In Yoga, the human body has five levels or layers, each level being more subtle than the layer before it.
Some could compare this to an onion.
However, it can perhaps be better understood when it is viewed like the ripples caused by a stone tossed into a still pond.
The outer layers of the ripple are the most easily observed, and may seem to be the most powerful.
Yet, it is the ripples closest to the center, subtle and harder to detect at first, that truly create the motion of the outer layers.
The five layers of the body in Yoga are: 1.
Annamay Kosha (the physical body): The physical body is the portion of ourselves with which we are most familiar, and which we identify most with.
Exercises in posture and diet focus on the physical body.
2.
Pranamaya Kosha (the energy body): Beneath the physical body, this level is composed of a network of energy channels, called nadis.
There are 72,000 energy channels.
They radiate from energy centers called chakras (wheels).
The energy moving through the channels is called prana (life force), which animates our physical body, like a wind.
Yogic breathing exercises focus on the energy layer.
3.
Manomay Kosha (the mind body): The thoughts of our minds determine how energy moves through our bodies.
Thoughts are compared to vibrations that stir the winds of our energy, in turn causing the body to move.
Mantras and concentration focus on the Manomay Kosha.
4.
Vijnanamaya Kosha (awareness): This level is a field of pure perception, which can be experienced in periods of deep meditation, when we have stilled our body and our thoughts and become silent witnesses to our own selves.
5.
Anandamaya Kosha (the spiritual body): This center of the layers is the most subtle, and is also described as the field of limitless potential.
Understanding of this layer differs widely among yoga practitioners.
This is the center of the ripples of the still pond described above.
The energy moves from the center outward towards the edges.
As you contemplate this metaphor, remove the stone from the image and you will begin to grasp the nature of this field.
Remove both the pond and the water, and your understanding will come even closer.
Another beautiful metaphor for the five layers is to see them as different lampshades over our internal light.
As the internal light shines through each lampshade it shows in a different brightness and color, each beautiful in its own way.
However, the beauty of the lampshade also obscures the true beauty of the pure inner light.