I feel like we do naturally gravitate toward a certain elemental type. I love astrology, and I do feel that for me… I carry a lot of air in my chart, a lot of water too, and much less earth. And yet, earth feels like my North Star.

Being around more earthy people, Kapha types in Ayurveda, for example, can feel grounding to me simply through their presence and way of being.

So there’s the native elements within us… our chart, dosha, constitution… and then there are the external factors constantly interacting with that - climate, season, stress, technology.

A simple example for me is coffee in peak summer heat. It pushes so much fire into my liver that all of a sudden it's 100 degrees outside, I just had coffee and I notice I am just raging, and even cold raw milk barely cools it. Same body, same substance… different conditions, totally different effect.

So balance isn’t static or evenly distributed. It’s something we’re always participating in. We can consciously rebalance by working with the elements directly, like taking a shower, dipping in a lake, sitting by a fire, choosing spicy versus cooling foods, breath work. Small, literal interactions… could bring big shifts.