Creating my Elements of Self video course has been a process of self-discovery, but my journey with the elements started well over a year ago. In this article, I dive into how I was drawn to work more closely with the four elements as a model for understanding myself holistically and creating an authentic balance.

The Four Elements Are A Global Model

Earth, water, air, and fire have made their mark on human consciousness.

In Reiki, the four elements are seen as the foundation on which energetic healing is built. Likewise, Indigenous peoples across North America incorporate the four elements into the complex teachings of the Medicine Wheel. Alchemy itself, as a practice, was built on creating balance between the four elements.

Some may even have first been exposed to the idea of different elemental energies through concepts like astrology, where each zodiac sign corresponds to one of the four elements. Tarot cards also incorporate each of the four elements into their four suits: earth is represented by pentacles/coins, water is represented by cups, air is represented by swords, and fire is represented by wands.

The four elements, in their expansiveness, are directly associated to various elements of well-being:

• Earth is related to our material circumstances, health, and practicality
• Water represents our emotional well-being
• Air corresponds to our thoughts, mental realm, and beliefs
• Fire is associated with our creativity, passion, and energy

In each of these schools of thought, worldviews, and kinds of practice is another theme strongly interwoven: the importance of balancing these four elements.

What this balance looks like – especially in the diversity of the modern world – is going to seem wildly different from person to person. In any wellness movement, there is a push to simplify complex ideas, which can make it seem as though the practice itself can be easily suited to diverse persons. However, the fact of the matter is this is not the case.

Luckily, when working with the four elements, adapting the wisdom and understanding of these natural phenomena is as simple as observing and reflecting.

My Journey Started With Water

I had been expanding my spiritual practices for some time before I turned towards the water in my shower and asked what it had to teach me.

I knew, at that time, that water corresponds to our emotions. I saw water as something cleansing and flowing. I also existed at a point in my life where my emotions were becoming something destructive – something I wanted to reject about myself.

But the water taught me a new way of relating to my emotions.

My emotional floods were creating damage, yes. But that damage existed because the “floodplain” that used to exist had been chipped away by burnout, an unsupportive lifestyle, and boundaries that were continually ignored by myself and others.

Telling myself that my strong emotions were “wrong” for existing was like telling a river that it shouldn’t expand and overflow during a spring melt.

It’s not the river’s fault that we’ve forgotten to respect the natural architecture of our ecosystems.

Telling myself that I should hide my emotions and smother them in my body hadn’t been helping either!

Imagine telling a wetland it shouldn’t be wet?

The thing is, we HAVE treated wetlands like useless pieces of land in the past. We have excavated their uniqueness. We have tried to build on top of them.

And the water still came. The homes and fields flooded.

The water element reminded me that the abundance of my emotions was not inherently wrong. In fact, a rich emotional world is a beautiful thing that has helped me deepen my connection to countless people around me. My emotions are an inherent part of who I am and the role I am meant to play in this world.

The water also helped me realize that I had not been building the tools I needed to support myself in my life. Just like a wetland is comprised of unique spongy earth and specially adapted plants that thrive in the perpetual (or sometimes cyclical) wetness, I needed to build up my own adaptations and strategies to process my emotions in a meaningful way.

And the water was just the beginning.

Each of the four elements emerged in their own time to share lessons about balance, expansion, and cleansing with me.

Air taught me how to breathe through stories and limiting beliefs that were creating distortions in my reality.

Earth reminded me that my physical self-care was as important as maintaining soil health if I wanted to grow something beautiful.

Fire comes to me with play, dance, and the spark needed to share warmth and light with those around me.

A New Framework For Holistic Self-Care

I remember a moment. I had just moved back home with my parents after leaving a long-term relationship. I was reconnecting with my body – my fitness, my nutrition, and my sleep – after a long period of disconnect.

I told my friend, “There are just too many parts to keep track of. How can I balance it all?”

I hadn’t yet made the jump to working with the four elements in tandem. I still didn’t really know what sort of reality I wanted to build around me. I was in a state of unbecoming.

The answer I’d been looking for came to me through the four elements.

Nutrition, fitness, sleep, emotional well-being, and our mental health are all connected. However, the way we speak about these areas of self-care is still very separate in Western wellness circles. The four elements — on the other hand — do not allow the theme of balance to lose importance.

When wellness influencers are trying to market their “one product” or “one course”, it necessitates that they strip complex topics down to simple terms and ideas. The nuance and inherent interconnectedness of our well-being are stripped down in the name of making a quick dollar or sales funnel. When so many people are struggling to balance their health amidst their busy jobs, and the most accessible “health” information exists on social media, this creates a recipe for disaster.

It also takes away the autonomy and self-knowing that we all have, even if we need to remember how to connect back into that.

Working with the four elements in building my own self-care “ecosystem” is inherently holistic. Once we’ve connected something like burnout or anxiety to elemental imbalances, we can easily see and respond to those imbalances as they emerge. We can also respond in ways that are accessible and meaningful to us.

There is no supplement or meal plan that replaces the value of holistically balancing our body, emotions, mind, and spirit.

Why I Created Elements of Self

My video course, Elements of Self, weaves the four elements into one comprehensive and nuanced exploration of self.

I share my own reflections and journey with the elements as a mirror to your own journey. Through video content and guided meditations, I show you how you can deepen your connection with the four elements as you discover your authenticity and what balance means to you.

The beauty of this course is it is not designed to tell you that you are living your life wrong. You are the authority in your life and in applying these lessons.

However, I question the balance that might or might not exist. I encourage you to deep dive into potentially uncomfortable areas of self-knowing. I walk with you as you illuminate your authenticity from the inside out, and I offer a pathway to guide you back towards balance when you find yourself overwhelmed in one way or another.

Because I know it is your authenticity that we need more of in this world.

You can sign up for the Elements of Self waitlist to receive first notice of when this course is available!

Let’s make your story a vibrant one.