The Five Great Elements

The five great elements of Ayurveda are: Ether (Space), Air, Fire, Water,
and Earth. These five elements exist in all matter. For our purposes, we
learn how these five elements are present in the human body.

Ether (Space) is present in the spaces of the body; mouth, nose, GI tracts,
respiratory tracts are examples of such spaces.

Air is the element of movement which we can detect in the movement of
the muscles, the pulsation of the heart, the rise and fall of the lungs,
and the movement of the nerves system. 

Fire governs the body’s metabolism. It manifests in body temperature,
digestion, thinking and vision, and all metabolism and enzymatic systems.

Water is the body can be seen in bodily secretions, digestive juices, mucus
membranes, plasma, and cytoplasm. Remember that the human body consists of 45-65% water.

Earth manifests in the body as solid structures.

The five elements are related to the five senses:

Ether is the medium through which sound is transmitted, so it is related to
hearing. The sensory organ of hearing is the ear. Air is related to the sense of touch. The sensory organ of touch is the skin. Fire is related to vision (think light and color). The sensory organ of vision is the eye. Water is related to the organ of taste (without water/saliva, the tongue cannot taste). Earth is related to the sense of smell. The sensory organ of smell is the nose.