The Power of Love
In this month, we will also look to the five subtle layers of the body, the Koshas, to deepen our practice of awareness. Most easily and most often, we connect to our outermost layer, the physical body, the Anamaya kosha. Most students arrive at the doorstep of yoga practice wanting more flexibility, strength, balance…attributes to enhance the physical capacity of the body. That is only good, because as it is through our asana practice that we are drawn to connect to the other four koshas.
As our asana practice makes us feel lighter, better, more open, and truly alive, we begin to understand the relationship to the energetic centers and pathways of the second kosha, the Pranamaya kosha or energy body, prana meaning life force or vital energy. Yogic breathing practices known as pranayama exercises, increase and regulate prana in the body. Shallow and constricted breathing create low prana and roadblocks to proper function of all the systems in the body. It is no wonder that from times of ancient medicine, 72,000 nadis or energy centers were recognized and used, all connected to one of 7 main centers, or chakras. In Life Fit classes, we have been incorporating a variety of pranayama exercises, to aid self-awareness, improve cardio-respiratory health and maximize on the benefits of our asana practice for overall well-being.
Our third layer is the mental body, known as the Manomaya kosha. From manas, which means “mind” or “thought processes,” This layer is your mind, emotions, and nervous system which express as streams of thoughts, feelings, and sensations. We have all experienced how an overactive mind can wear down our nervous system and hijacks our emotions. This mental body layer is also where the experience of five senses are received, absorbed, processed and remembered. This is where input from the world around us, can governs our automatic responses and reflexes, especially if we are on autopilot. Yoga can help calm our minds and soothe our nervous systems, allowing us to recover from the effects of stress and fatigue not just in this layer, but overall, as all the layers are intertwined. Heart opening asana practices, opening shoulders and upper chest, aim to remove grief and fear, in turn nurturing trust and love. Hip opening practices begin to erase instability and ignite confidence and creativity, self-control and centering. These are ways we connect our asana practice with our breath and energy, to our mental/emotional body. As of late, in our Life Fit classes, we are practicing Nadi Shodhana to connect the first three layers.
The fourth kosha is the Vijnanamaya kosha, the wisdom body, from Sanskrit vijnana, or “intellect.” Also known as the wisdom body it takes a little more internal awareness to cultivate incorporating this layer over time. At many points in time, we have all faced the regret of not following an intuitive wisdom. Making decisions from what is right for us alone is a fine balance between taking in what the world around us seems to teach/define yet acting from what makes sense to our unique situation. Learning to move from this place of self-guided wisdom is a learned practice as we develop our awareness and deeper insight into the nature of who we are and how we relate to the world around us.
Our deepest layer, the essence of who we are is the Anandamaya kosha; ananda, which means “bliss.” This is often referred to as your “highest self” or “true spirit,” and is where you experience the unbounded freedom, expansiveness, connectedness, and the joy of your true nature. Tapping into this layer is truly coming home to yourself. Here is where once finds a sense of peace, feels a connectedness, may experience time standing still and consciousness expanding beyond the limits of body and mind. We have all felt moments of connection to this layer: holding a newborn baby, seeing ourselves in the eyes of someone who truly loves us, feeling the unconditional love of a pet, playing with our children/grandchildren, writing a poem, creating a painting, sewing a quilt for someone special, skydiving, surfing, teaching something you are passionate about…. taking on the next pose you thought was beyond you in your yoga asana practice! Here we drop from conscious awareness and into our bliss body. The rush of pure joy of life takes over. Wouldn’t it be great to keep aiming for not only finding these moments, connecting to our bliss body more often, but finding ways to do that collectively? Love is the answer here too.
Understanding the transfer of energy, between these layers and beyond ourselves, shows us the potential power of LOVE.