Integrating the Five Koshas
The Five Koshas constitute the Whole human experience from the grossest physical to the finest. The practice of yoga seeks to integrate these levels or layers and make them conscious to the practitioner and endow them with a more wholistic experience.
1. Physical Body: Anamaya Kosha
The organs, bones and muscle tissue. Anna means physical matter. Maya means made of. It’s where we process feelings and emotions and feel our aches and pains, digest our food and eliminate waste. It’s where we experience the grossness, good and bad, of being alive in the world.
2. Energy Body: Pranamaya kosha
The body’s subtle life force. Prana is a subtle force behind every atom, cell and organ in the body system. It coordinates every physiological activity from pumping the heart to the elimination of waste. Imbalances or blocks within the energetic body affects the overall function of the annamaya kosha and also influences the mind (Manomaya). As you know Prana is related to breath and Pranayama breathing increases and regulates the pranic body.
3. Mental Body: Manomaya Kosha
The third layer corresponds to mind, which influences the emotions and the nervous system. The way we think, what we think about influences us greatly. Many of us have an overactive manomaya kosha that wears on our nervous system and plays out through our emotions. Yoga calms the mind and nervous system allowing recovery from the effects of stress and fatigue. The mental body is also where we experience the five senses and lets us receive input from the outside world.
4. Wisdom Body: Vijnanamaya Kosha.
You begin working with the first three bodies as soon as you start practicing yoga. Coordinating breath with movement brings more awareness of yourself overall and helps to synchronise the physical, energetic and mental bodies. The integration of the aforementioned body’s allows expansion into Vijnanamaya kosha, where we enter a more intuitive space and a more creative and responsive space.
5. Bliss Body: Anandamaya Kosha.
The deepest layer of being is the core of existence. Ananda means bliss. Your bliss body is where you experience the unbounded freedom and joyousness of your true nature. There’s a sense of peace and connectedness during which Time ceases to exist and your consciousness expands beyond the limits of your body. While most people aren’t even aware of this aspect of their being, chances are you’ve experienced glimpses of your anandamaya kosha throughout your life. It may seem a ludicrous idea to be in bliss in normal life. But you probably experience it more often that you imagine. Being in thinking of feeling mode constantly we miss the moments. You can cultivate deeper connection when you practice. Unfortunately, most of us are too busy to experience relaxation let alone bliss. This is the point I try to get across to you all the time. Unless you make time for it you will never experience it. Sure, we all know times of expanded awareness. But they are usually an accident. We see a great piece of art or hear a symphony. But I am talking about a self -induced ecstatic experience. We know about self-induced stress and crises. How about going in the other direction?
Integrating the Five Bodies
If you do yoga regularly you will feel better. Feeling better may be all you can manage. But there is much more available to you in this practice than just keeping your head above water. Yes… doing yoga or not doing we sometimes have bad days. But overall the quality of your life will continue to improve as you begin to eliminate the things that cause you upset and misery. The things that cause this misery may be certain people. It may be a job. It may be certain behaviours and habits that you indulge in. This may sound harsh, but the cost of doing yoga is increased awareness - a double-edged sword. You see things about yourself and your life that are difficult to hold. And some of these things you may no longer be willing to tolerate. What do you do then? You cannot unsee something. So… you use the practice to integrate and grow stronger to support you to make the changes you may need to make. Take time to develop a capacity to tolerate more (patience) and to not be so affected by life. Yoga is sometimes likened to magic. The definition of magic is ‘getting nature or life to conform to your will.’
Terry