Blitzkreig said:
What you mention about air is true, but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around using air to directly counter fat, as far as creating a mantra and so forth. I guess it is possible in the sense that air would prevent too much yin accumulation, but then it gets a little confusing because TCM states to mainly focus on spleen yang (and other contributors like stomach fire or kidney yang deficiency).
In this sense, I think the healthiest way to go about this is to use whatever energy for removing yang deficiencies of the body. This would avoid someone focusing on a faulty goal based on false notions of health, as you mention. I am willing to bet that most overweight people have conflated some of the normal aspects of an earth-frame with being unhealthy fat.
Someone could also balance their whole body through the elements as well, and this would also avoid reliance on potentially erroneous health perceptions, but also allow the body to change to a more desired form.
I am not sure how air as an element works in TCM, since I recall the five Chinese elements being: wood, fire, metal, water and earth. In Ayurveda, the vata constitution is primarily air and secondarily akasha, two elements that in alchemy have lightness as a quality. I think the key here may be less logical. Then we have Libra, which is light blue, of the air element and ruled by Venus. The symbol for Libra is a scale, which is fitting when it comes to weight. Venus is the planet of beauty, and we know people lose beauty as they become fatter and fatter. Light blue is the colour of the sky. I'd say Libra could relate to heavenly beauty from this point of view. Considering Vata has akasha, we can talk about 'ethereal beauty'. Ethereal beauty and heavenly beauty are similar in usage.
Above, I am providing how my stream of thought really goes on before I translate it in a more comprehensible format for people to read. I also do not have much time currently to elaborate. Some people will find that confusing, others will understand it if they have/had a similar thought process.
That being said, I personally agree with what you stated.
Saturn666 said:
You can use air or fire to eliminate body fat and earth to increase muscle mass.
Also, from what I have noticed, people with a strong Gemini emphasis often have a slim constitution, I don't know what Libra has to do with it.
Gemini is an air sign. It is likely that this is linked to it. Vata as a dosha generally corresponds to slim/ectomorph and also to tall/longilineal. Pitta is athletic/mesomorph and usually medium stature. Kapha is big/endomorph and usually short. Obviously, there are thousand of combination, as it's extremely unlikely one is 100% one type.
There is to note that kapha people aren't necessarily fat. They are extremely likely to be fat in this day and age due to cultural norms that produce a fully unhealthy lifestyle and worldview for the majority (i.e. junk food, laziness, and so on). An SS that is manifesting their physical potential and is predominantly kapha, will most likely just have large shoulders and large hips (at the bone level) and being athletic in the muscle and fat composition.