The Five Koshas/Bodies

"The koshas are energetic layers or sheaths that move from the outermost layer of skin to the deep spiritual core" (Carlin). The five koshas consist of the physical, energy, mental, wisdom, and bliss koshas. 

The first kosha is the Physical kosha, or the Annamaya Kosha. In order to truly activate this kosha, you need to do asana. The second kosha is the Energy kosha, or the Pranamaya kosha. You can activate this body by taking a nap, eating good food, and going outside. The third kosha is the Mental kosha, or the Manamaya kosha. You can activate this by sleeping, meditation, fresh air, and walking. The fourth one is the Wisdom kosha, or the Vijnanamaya kosha. This can be initiated by usually by a psychologist. The final kosha is the bliss kosha, or the Anandamaya kosha. 

Kosha means "shieth," which is used to describe metaphorical layers within the human body.  The koshas should be seamlessly blended, rather than evidently defined. In order to have the koshas working optimally, you need sufficient health and well-being. It things are out of balance, then it is important to participate in activities to help even your koshas. Stretch and practice your yoga, folks!

Citation: Carlin, Nicole. “What Are The Koshas And What Can They Do For You?” Mindbodygreen, Mindbodygreen, 23 Apr. 2013

Comments

  1. Courtney RohanJune 1, 2018 at 9:54 AM

    Thank you, Amelia, for sharing your thoughts and knowledge on the koshas. They are complex and hard to explain. So, great job! Knowing how to practice yoga will definitely help you to integrate these sheathes and be more of who you are.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bend That Back, Girl (or Boy, No Judgement).

Image
Citation: Savage , Jenny. “All About Backbends.” All About Backbends – Ekhart Yoga , 30 Jan. 2014, www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/all-about-backbends . Bend That Back, Girl (or Boy, No Judgement). I feel as though this is fairly self-explanatory.  These variety of poses stretch the back, but that’s not it. It also strengthens and stretches the hip flexors, chest and shoulders. It also tends to help release pain and tension in the back and neck. It helps to increase strength in the legs, arms, and back muscles. As the website in the citation states, backbends can be divided into three categories. Traction, which is where “the body is bending with gravity and the muscles on the front of the body are active, helping to control the range and rate of movement.” The second is leverage, which is the strength of the legs and arms are utilized to reinforce the backbend. Lastly, is contraction. Contraction is the muscles in the back contract to overcome gravity, which usually invo...
Read more