According to yogic anatomy our body is composed of five sheaths, five layers or bodies. You can imagine them like layers of an onion leading us from the gross to the subtlest levels of reality. The five sheaths are called the Pancha koshas and they are described in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
1. Annamaya kosha, “food” sheath (Anna)
2. Pranamaya kosha, “energy” sheath (Prana)
3. Manomaya kosha “mind” sheath (Manas)
4. VijñÄnamaya kosha, “discernment” or “Knowledge” sheath (Vigynana)
5. Anandamaya kosha, “bliss” sheath (Ananda)
Annamayakosha
The first sheath is the physical body—the annamayakosha, or more literally, the food body. It is what you perceive and call your “body”, an accumulation of the food you have ingested over the years. Through this sheath we identify ourselves as a mass, consisting of skin, bones, muscles etc. It is the most condensed form of energy, something you can touch and feel. This physical aspect of life plays an important role as the first entry point to the deeper layers of existence.
Pranamayakosha
The second layer is the Pranamayakosha or the energy body. It is composed of prana and this life force vitalizes and unites the body and the mind. The pranamaya kosha pervades the whole organism and the prana flows through the energy channels called nadis. Its one physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the organisms, life continues. The existence of pranamaya kosha is what differentiates the living from the dead. We know that the pranamaya kosha connects and unites the body and the mind, and so if you keep your energy body in perfect balance, there will be no disease in your physical or mental bodies.
Manomayakosha
The third layer is the manomayakosha, or the mental body – Your mind and the sense organs. When we think of the mind we usually associate it with our brain. But the mind is not limited to your brain. It is part of each and every cell of your body. Each cell of the human body has its own intelligence. Cells are the basic units of life, they function on their own, create their own energy and self-replicate. They carry all the information needed for life.
Within manomaya kosha, thoughts and actions happen automatically, without conscious control. It takes care of our basic needs and desires, such as those for safety, security and protection.
Vijnanamaya kosha
Vijnanamaya kosha is the fourth sheath. It is the intellect/wisdom/knowledge sheath and a combination of the intellect and the five sensory organs. It is responsible for will, discernment and determination. Even though it is associated with wisdom and consciousness it is not the true self, because it is subject to change, limited and not always present.
This sheath contains both, the knowledge we can gather with our five senses and the knowledge we enter in states of deep meditation. To reach this deeper level of knowledge and to access the knowledge within you the first three sheaths have to be perfectly aligned.
This is what we do yoga for. To make it easy and break it down: Asana for physical body, pranayama for the energy body and meditation for the mental body. Even though, of course the three bodies interact with each other and benefit from all these actions.
Anandamayakosha
Anandamayakosha is the most inner and subtle of the sheaths – the bliss body.
Anandamaya kosha is like all the koshas interactive and it depends upon the other layers of the body. In anandamaya kosha the sense of oneness, as opposed to a sense of separation from other beings is truly realized. Within anandamaya kosha lies the understanding that separation and ego are just an illusion. It is our connection to the higher power, whatever you wanna call it. This connection and the sense of oneness result in total compassion, love and happiness, hence anandamaya kosha being referred to as the bliss body.
Yoga and the koshas
Most of us enter the world of Yoga on the physical level, with asana practice. We learn again to understand our body and reconnect with its signals. It is our entry point to understanding ourselves on a deeper levels. Our asana practice shows us our strengths and weaknesses, highlights our blind spots, patterns and finally teaches us patience and acceptance. By working with the physical body and focusing on our breath and sensations during asana practice we are present, we reach a state of Yoga, where our body, mind and soul are aligned.
The further we proceed on the path of Yoga and the more aware we become the easier it gets for us to connect and to experience the more subtle aspects of reality. By following the yogic practices we are able to connect deeper with ourselves and learn about our patterns and how to dissolve them.
We would love to guide you on your individual Yoga journey, help you to learn more about yourself and do the inner work, so that you can see the true beauty of your soul.
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