The Koshas – How Yoga Philosophy Views the Human Experience
toward Health
Yoga is a science that has been explored, documented and
shared for thousands of years, and now modern scientific methods are able to
confirm something – the yogis are on to something good. Studies show that the
methods that are used in the practice of yoga – including, but not limited to,
meditation, breath awareness, and movement practices – are excellent and
effective methods for improving all areas of our health.
Yoga theory addresses the idea of human health in many ways.
Because of the depth of the history and writings, and also my own limited
knowledge (always learning!), to give a discourse that would cover the whole
idea is just not possible here. But I CAN write about some of what I have
learned, and share how it has influenced how I view my health.
I am not going to extoll the virtues of yoga, however.
Instead, I am going to offer a brief introduction to the Koshas. This has been
integral in helping me to understand how health is multi-dimensional.
The main idea to grasp is that we are MUCH more than just a
physical body. According to the ancient teachings of yoga, in fact, we have 5
bodies, called Koshas. Kosha translates to sheath, or covering. What
these koshas are covering is referred to as the Atman, our seed body, or Divine
Consciousness. This is that which is never born and never dies – the very
essence of our being. Each kosha, or layer, makes up an integral part of
ourselves and becomes our human experience. The health of each of these impacts
how we experience our health.
The Koshas from the inside out:
1. The Bliss Body – This is the first layer of our
body, the one closest to our eternal Being-ness. Peace and contentment exist
here and can be revealed in meditation, mindfulness, presence. This is an
unchanging state, but one that is still a layer removed from the seed.
2. The Wisdom Body – The second layer is our Knowing.
It is not the thinking-mind, but rather our understanding of what is
Truth that lies beneath the thinking-mind. It is also our sense of “I” or the
ego-self which, although important in and of itself, has the possibility of
becoming an interfering influence in our experience.
3. The Mental Body – This is the mind and emotions.
This is where we process thoughts and feelings. When the mind is clear and
quiet, is easy to access our place of deeper wisdom. Out of control or under
the illusion that it is the decision-maker – this mind is limited in accessing
the deeper koshas.
4. The Energy Body – most commonly known as “Qi” or
“Chi”, in Yoga it is referred to as Prana. This is the vital force that
animates our body. It is prana that allows the seed to manifest and move about
this world in a physical way. When this energy is unable to move in a healthy
way, we experience low energy levels and general ill health. When it is
healthy, however, we feel charged with life force and glowing health.
5. The Food/Physical Body – This is flesh and bone,
this is what we feed with food and water. This is what expires at the end of
our life span... In order to be able to enjoy our time here to the utmost, a
healthy physical body is ideal. We want to nurture and cherish this body, so
that we are able to explore inward towards the other bodies. When this body is
unwell, it is very difficult to explore inwardly toward our other layers.
Each of these bodies are layered atop the other, and each
are interconnected. The law of cause and effect is in play. What is important
to understand, according to yoga, is that what makes an impact to one body, may
be displayed as a symptom in another body. For example: an emotional blow, like
a bad breakup or sudden loss, may will result in coming down with a nasty bug.
Or, as in my case, being in a situation where I feel my life is out of my
control (I just can’t get my feet on the ground, I would say) resulted in a
painful occurrence of slacking ligaments in my feet....
The trouble is, if we don’t understand the many layers that
make up who we are and how interwoven they are, we may only ever treat the
symptom and not the cause. This is where my own health has been influenced the
most by my yoga practice. If we recognize that we are much more complex than
simply a body and mind, and therefore strive to seek the best of health in all
these areas – we are much empowered in creating vibrant health.
I think this is best summed up by the guruji Swami J
Bharati: “We humans are like a lamp that has five lampshades over our light.
Each of the lampshades is a different colour and density. As the light shines
through the lampshades, it is progressively changed in colour and nature. It is
a bitter-sweet colouring. On the one hand, the shades provide the
individualized beauty of each lamp. Yet, the lampshades also obscure the pure
light.”
I love all this theory and philosophy. I cannot claim to
know much, but I do love to study and converse about it. If ever you have a
question or want to discuss this, or any other yoga-related subject, please
reach out and we will spend some time together.
May all beings find peace and shining health.
Namaste, Becky
No comments:
Post a Comment