Introduction

There is more to a Human Body than our current perception tells us. According to Yogic Sciences, human body consists of five bodies or sheaths known as Koshas.

ANNAMAYA KOSHA

The first sheath is the Physical Body or the Annamaya Kosha which is our skin, bones, joints, liver, kidney, and a lot more.

Anna in Sanskrit means Food, so Annamaya Kosha is the Food Body. It is a product of all the nourishment that a person has ingested over the years.

PRANAMAYA KOSHA

The second sheath is the Energy Body or the Pranamaya Kosha in which Prana, or the Life Energy flows in Energy Channels or Nadis. It is this life energy or Prana which powers our Physical & Mental bodies.

Human Body has approximately 72000 Nadis have energy vortices or Junction Points also known as Chakras.

MANOMAYA KOSHA

The third sheath is the Mental Body or the Manomaya Kosha which directs our thoughts, emotions, memories, decisions, and intellect.

In Yoga, Mind is not just the brain, instead, every cell in the human body has its own intelligence. And, there is an entire Mental Body.

VIGNANAMAYA KOSHA

The above three layers are all physical in nature differing only in the subtlety of our perception experienced through our five senses.

However, there is a fourth layer called the Wisdom Sheath or the Vignanamaya Kosha. It is a transient body between the first three physical sheaths and the last non-physical sheath and is beyond the sensory perceptions.

The real meaning of this sheath is Vishesh Gyana or knowledge which cannot be perceived through sense organs.

Once accessed it opens doors to the unlimited knowledge of the universe. Modern Science is just bits and pieces of this unlimited knowledge.

ANANDAMAYA KOSHA

The last and the fifth sheath is the Bliss Body or the Anandamaya Kosha which has nothing to do with physical realms of life.

This nonphysical body cannot be described or even defined in words and can only be experienced.

Once a person has access to this body, it produces an overwhelming experience of bliss. The impact of time (of now & then) and space (of here & there) are transcended upon experience of this body.