Subtle body Flashcards
Nadis, Koshas, Vayus, Chakras
Name the 3 Gunas in both English and Sanskrit.
Tamas - ignorance, darkness
Rajas - passion, energy
Sattvic - truth, light
Fifth chakra - throat
- Vishuddha (purification)
- Sound: Ha
- Bright Blue
- Throat
- communication, inspiration, expression, and faith
- Space
- feel smart, efficient and well-spoken.
Koshas
The five layers or sheaths which envelop the Atman, the Divine Self.
What makes up the Subtle body?
5 intangible faculties. 1. Akash (ether) 2. Vayu (air) 3. Tejas (fire) 4. Jala (water) 5. Prithvi (earth)
Vyana Vayu - air, location, direction, function, element
- outward moving air
- Heart, lungs, and flows through the entire body
- From the core to the periphery
- Permeates the whole body - particularly active in the limbs
- Circulation, expansiveness
- Movement of prana through the nadis, keeping them open, clear, clean and balanced
- standing poses - water
What is a chakra?
- Concentrated areas of energy aligned vertically in the body that relate to each other as well as to specific areas of the body, mind , and spirit.
- It is an intersection of energy points in the body between Nadis (eda, pingala and shushumna).
Samana Vayu - air, location, direction, function, poses, element
- the balancing air
- abdomen
- from periphery to centre of the body, concentrated
- digestion, assimilation, inner absorption
- uddiyanah bandha
- fire
Udana Vayu - direction, location, air, function, element?
- that which carries upward
- throat
- Flows upward from the throat
- Growth, speech, expression, enthusiasm
- Vishuddha chakra
- space
What is Avidya (Klesha)?
Ignorance
How do chakras fit into yogi philosophy?
Fits in the Pranamaya Kosha sheath
What are the five klesas
- Avidya (ignorance)
- Asmita (egoism)
- Raga (attachment)
- Dvesa (aversion or hatred)
- Abinivesah (clinging to life and fear of death).
Prana Vayu - air, location, direction, function, imbalance, element
- forward moving air
- Centre of head/third eye centre, heart
- inward and upward to revitalise and provide the basic energy that drives us in life
- Air
- Imbalances can show as anxiety, fear, anger, breathlessness
- Governs intake, reception of all things, inspiration
Third chakra - solar plexis
- Manipura (Lustrous Gem)
- above your belly button
- Sound: Ram
- Yellow
- personal power, self esteem, willfulness and energy
- can make you feel stimulated, prepared and capable
Name the 5 major Vayus in their correct order.
- Prana Vayu 2. Apana Vayu 3. Udana Vayu 4. Samana Vayu 5. Vyana Vayu
What is Anandamaya Kosha related to and which layer is it?
It is related to as the blissful or transcendental body and is the final sheath
Most outer sheath
Pingala
- right nostril
- left brain functions
- sun/masculine/logic
- sympathetic nervous system
- rajas
Predominant Sattva
- seek greater understanding and clarity
- Have a wider view and can see more than your thoughts and emotions
- Allows openness, growth
What is Abhinivesa?
Fear of death
Predominant Tamas
- Too much Tamas – feel heavy and stuck, drag down into a state of ignorance and attachment
- Self blame, take on the role of the victim
vayu
The movement of air in the body. Vayus: prana/samana/vyana/udana/apana is an energetic force that moves in a specific direction to control bodily functions and activities.
First chakra
- Muladhara (Root)
- base of your spine, feet and legs
- Sound: Lam
- Colour: Red
- Element: Earth
- survival, stability, self-sufficiency
- can make you feel alert, vigilant, primal
What fuels your prana?
- raw material that allows us to flow nicely or to be stuck
- The healthier you are (mind, body and soul), the stronger you are, the more prana you have
- Satsang – who you hang out with, incredibly relevant to experience of prana
What is Annamaya Kosha related to and which layer is it?
It is related to the physical body, food or material and is the first outer layer
What is Raga?
Attachment
Predominant rajas
- Too much Rajas – overreact with a constant need for stimulation and distraction
- Restlessness which causes to act out, respond
Name the 5 Koshas in order from gross to most fine.
- Annamaya Kosha 2. Pranamaya Kosha 3. Manomaya Kosha 4. Vijnanamaya Kosha 5. Anandamaya Kosha
Kundalini awakening
According to Tantra, kundalini energy rests like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. When this dormant energy flows freely upward through the seven chakras (energy centers) and leads to an expanded state of consciousness, it’s known as a kundalini awakening.
What does klesa mean?
Causes of suffering/afflictions of the mind
Klesas are tendencies woven deep in the mind like a virus in a computer’s operating system. As they exist at a basic level, and affect us both mentally and emotionally, klesas have awesome power to distort perception and shape behavior.
Nadis
- nadi = channel that carries prana through the entire body
- corresponds to the nervous system
- 14 major nadis.
- 3 most important.
- Sushumna nadi.
- Ida nadi.
- Pingala nadi.
- the channels through which energy flows.
- Sushumna nadi breathing balances both sides of the brain
- aim is to find balance and unite the 3 nadis to allow consciousness to flow
Kundalini
Kundalini is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism. It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the “subtle body”, which consists of nadis (energy channels), chakras (psychic centres), prana (subtle energy), and bindu (drops of essence).
Suhumna
the central energy channel that runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head
Explain the Subtle body.
The Subtle body consists of the mind and intellect, perception and life force. Contains the 5 faculties.
What are the Gunas?
The qualities of universal nature. 3 interdependent and interchangeable elements.
They are the parts of the prakriti
What is Manomaya Kosha related to and which layer is it?
Mental and emotional sheath. Memory, reason, conceptualization. Processing thoughts and emotions.
What is Pranamaya Kosha related to and which layer is it?
It is related to the vital energy, or air sheath, and is the second most outer layer. Energy or life force layer. Breath body, Vital Energy
Ida
- Left side
- Left nostril
- Right side of brain
- Moon/feminine/creative
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- Tamas
Chakra is Sanskrit for…
energetic wheel
Fourth chakra
- Anahata (unstruck)
- Heart
- Sound: Yam
- Green
- love, compassion, acceptance, and trust
- Element: air
- backbends
- promotes a general sense of well-being and good health
Which chakra is most important? Which one do we focus on?
- Most of us will be holding karma in one or more of the chakras, recurring theme, does change and have the capacity to heal and evolve
- Niyama – svadyaya – very important. We can identify which parts we are good at, which parts are we not good at.
- Sweet spot is seeing where the strengths and weaknesses are. Without knowing this we can’t work through it. Similar to if we go to the Dr and they investigate things.
- We have the opportunity to heal our karma and chakra.
Shushumna nadi
Main energy channel
Sixth chakra - third eye
- Ajna (to perceive)
- Am
- Indigo Blue
- Brow
- psychic, emotional and mental intelligence, and intuition\
- ability to focus and see the big picture
What is the subtle body?
Second chakra - sacral
- Svadhistana
- Kidney area
- Orange
- Sound: Vam
- Sacral - sexuality, creativity, relationships and emotions
- Element: Water
- Forward bends, hip openers
- Can make you feel sensual, safe and abundant
Seventh chakra - crown
- Sahasrara (thousand petaled)
- Om
- White/Violet
- Above the crown
- devotion, inspiration, selflessness, and spiritual understanding
- feel evolved, exalted and spiritually awake
If i have a blocakge in a particular chakra what might i be feeling?
- maybe a bad relationship
- maybe a problem with that part of body
What is Vijnanamaya Kosha related to and which layer is it?
It is related to the psychic mental body or intelligence and is the second most inward layer. This kosha will reflect the know it all attitude.
How do you work with a particular chakra?
Depends on you and the types of tools you need e.g. visualise the colour, use the Bija mantra, focus on relationships, body parts
What is Dvesa?
Aversion
How many main chakras are there?
There are seven chakras
Apana Vayu - air, location, direction, function, element
- the air that moves away
- Pelvis, lower abdomen
- Downward, outward aligned with the force of gravity and the sense of grounding
- Digestion, reproduction and elimination
- Earth
What is Asmita (Klesha)
Egoism
