If you have been in one of my Yoga classes, you will always hear me ask “how is your energy today?” This question may seem simple enough on the surface and our answers even more simple, with responses such as fine or tired. In yogic terms however, your energy can vary between our physical, mental and emotional states with each one affecting the other. We know this is often the case when we are physically tired yet our mind is wide awake and active when we are trying to sleep. Or we have loads of physical energy but can’t seem to motivate our minds to focus on any one thing because we are mentally exhausted. By seeing and observing these imbalanced states, we can then know our goal ultimately is to create a state of balance at these different levels.
There is a model in Yoga called the Panca Maya. It is a holistic view of an individual, describing the human being as five interrelated dimensions or mayas. Annamaya is the physical body, pranamaya our energy or physiology, manomaya how we take information via the senses, vijnanamaya our inherent nature, personality and intelligence and then lastly anandamaya, our capacity at an emotional level for joy.
The one I would like to talk about today is the annamaya. This is our physical body, our structure. It is nourished by the foods we eat, the exercise we get and the resting of our body.
Start by taking an inventory of some basic aspects of your life. Do you get enough sleep, enough good food, enough exercise etc? There are many pieces to being balanced and they are not all the same for everyone. When you eat are you relaxed, sitting down and aware of how your body feels after you have eaten? When exercising is your body strengthened, energized and is your mind more balanced and uplifted. With good food, movement and a relaxed mental state, are you able to get a good night’s sleep allowing the physical body to rejuvenate?
When you wake up tomorrow take a minute or two to ask yourself how you feel at a physical level. And then notice if your mental and emotional bodies energetically coincide with that state. Once you see where the imbalance might be, you can make the right choices in terms of food, exercise, breathing, meditation to create the state in which you, as a total multidimensional being, are balanced and harmonious.
Click here to hear a short chant honoring the mayas.
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