• Home
  • About
  • Lectures and Courses
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Blog
​

The Koshas as Yoga Therapy

7/7/2017

12 Comments

 
​In the world today, most people approach the study of Yoga through the asanas (physical postures). And for many schools, that’s where the study of Yoga ends. People want to be healthy and have a trim physique. One may ask, why do you want a trim physique?  In some way, you think it will make you happy. But the body is changing every moment, and even trim bodies pass away one day. So many people are looking for permanent happiness in the changing body (in the name of Yoga).
 
If we take a closer look at our day-to-day life, we can observe that our happiness is often disturbed by conditioned patterns of negative emotions. If I have a negative pattern of anxiety, my mind will find a hundred excuses a day to feel anxious about situations that may arise. If I have a pattern of depression, my mind will find a hundred excuses to feel that something or someone isn’t quite good enough. Having a trim body can simply mean you have an attractive vehicle in which to be miserable.
 
Yoga is really the study of happiness: what is it, where is it, and how can we be happy all the time, despite the changes in the world? The koshas are a way that the Yoga teachings understand the different layers of our being: the physical form, energy, emotions, intellect and inner peace. Each of these layers has Yoga practices that help us change our patterns to experience peace.
 
For me, study of the koshas has been a highly practical roadmap for how to use Yoga to find happiness. If I’m feeling anxious, it’s not that that easy to simply say, “I’m not going to be anxious!” and have those feelings go away like turning off a light switch. But the Yoga tradition teaches us to use a “back door approach” through the koshas to change stubborn patterns.
 
So when I feel anxious, Yoga can teach me to find that emotion where it lives in the body, because every negative emotion will be felt as tension somewhere in the physical form. When I find that tension, I can use an asana to help un-knot the tension where it lives in the body. That helps to release the negative emotion, and over time it can help release the pattern of emotion that causes anxiety to be my default attitude toward the world.
 
Another back-door approach is to see my anxiety and analyze it using the intellect. “How often have I felt anxious? How much has it helped? How many times have I wasted the day feeling anxious about an upcoming event only to have it turn out wonderful?” The intellect is subtler and more powerful than the emotions. So, Yoga teaches us to ask our emotions questions from a loving, supportive part of the intellect to un-knot the patterns of negative emotions that keep us from happiness.
 
The study of Yoga through the koshas is a wonderful way to do Yoga therapy for ourselves and others. If we understand how every layer can provide a doorway to help resolve negative patterns on the other layers, we can design a Yoga program that is uniquely tailored to our needs and our strengths. Over time, this can provide the building blocks to a happier life.
12 Comments
Harini link
7/7/2017 06:18:36 pm

"Yoga is the study of happiness" I LOVE that. What a great blog post. Good job!

Reply
Gayatri
7/7/2017 06:57:31 pm

Wonderful!! Thank you!! ❤️🙏🏻🕉

Reply
Sridevi
7/7/2017 07:28:15 pm

"...an attractive vehicle in which to be miserable." Terrific line and oh so true. Great blog.

Reply
Vimala link
7/8/2017 06:01:41 am

Thank dearest Swami Vidyananda! What a great contribution. I'll post it in our IY FB page and share it with our richmond IY teachers. You can reach so many more people in this way and share your wisdom. Om shanti. V.

Reply
Lynn Anjali Somerstein link
7/8/2017 06:26:31 pm

What a wonderful resource. Is it possible to subscribe to your blog?
Thank you.

Reply
Vidyananda
7/10/2017 12:25:12 pm

I'll set that up if I ever write regularly...for now expect occasional posts at best.

Reply
Tyagan
7/8/2017 09:44:56 pm

I love this. This is how yoga can be used to completely change your life. Asana practice is just the tip of the iceberg that everyone sees.

Reply
Ramya Cohen
7/8/2017 09:55:01 pm

Thank You Vidyananda.
I will focus on this.

Reply
Irene
7/9/2017 04:38:45 pm

Thank you for sharing this thoughtful perspective on the "layers". It's wonderful to see you sharing your wisdom this way dear Swami Vidyananda, can't wait to return for more. Om Shanti

Reply
Meera link
7/10/2017 05:20:55 am

Glad to see you're writing a blog--you have so much wisdom, I am delighted to see that you're sharing it where the whole web can learn the benefits of yoga.

Reply
Beth Sivani Coakley
7/12/2017 04:55:45 am

This is great stuff. I can hear your voice as I read! Hope I will be in one of your stress management and/or Raja TTs one day.

Reply
Virginia Arnold
7/15/2017 02:45:09 am

As I read this beautifully written article, I was taken back to my 200RYT training, and heard your voice reading the words. Inspirational and comforting, like yoga therapy.
Sharing your blog with friends and students, and looking forward to your next.
Om Shanti

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Swami Vidyananda

    Archives

    April 2019
    April 2018
    July 2017

    Categories

    All
    Koshas
    Yoga Therapy

    RSS Feed

Home
About
Lectures and Courses
​Schedule
Teachings and Resources
blog
Photographers:
Jessie Rubin 
​Erin Cox
Sue Clemenz
Sherry Van Dyke

Hans Vivek 
Radu Florin 
Ester Marie Doysab
Wonderlane

Website Design by Van Dyke Design

email me
“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing?” 
― Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras
  • Home
  • About
  • Lectures and Courses
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Blog