12 April 2014

Kilogram loss/gain and yoga

                                                         
                                                        Follow me on twitter @whitefielder
There is a recent trend where the minute you mention yoga people connect the practice to weight loss. Losing the kilograms of fat, muscle and whatever else is lost when one loses weight- seems to be the prime concern :)
All I can say is, it is a fringe benefit and deserves the importance it should be given and no more.

Of course asana, dhyana, praanayama and all else that comprises the completeness that is yoga work on the body- the annamaya kosha, apart from all other koshas.In the diagram below the five sheaths or koshas surround the being.

Kosha is a sanskrit word for Sheath. Here each kosha refers to a more refined layer of existence and the five layers or koshas are like a map with which we can navigate our inner journey.

1 Annamaya the external physical sheath     2. Pranamaya kosha the vital air sheath
3. Manomaya or the mind sheath                 4. Vigyanamaya or the intellect sheath
5. Anandamaya- the Bliss sheath :)

                                                   Thus Yoga takes us on a fun journey. A journey from the external to the internal. From the Annamaya Kosha to the Anandamaya Kosha.

While journeying we may and will tighten, lengthen and strengthen muscle tone, align our joints in a better manner, get a sheeny-shiny skin and twinkling eyes, flab may fall away or stay put. One thing we certainly will be doing is getting closer to the Bliss sheath.

Once in the Anandamaya kosha, for a minute, seconds, hours or all the time, our cravings will decrease and so will the need to fill out dents and holes in our psyche with needless amounts and types of food. So all in all there may be a loss of physical weight too apart from the loss of weight from the bundle of stresses, grudges, ego, excessive self-love/loathing that we carry around unbeknownst to us.
                                                              

                                                        


                                                       The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/   
                                                              

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice one, Sunila. Deceptive at first and I must admit I was lured in by the promise of weight loss. I need it now thanks to all my baking and blogging.

On a more serious note, i love your explanation of the journey towards the Anandamaya kosha.

Thanks for sharing!

Found In Folsom said...

What is Kosha?

Sunila said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beloo Mehra said...

O we are in so much sync today with our posts...one fits perfectly into the other! Love it :)

And you are right, yours also carries over so nicely some of the points from my J post from yesterday. This is going so well :)
Thanks Sunila for this great post, I really like the fun way in which you speak of something so deep!

Beauty Interprets, Expresses, Manifests the Eternal


Unknown said...

Oh, my dear yoga mentor Sunila-- so much to learn today also:-) I'm getting addicted to the daily dose on your blog. A very wise and reassuring post today.. Reminds me that the most important is the connection body and mind, and to be in balance in yourself

Unknown said...

This is going to be very useful for a lot of people!

~S(t)ri
Participant|AtoZ Challenge 2014
Smile, it makes (y)our day!

Nabanita said...

I also want to get started with yoga but can't do away with my laziness!

Latest A2Z Challenge Post-Random Thoughts Naba

Anonymous said...

That's extremely nice way of describing about multiple benefits of yoga.....thanks for sharing

Shilpa Garg said...

That was very insightful. Yes, usually we all strive for the weight loss thing with Yoga, but as you rightly mentioned, if we follow it well and reach the Anandamaya kosha, everything falls in place!

Ananya said...

YOGA - one of the must do things for me, and I shamelessly admit I dont do it :(

Aditi said...

I started Yoga mainly due to my chronic stomach insensitivity :( sadly stopped for the past few months...your post is so insightful and inspiring!

Nilanjana Bose said...

Hello,

Great to see a post on the significance of yoga explained in such lucid terms.

Here from the A-Z.

Best wishes,
Nilanjana.
Madly-in-Verse

Swathi Shenoy said...

so much importance of yoga in our life!! the post compells me to do it but i know, am too lazy to start!

http://swathishenoy.blogspot.com/
a-z participant

Mina Menon said...

indeed we hv a unhelathy obsession with weight!

Dr Genevive Angela said...

Very informative and important post. I joined the yoga class for weight loss and it did make some difference, but I see greater benefits in practising yoga. Loved the way you presented the post. Thanks for sharing, I am learning so much from your post !