Yogi Ashwini's article in The New Indian Express today... http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/spirituality/Elemental-Science/2014/08/30/article2403129.ece The body is made up of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether combined with the ego and other gross senses. They form the basis of the major chakras that govern the body; earth for Mooladhar, water for Swadhisthan, fire for Manipoorak, air for Anahad and ether for Vishuddhi. The controls for the various elements in our body lie at our fingertips. The little, ring, middle and index fingers represent earth, water, ether and air respectively while the thumb represents fire. Things expand on heating and contract on cooling. If any element touches the tip of the thumb, it expands and at the base it reduces. We can very easily increase or decrease the various bodily elements, depending on the situation, using mudras. For example, in extreme tension and anxiety, like when appearing for an interview, exam or...