Panchamaya Kosha Session Three

This session dealt with the MENTAL-EMOTIONAL BODY. Through various Yoga moves and breathing exercises, ending up with a Yoga Nidra rest, we looked at this part of ourselves.  This is a level deeper in our BODY/SELF than the outermost PHYSICAL BODY and then the next in ENERGY BODY.

Corinne talked about emotions, using joy and sorrow as examples, on a continuum. I have used this model of thinking about emotions for a while now so it was welcome to hear her interpretation.

As we experience and live our life, we are in constant motion back and forth on the continuum between JOY and SORROW, that is part of being human.

If we are too far to the side of JOY the emotion becomes ANXIETY. If we are too far to the side of SORROW the emotion becomes DEPRESSION.

If we accept that we are in CONSTANT motion we can try to keep a balance of our emotions.

If we feel the need to CONTROL the emotions or bring them to CENTER, we add more STRESS to the emotions. 

We can and should allow ourself to embrace and experience the emotions and to look at what they might be trying to tell us.

We can and should also allow ourself to postpone the feelings and place the emotions on hold until we are ready to take a closer look.

During this third session, we practiced feeling joy and then feeling its opposite, sadness. When Corinne suggested we feel both at the same time, I struggled and felt it could not be done. 

But then I pictured the two emotions dancing together in circles and realized that while difficult, it could be done.

Next Corinne guided us to see where on the continuum, as we switched back and forth between JOY and SORROW, we were feeling each emotion. Interesting was that I was feeling their location slide up and down, NOT left and right on a continuum. 

I felt JOY in my heart, chest, and lungs. I felt SORROW in my gut, my stomach, my bowels. As we switched back and forth I felt my focus raise and lower.

Finally, another ancient secret way of counting. This one takes you up to 12 or 24 with both hands. (By counting in a spiral you are also embracing the circle of life.) 

The handout says: "... a helpful way of keeping your attention focused on your practice ― insuring that your mind stays with the present moment rather than drifting into thoughts of the past of future."

P.S. Last week, when we began our Yoga Nidra rest, Corinne suggested we think about making an INTENTION for the practice. 

At first I was going to have it be for Gregory, who just before the session had a traumatic experience trying to take a hot water shower for the first time at Lieberman. Up until now he had been given "navy or sponge baths." 

I wanted them to try a full shower and was there to help. He panicked, became hostile, and we immediately discontinued our effort to get him into the shower. 

He calmed easily, received a sponge bath, was put into clean clothes and by fifteen minutes later was OK again.

But interestingly enough, instead of setting the INTENTION for him, I decided that Gregory was OK, being well taken care of.  

With my own recent growth and life changes regarding my body and health,  I made the reclaiming of my body and health the intention for that practice. 

Parallel to the decision I realized what an amazing spurt of emotional, mental, and physical growth I have shown over the last month of so. I was nurturing myself and that felt good.

Panchamaya Kosha Session One

After discussing the model and its levels we began our Yoga session. Corinne demonstrated the various stretching and activities in "floor position" and in "chair position." Most of the ones I did were on a chair as I am so out of shape, recently had a bad case of Vertigo, and my back and hips have been bothering me. (This is not a poor me but information by way of your understanding the session.)

As the stretches and exercises progressed I found myself becoming more and more limber and finally ended up moving to floor style. I do not think that I have been as aware of my body in a long time (if ever) then when we were going through the stretches/exercises in this mindful way.

After the stretches/exercises we did a brief Yoga Nidra meditation mainly doing a "body scan" where Corinne led us through a mindful look at our bod, from the top of our head to the tips of our toes, in relation to breathing, the "inside" of it and the "outside" of it.

When I first started meditation classes I would say that many people think Yoga is physical stretching and exercising when it is really a way to calm and quiet the body so as to be better able to meditate.

While that is still true, I am afraid that I discounted Yoga too much. In this one short session, I became so aware of my body and its relation to the space around and the space inside that I now understand better the relationship between the physical and how it supports the mindful meditation.

I have continued to become more aware of how breathing relates to meditation, my study of Buddhism, and my emotions and sure enough here it shows up again in Yoga. I am excited about these sessions and look forward to the next ones to see what they will bring.

I might mention here that I have known for a while that I am very physically out of shape and needed to do something about it. The message hit home when I took myself to the emergency room with the Vertigo attack. It scared me. I thought my blood pressure had gone sky high (when it really was only registering the distress of my body with the Vertigo.) But the scare was enough for me to decide that thinking about doing something does NOT count as DOING something.

I surprised me with my quick actions: 1) Began discussing weight loss and made goals with my Psychologist, 2) Renewed my membership at LA Fitness, 3) Committed to a year of personal training at LA Fitness, 4) Began my weight loss program by weighing in and beginning a log of everything that I ate, 5) Beginning a six week Yoga Kosha session with Corinne.

I am airing my laundry here because by talking about it and by processing it, I think I will be able to try harder to succeed with this program of regaining my health. I DO NOT WANT TO BE OR FUNCTION LIKE AN OLD MAN, EVEN THOUGH I AM AN OLD MAN!

Also, as a reminder, this is being posted on my writers BLOG because I need to move on and separate my Alzheimer's Life from my Personal Life. No less love for Gregory but he is now safely ensconced and embraced. I need to do the same for myself.