The Kośa & Vāyu Flashcards
In your own words, describe each of the Kośa and how they relate to you and your practice.
Anamaya Kosa: are the physical aspects of our self ie skin, flesh, food
Pranamaya Kosa: Prāṇā pervades our entire body and we most often experience its physical manifestation via the breath. The Prāṇāmaya Kośa regulates our physical and mental energies via the energy channels 72,000 (Nāḍī) and energy centres (Cakra).
Manomaya Kosa: refers to Manas or the mind.
Manas (the mind)
The Subconscious
Sense organs of sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing
Vijnamaya Kosa: Knowledge and knowing and is the last layer of the subtle body. It knows, decides, judges, and discriminates between this and that, between useful and not useful. A major part of Sādhanā is gaining ever increasing access to this level of our being. It is the level that has the higher wisdom to seek Truth, to go within, in search of the eternal centre of consciousness.
When you withdraw your preoccupation with the external world and become introvert you are fit for concentration and meditation.
Anandamaya Kosha:
It is the bliss body where Ananda means “bliss” and contains our pure unchanging happiness, joy, love, peace, and ecstasy that can only be found here at the deepest layer of our being.
Discuss postures that influence each of the five (5) Vāyu
Prana Vayu: Heart “forward moving air,” its flow is inwards and upward.
This Vayu is the fundamental energy in the body and directs and feeds into the four other Vayus
Bhastrika, Nadi Shodhana and Ujjayi Pranayama will quickly strengthen this Vayu.
Bow pose, camel pose, Bhujangasana, dancer pose, and Setu Bandha sarvangasana will activate and strengthen the Prana-Vayu.
Apana Vayu: Pelvic floor - “the air that moves away,” and its flow is downwards and out.
Its energy nourishes the organs of digestion, reproduction, and elimination.
Nauli, Agni Sara Kriya, Ashvini Mudra, and Mula Bandha
Pascimottonasana - forward fold to east, Ardha Matsyendrasana - twist
Udana-Vayu: throat and it has a circular flow around the neck and head. “that which carries upward,” and its flow moves upward from the heart to the head, five senses, and brain
It functions to “hold us up” and governs speech, self-expression, and growth.
Ujjayi Pranayama and Bhramari Pranayama with Jalandhara Bandha.
inversions and backbending yoga poses that bring energy to the neck, shoulders, and head.
Samana-Vayu: abdomen with its energy centered in the navel. “the balancing air” and its flow moves from the periphery of the body to the center.
It governs the digestion and assimilation of all substances: food, air, experiences, emotions, and thoughts.
Focus your asana practice on twisting poses and core-strengthening yoga poses. Practice Kapalabhati Pranayama with Uddiyana Bandha and Agni Sara Kriya.
Vyana-Vayu: heart and lungs and flows throughout the entire body. Vyana-Vayu translates as “outward moving air,” and its flow moves from the center of the body to the periphery. It governs the circulation of all substances throughout the body and assists the other Vayus with their functions. Khumbaka breath and Sun salutations
Share your understanding of the differences between the Kośa according to Advaita Vedanta compared to the Trika lineage.
The Vedāntic model’s anna-maya-Kośa corresponds exactly to the body (deha) layer in the Tantrik model, but then the two systems diverge.
The Vedāntic model has the Prāna layer in a different position from the Tantrik model.
Furthermore, the Vedāntic model splits the mind into two layers, a thinking-feeling layer (mano-maya-kośa) and a discernment-perception layer (Vijñāna-maya-kośa)
whereas in the Tantrik model these are both part of the ‘heart-mind’ layer (Citta), which is identical with the energy-body layer (Puryaṣṭaka)this, then, is the ‘thickest’ – but not the densest – layer in the Tantrik model.”36
Describe your understanding of each of the three (3) describe the Guṇa
Tamas: lazy, darkness, Ignorance, heaviness, Past
Rajas: Passion, Energy or too much energy, desire, too eager I-ego, Future
Sattva: Truth, Purity, Light, Harmony, Present
How could you integrate the concept of the Guṇa in one of your yoga classes.
The goal, if there is one, to be with what is just as it is with contentment. Surrender to the idea that you need to something else, something different, or that you need to experience something other than what you are. It all is, just as it is.
The path to cultivating stability is balance – and this can be found always in the present moment.
The Guṇa act like three intertwined cords in a rope and pulsate in the mind, one more vibrant or dormant than the other at any given time.
Continuous yoga practice allows the bodymind and the emotions to reduce the impacts of Tamas & Rajas leading us to a state of Sattva.
