EXPLORING THE KOSHAS

EXPLORING THE KOSHAS

We covered the Koshas back in week three of Yoga teacher Training (YTT). The Koshas are the physical and mental aspects of our personality and our being. Yoga helps us harness that energy. At that time, I was overwhelmed with so much information that I really did not internalize what they meant to me.  Now, I realize that if I create change in any one these dimensions, it invariably affects the other dimensions. Every day, I move within my Koshas without even having to think about it. I have learned that if I play and move in one level, it either helps me get unstuck or gets me stuck in another level, depending on my attitude.

 

Before studying this, I had never heard about koshas, so I thought it would be interesting to write about them. For me, these principles apply to things that I knew were in my body as I look back on it. I just did not have a handle on them and I did not know that there are yoga poses that reach the different koshas. I will explore that later.

 

Koshas are layers of energy that start with our physical body and move inward to our conscious and subconscious mind.

 

Anamayakosha is our physical body. "Ana" means "food", "maya" means "consists of", and "kosha" means "covering". The physical body is pretty obvious, but how we care for it is not always important to us.  I have learned to love and respect my body. I want it to be there for me for a long time.

 

Pranamayakosha is living energy inside my body like prana (our breath), vayus, nadis, chakras "Prana" means "life force". We take in prana as energy. The process of moving prana into waste is called apana it has to move down to get out. Vayus are the process of movement of energy. Suka is good space and dukha is bad space or waste. The koshas talk about our body and energy from the outside in. Although the chakras are inside our body, their energy is both outside our body as well as inside. Our energy radiates all around inside and outside of our body. Pranamayakosha is harnessing that energy inside us. I cannot talk about energy without mentioning Qigong. Qigong dives deep into the study of the energy inside and outside of our bodies. I love Lee Holden, a master qigong instructor. Qigong  describes our body energy in fascinating ways. The breath is a big part of pranamayakosha. I am going to write a blog about breath and some interesting things I have learned and observed.

 

This link will teach you more about qigong. www.healingqigong.org.

 

“Prana  is to a body what gas is to a car, electricity to a light bulb, and wind to a windmill.”                       
Amy Weintraub

Manomayakosha is a more subtle aspect of ourselves; it is our thinking being. "Mano" means "mind". Manomayakosha is how we react to situations or conditions to which we are exposed: do we get stressed or not, should I stay or should I flee, etc…. It is here I remember to practice radical acceptance. I think, on a certain level, we choose to be stressed or upset by what life throws at us.

Vijnyanamayakosha – is our wisdom body. Vijny involves our ability to discriminate. It is what enables us to witness harmful or hurtful things we do to ourselves and others and learn to change them. We discern what is good for us and what is not. We decide to accept or judge ourselves. I find that many people use this kosha in self-destructive ways rather than productive and kind ways. If you have not already discovered this, I love Tara Brach; if you think you need help being kinder to yourself, check her web page; Tarabrach.com. Also the ability to accept what is true and what is not true or the ability to recognize what is wise and what is not wise.

 

Anandamayakosha – is being in a state of bliss with Ananda meaning 

"pleasure".  This state is attained when all the other Koshas are at peace.

 

The kosha model helps us see the direction in which we are moving. We want to make all of these levels transparent. My thoughts are: eat well, take care of my body, stay in tune with my energy inside and keep those channels open. I tune into my emotional self and be kind to myself and others I feel the joy inside of me.

 

Stay tuned for my next YTT adventure.