What is it about a yoga class that leaves you feeling so much more balanced than an ordinary exercise class? It’s probably your subtle body. In yoga class, you do yoga postures and often breathing exercises as well. These are yoga techniques that enhance integration of your physical body with your subtle body.
What is the Subtle Body?
The subtle body is part of you, but separate from your physical body. The subtle body holds an aspect of yourself that you cannot see physically.
The subtle body is made up of:
1) Pranamaya kosha, which is life force energy. Prana is the energy that moves throughout your body and mind and enables them to function. Pranamaya kosha contains your chakras (energy centers), nadis (channels for prana) and vayus (currents of prana in your body).
2) Manomaya kosha, which is your thinking mind. Manomaya kosha interprets information from the outside world into thoughts and emotions.
3) Vijnanamaya kosha, which is your intellect. Vijnanamaya kosha allows you to observe that you exist separately from your physical body, emotions and thoughts
Where does the subtle body fit in with the causal body, the gross body, and the other koshas?
Each one of your bodies – gross body, subtle body, and causal body – is associated with one or more koshsa, or sheaths.
Gross (Physical) Body – Annamaya Kosha
Annamaya kosha is your physical form. It is the body that is part of the food chain. Some features of your physical body are that it is temporary and it is accessible to the external world. You carry out your karmic transactions during your lifetime with your physical body.
Taking care of your physical body is important so you can self-reflect, go inward and engage in the higher limbs of yoga without the distraction of physical aches and pains.
Subtle Body – Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, and Vijnanamaya Kosha
Subtle body is separate from the physical body and the causal body (true self). Your subtle body links your physical body and causal body together.
The three koshas of the subtle body are:
1.Pranamaya Kosha (Breath and life force)
Prana is your life force and what makes you alive. Prana links your physical breath with your subtle body.
As you are performing asana (postures) or pranayama (breathing exercises) in a yoga class, you are linking together actions in your physical body with the subtle body.
The flow of prana in your subtle body happens through vayus (currents), nadis (channels), and chakras (energy centers).
Vayus
The vayus represent the major flows of prana in your body. The 5 vayus are:
- Udana Vayu – throat to head – Moving upward and outward. Speech, chanting “om”.
- Prana Vayu – diaphragm to throat – respiration. Taking in.
- Samana Vayu – Abdominal – digestion, assimilation of food as well as emotions.
- Vyana Vayu – Overall circulation, starting from the heart and lungs and moving outward and moving prana out to the legs, feet, toes and arms, hands and fingers.
- Apana Vayu – Pelvic floor to feet – downward movement – expulsion, elimination, birth, going out.
Nadis
Your prana flows via channels called nadis. Nadis meet in energy centers called chakras.
The practice of hatha yoga is designed to bring the nadis into balance, where they are equal and not misbalanced. When that happens, prana, life energy, flows unencumbered and you experience higher consciousness and well-being.
The practice of Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) is “purifying the nadis”.
There are said to be 72,000 nadis (or more) channeling prana all throughout your body. The three primary nadis are:
- Pingala nadi
- represents the sun and “ha” in Hatha yoga.
- is located on the right side of the spine
- corresponds to the right nostril
- associates with the left side of the brain and logical/analytical thinking and extroversion.
- Ida nadi
- represents the moon and “tha” in Hatha yoga.
- is located on the left side of the spine
- corresponds to the left nostril.
- associates with the right side of the brain and creativity and introversion.
- Sushumna nadi
- Sushumna nadi is called the central channel because it is the union of pingala and ida
- Sushumna nadi is the channel where prana flows freely when prana in ida and pingala are balanced
Chakras
Chakras are wheels of spinning energy centers connected by nadis. Each chakra is associated with certain colors and parts of the body.
- Crown chakra – Sahasrara
- Awareness and connection
- Color – violet
- Location – top of your head
- Third eye chakra – Ajna
- Intuition and knowledge
- Color – indigo (purplish blue)
- Location – between your eyes
- Throat chakra – Vishuddha
- Expression
- Color – blue
- Location – throat
- Heart chakra- Anahata
- Love and acceptance
- Color – green
- Location – heart
- Solar plexus chakra – Manipura
- Personal power
- Color – yellow
- Location – stomach area
- Sacral chakra – Svadhisthana
- Open and receiving to others
- Color – orange
- Location – just below navel
- Root chakra – Muladhara
- Security and stability
- Color – red
- Location – base of spine
Some practices for working with energy flow and chakra balancing are:
- Meditation
- Asana (yoga postures)
- Bandha
- Mudra
- Breathing exercises such as nadi shodhana
- Crystals
- Singing bowls
- Essential oils
These can tweak the vibration of the pranic energy within you. This in turn has a physical impact, and just may help you feel better. Here is a free, printable chakra chart, if you’d like one.
2. Manomaya Kosha
Manomaya kosha represents the mind, thoughts and emotions. Manomaya receives sensory impressions. Then your subtle body receives data from the physical body and processes it.
Manomaya Kosha holds the sense of who you are, as an individual. It also stores past impressions. This layer gives you an illusion of separateness from others.
3. Vijnanamaya Kosha
Vijnanamaya kosha represents intellect, ability to discern and make decisions. Vijnanamaya goes beyond just taking in information, with this kosha you can consider your personal development, morals and ethics and undergo self-enquiry.
With Vijnanamaya Kosha you discern that you are, in fact, NOT your emotions. You are actually something separate from your physical body, and separate from your thoughts.
Causal body, the Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss)
Anandamaya Kosha is your innermost layer, pure consciousness and the true self.
Your true self is realized as separate from the other four koshas. In this kosha, you have connectedness with everything, both living and nonliving. This kosha is said to be experienced in deep, non-dreaming sleep, and more fleetingly when awake.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taittiriya_Upanishad#Annamaya_-_First_and_Second_Anuv%C4%81ka
