choose activities, foods and lifestyle factors that bring calm, warmth and stability, it grounds them, and gives their bodies and minds a chance to rest and regenerate.

Making these little changes especially during the colder part of the year, and/or during times of elevated stress,  will mean that come the spring, the time that you begin to come alive again, you will be raring to go – a ball of potential energy whose abilities and strengths will be at their very best, both in body and mind.