The Kosas-The sheaths of Being

One of the fundamental points about Yoga, in fact, THE point is that the practice of Yoga is about transformation. By accessing and bringing attention and awareness (how you can transform if you do not what you are transforming!) to our innermost Being (Iyengar 2005), we see the world for what it is and not what we think or perceive it is. Yoga then describes this a little further by introducing the idea of the Kosa's.  This inner you are surrounded by these sheaths of existence (Iyengar 2005)

 In Sanskrit, these are:-

Anatomical body, Annamaya Kosas,
The energetic body, Pranamaya Kosa
Mental body Manomaya Kosa
intellectual body Vijnanamaya Kosa
Blissful or soul Anandamaya Kosa

You can imagine these as Russian dolls, nesting together. In my mind, I describe them as:-

The body of you, the energy and breath of you, the mind of you, the intellect(the reasoning) of you, the consciousness of you (the universal timeless you).

To be fully in tune with ourselves then these sheaths are seamless, without obstruction. Our bodies connect to our breath and energy, which feeds into our mind and then our intellect (the reasoning mind), we then have clear and transparent access to the inner still lake of 'cosmic consciousness' the universal you. I LOVE this description and most people I speak to do as well.

Nick after being 'IN his Running' with some bling:)

When I teach Yoga I never say we are 'doing Yoga' I stress we are IN Yoga, the yoga state of mind, which reflects a balance of body, breath and mind. Carry this state of mind with you away from the class.

As runners do we know what running well is? We can have moments when we are 'IN our running', have we touched upon these sheaths of existence?

What qualities do we assign to running well? How about the following.

You may be feeling well, the body has been trained to accept the load (the physical you) you have a sense of good energy, a sense of positivity and lightness to our stride and bodies. Breathing does not feel tense or hard(the breath of you). Those gut bombs have disappeared, hydration has been managed well and fuel preparation all seems good. The discipline of practice paid off(the mind of you).  You ran well. The intellect of preparation, the focus becomes aligned. Suddenly you are 'IN your running' completely present, senses have been withdrawn, you are just there(the universal you)!

You see these very eastern descriptions do make sense, for me anyway....... have a think on....

see you on the mat
Nick