5 Levels of Yoga

In Yoga, the physical 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’s viewed just like the ripples caused by a stone tossed into a still pond. The outer layers of the ripple are the foremost easily observed, and should seem to be the foremost powerful. Yet, it’s the ripples closest to the middle, subtle and harder to detect initially, that really create the motion of the outer layers.

The 5 levels of Yoga are:

1. Annamay Kosha (The Human Body ): The physical body is that the a part of ourselves that we are more familiar, and that we identify with more. Posture exercises power and specialize in the human body.
2. Pranamaya Kosha (The Energy Body): Here the human body, this layer consists of a network of energy channels called nadis. There are 72,000 energy channels. They radiate energy centers called chakras (wheels). The energy moves through channels called prana (vital energy) which animates our human body, sort of a wind. Yogic breathing exercises specialize in power coating.
3. Manomay Kosha (The Mind Body): The thoughts of our minds to work out how energy moves through our body. Thoughts vibrations are compared with wind waving our energy, in turn, causing the body moves. Mantras and discussion concentration in Manomay Kosha.
4. Vijnanamaya Kosha (Awareness): This level may be a field of pure perception, which may be experienced during times of deep meditation, once we close our bodies and our minds and become the silent witness of ourselves.
5. Anandamaya Kosha (The Spiritual Body):The middle of the layers is that the most subtle, and is additionally described because the field of unlimited potential. Understanding this layer varies widely between yoga practitioners. It’s the middle of the ripples within the calm pond above. The energy moves from the middle to the sides. Contemplating this metaphor, remove the stone from the image and you’ll begin to know the character of matter. Remove the pond and therefore the water, and your understanding will come even closer.

Another beautiful metaphor of the five layers is taken into account as different screens of our Inner Light. Because the Inner Light shines through each screen shows different brightness and color, each beautiful in its own way. However, the sweetness of the screen also hides truth great thing about the Inner Light.