Self-Discovery

One of the primary intentions of the practices of yoga and meditation is the unfolding connection to self discovery. Most of us have no idea as to what stepping on the mat for the first time means or on what type of journey it will take us. Over time,
these practices begin to reveal deeper and deeper truths about ourselves as though we are peeling away the many layers of an onion. It most often begins with the most obvious layer, that of the body. In yoga, the five layers of who we are are referred to as the koshas and the longer we journey on the mat the more we get to know these layers.

The annamaya kosha is known as the food sheath, the outer physical layer of our being. We come to know it the moment we begin moving into various postures. We begin to learn about how our structure functions (or doesn't) by informing us of how tight our hamstrings might be, how some poses seem easy and others completely impossible. We get to know how our skeleton lines up when we're working against gravity and what needs to strengthen in order to keep it in that position. And this is sometimes where people stop exploring...they experience the physical efforts of their practice and perhaps think that's enough.

Yet the longer we stay with the practice, the greater the exploration of our more subtle layers. The next layer is the pranamaya kosha-the breath sheath. The breath in yoga is what distinguishes it from just about all other movement forms. It's the connection to the breath that carries us through and penetrates all of the other layers, as though it is the conduit to deeper connection. As we learn more about our practice, we get to know our breath in ways we might not have ever imagined. Prior to beginning my own practice, the only things I knew about my breath was when I didn't have enough of it (working out at high intensity or diving to the bottom of a pool) or when it got knocked out of me. Other than those moments, I was completely disconnected from the power that getting to know my breath held. This discovery points to how our breath can directly impact our emotional and mental states as well as efficiently delivering oxygen to all cells.

As we move deeper into our practice, we begin to notice our mental state and the myriad of thoughts that arise both on and off the mat. This layer, the manomaya kosha, awakens those moments where we begin to have a gap between what we think and what we do. We begin to grow the reaction time to allow space for more choice. Instead of reacting with defensiveness or anger, we can become aware of thoughts arising, notice them and pause which offers an opportunity for us to shift from reactive to choice behaviors.

As we peel away the layers, we begin to know the vijnanmaya kosha, also known as the wisdom layer. This is the layer of deeper knowing and insight. It's that layer where we trust what our inner senses and intuition are telling us. We become wise to the silent inner voice and guided by its presence. And finally, the deepest inner layer (or the one furthest out depending on your view) is the anandamaya kosha. Ananda in Sanskrit means bliss and this sheath is the place where we touch the perfect harmony of our existence, not only to ourselves but to everything else. It is in this sheath that we don't strive, tug, pull or force anything to happen as all is in perfect balance. 

We have all had moments of bliss in our lives, where we feel connected and all one, yet for most of us, these moments are fleeting. We have glimpses of them and then we revert back to being in our familiar and conditioned state. Yoga is ultimately about enlightenment, about finding our way into these states almost always! Imagine that! You can bet that all of the great sages, saints and radiant ones before us have spent time peeling their own onions. In our own process, it's likely to make us cry, but the light in blissful moments is worth more than just a sneak peak.

Trust the process, peel your layers and see what happens. You might find yourself becoming a radiant one as you just never know what you might discover.