Week Six - The illusion of the Pancha Kosha
Hello everyone,
Thank you all so much for such a gorgeous practice last Sunday. I have some words on the pancha kosha to share as we come towards the end of our second yoga term, but first I have a few quick announcements to make :)
First off (THE BIG NEWS!), I launched my first ever yoga website yesterday!
It was two weeks in the making and years in the wanting - I hope that it will serve as a dedicated online space for sharing upcoming class terms and events, blog posts, yoga playlists, and more. I have to say I am a little proud of it...
A second announcement is to say that next week is our last practice of this term. My god, it flies! We will take a three week break now after next Sunday, and then I am really hoping to come back and do another term in July, if there is interest.
If you would like to sign up for a new five week yoga term in July, running from July 6th to August 3rd, please let me know by replying to this email. I know that summers can be busy, but if we can get even five sign ups then we can go ahead and that would be so magic! As always, the new term will be designed around a fun new philosophical theme (more info on that to come!) - and will also remain open to all levels.
This Sunday June 8th, for our final practice of the term, we will move through each of the five koshas in order, working our way inward and exploring what I am calling a 'full bodies' yoga flow. It will be fun, fluid, grounding, and hopefully rejuvenating. A time for you to rest and settle yourself inward.
As we spoke about the anandamaya kosha - the bliss body - last Sunday, I mentioned that each kosha includes the word maya, which is a Sanskrit word for illusion. The first kosha - annamaya kosha - can be translated as the 'illusion of a physical body'. The manomaya, the mind body, is the 'illusion of a mind', and so on. The 'bliss body' - where we experience joy - is said to be the closest layer of illusion to the atman, the true self, which is what lies beneath these five layers of our perceived reality, the koshas. It is interesting to note that even joy and happiness is thought of as an illusion in yogic texts; a craving that can ultimately lead to suffering. When we talk about the koshas accurately we are not just talking about a perceived reality, but rather an ancient system of observing story and impermanence; the five ways through which we can misunderstand the truth.
The Buddha said simply that enlightenment was the end of suffering. In the yoga sutras, the root of all human suffering is identified as avidya, which is the ignorance of truth. In other words, to live, believe, and crave the illusion of a false self.
Now, that is some heavy philosophy right there! I will not claim to understand it fully, and it is certainly a bit much to attempt in an email. But I have always liked the idea that suffering could be this big cosmic misunderstanding. It seems hard to believe, when we look at the world. But I have absolutely no question that loving awareness is an effective tool to help alleviate suffering, that it starts with you and your relationship to yourself, and that yoga can be an amazing way to practice it.
I can't wait to see you this Sunday! Sending all the love in the world.
The Breeze at Dawn
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
Rumi
Le grá,
Macha
