Dear Yoga Family,
I am looking to expand my library on the five maya koshas. Any recommendations you may have will be worth my investigation.
Be well,
Hello Dear Ones,
I am going to answer my own question as more resources and references are sent my way, so that any interested parties can also share in what is being found. I had a list going from before this post, though I need to get it typed up and cited properly to share it here. I will do that soon.
I would love to hear from our members about their personal experiences of the koshas. To experience the effects of asana as it moves from the 1st kosha into the other 4 koshas: the change in the quality of the breath and the spontaneous pranayama, the stilling of the vrittis, the insights from our own sadhgura and then the bliss… If appropriate for you, please share your experiences here.
With love,
Nichole
After weeks of almost everyday asana practice, vegetarian an restricted quantity diet, following an advice to wake up early, I had a few sessions of meditation at 4 a.m. It was dark, and quiet and a freedom of concerns state given by a previous 6 hours of good quality sleep. I was using the method of self enquiry, elegant, simple, taught by Ramana Maharshi: Who am I ?
I sat in Siddhasana, tried to keep the spine straight, let the pose align itself to a natural equilibrum. I did not focus on my breath, I was just trying to sit, without any reason, and with a single question felt inside: Who am I ?
My breath became still, almost imperceptable, inhale, exhale, slowly without control. After several breaths, I realized that after every exhalation, there is a space, before the prana starts the next inhalation. This moment was a moment of real silence, where the mind naturally stops, no desires, no thoughts no emotions just silence with consciousness. I know this is where I should focus my efforts, but …
Waking up so early is not something I can do for long.
I can’t stay more than 10 minutes in Siddhasana (or any other sitting pose) and without that, these moments are rare. I feel congested in my spine, and my hips are still stiff. So I am far from mastering asana, and without it, meditation is unpracticable. So I will postpone it, until I balance things out with karma and kriya yoga. (asana, work on unfinished businesses, observing yama and niyama, working on relationships, practicing vairagya, and Ishvara)