ENLIGHTEN UP! a blogSelf-awareness stories: lighting our way to clarity, contentment and resilience in a complicated world.
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 In my last post, I introduced the 9 steps to self-awareness which are based on the kosha model first mentioned 3,000 years ago in the Taittiriya Upanishad, the East Indian philosophical and spiritual source of this contemporary view. In speaking about the body, notice that the first line of the verse refers to Brahman, the mystery, the highest Universal Principle, and the Ultimate Reality in the universe of which we are an integral part. According to the yoga tradition, this Ultimate Reality is beyond the koshas. From Brahman came space; from space, air; From air, fire; from fire, water; from water Earth; from earth plants; from plants, food; And from food, the human body, head, arms, legs, and heart From food are made all bodies, which become Food again for others after their death. Our body is our size, shape, health status, race, ethnicity, etc. As human beings, we are complex and complicated right down to the smallest cell in our bodies. Although we appear to ourselves and others as a single unit, we are made of billions of microscopic parts organized into cells, tissues, organs and systems; each with its own job, working to keep us breathing and moving until structural challenges, health issues or death intervenes. By deepening our awareness of our physical being and the environment in which it operates we more easily bring ourselves into balance. Most of us start our exploration of self-awareness with the body because it is visible, familiar and available to us through our senses. We work with this layer by considering three key factors: Body Sciences, Optimal Health & Social/Cultural Variables. Body Sciences: Anatomy, biology, physiology and kinesiology, as examples, paint a picture of the human body at the physical level. We may not be drawn to study these sciences in depth but each of us can become aware of the miracles our bodies perform on a daily basis. We start by understanding the body’s systems, what they do and then becoming aware of any imbalances. For example:
Optimal Health: Optimal health means the best level of health we can achieve based on our situation. The word healing comes from the Anglo-Saxon word haelen, which means to make whole, to have harmony and a sense of well-being in body, mind and spirit. No matter our health status, we can heal. One noticeable effect of healing is a reduction in symptoms of unhelpful stress and anxiety. Awareness of this determines the difference between responding appropriately when we sense that something feels off or reacting with anxiety or panic if we’ve ignored the body’s messages until they morph from gentle whispers, like discomfort, to loud shouts that indicate pain and illness. Optimal health does not mean curing or fixing although that may sometimes be a welcome side effect. As yogis, how we see and feel about our bodies can have a direct influence in how we view ourselves and also how we view and interact with others and our environment. Working toward optimal health and healing in the body benefits the functioning of your other layers as well. Social and Cultural Variables: Links between health, longevity, well-being and having a network of social support including family, friends or affinity groups have been well established. Our reactions and responses to how we work with our personal variables will have an impact on how we live our lives in the complicated world we all share. To enhance self-awareness of your body and environment try this technique for Step 1: Body/Environment Scan In this exercise, you’ll bring your attention to your body and look for sensations such as comfort, discomfort, openness, contraction, pain, warmth, coolness, pulsing, heaviness, lightness, and also sense the environment in which you are practicing. Feel free to record this into your phone and play it back as needed. Shorten or lengthen the pauses between the body parts to fit your desired pace. Welcome any sensations you experience with compassion and without judgement. Instructions
Your body is the vehicle that carries you through Earth school. Treat it well. The next post will explore Step 2: Becoming aware of your breath and your energy states.
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 The Nine Steps to Self-Awareness are sourced from the Taittiriya Upanishad’s kosha model. This model says we are more than a mind interacting with a body. It provides a 360-degree view of what it means to be human and enrolled in Earth school. It says we have five-layers of being: physical, breath/energy, mind/emotions, witness/intuitive wisdom and bliss. Understanding ourselves this way gives us a broader foundation for self-exploration than the western mind/body model. To apply the koshas to everyday life in our five-sense material world, we need accessible practical techniques to work with. Joseph Le Page, my teacher, is the founder of the school of Integrative Yoga Therapy. His lectures on the koshas and his Ten Steps to Freedom, a handout from his yoga therapy training manual, provided me with both an understanding of the kosha model and techniques for embodying it. After working with it personally and professionally I eventually adapted the ideas for my book, Enlighten Up! Finding Clarity, Contentment and Resilience in a Complicated World. I gratefully acknowledge the source material from the Taittiriya Upanishad and from Joseph Le Page’s work. His Ten Steps to Freedom and my Nine Steps to Self-awareness both provide accessible yoga techniques but there are differences. Because I wanted to introduce this concept to students who come to yoga seeking ways to manage stress and live with more balance, I did not include Joseph’s tenth step, True Self (another way of describing Unity Consciousness or self with a capital ‘S’) because each person’s relationship to an interpretation of the Divine is personal and discovered in their own time. The focus of my Nine Steps to Self-Awareness is on developing conscious self-exploration through all five layers of being during our existence in Earth school with all of its ups and downs. The Nine Steps to Self-Awareness Physical Body and Environment (Annamayakosha) 1. Become aware of your body and your environment Breath and Energy (Pranamayakosha) 2. Become aware of your breath and energy states Mind, Emotions (Manomayakosha) 3. Identify your thoughts and feelings 4. Explore your beliefs Witness/Intuitive Wisdom (Vijnyanamayakosha) 5. Turn the mind back on itself 6. Take skillful action Bliss (Anandamayakosha) 7. Find your bliss 8. Connect to your bliss 9. Bring bliss into your daily life Self-awareness is the ability to see, understand and accept our beliefs, habits and behavior without judgment. Then we can consciously choose to make changes, remain unchanged with full awareness of the consequences or find acceptance and peace of mind if change is not possible. Cultivating this level of self-awareness is a lifelong journey that can be started at any age. Working with the Nine Steps of Self-Awareness can help you:
Research shows that people with self-awareness skills tend to have better psychological health, a more positive outlook on life and are likely to be more compassionate with themselves and others. This larger sense of self results in the ability to navigate life from a calm center no matter the swirls, whirls and storms that will inevitably surround us. I’ve gotten positive feedback from several people who used the nine steps and the techniques that come with it. One person said it helped her grandson who was struggling with self-esteem issues. Another said the breathing techniques helped her manage anxiety, and here is what one doctor wrote about the effort to make this model relevant to today’s world: “Ms. Gibbs seeks to help the reader understand oneself as opposed to fixing oneself. She has clearly spelled out the layers of awareness and shares her journey to enlightenment through her many stories. The book is enriched with yoga exercises that a beginner like myself was able to appreciate. – Marilyn Martin, M.D., The Resource Group The next several posts will discuss the Nine Steps to Self-Awareness step by step and share several accessible practical techniques for embodying these steps in your daily life. My next post will discuss Step 1: Become aware of your body and your environment. |
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AuthorBETH GIBBS started her yoga practice in 1968, four months after her son was born and she’s been practicing ever since. She currently teaches all levels therapeutic yoga classes for adults, and specialty classes for seniors in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Beth is a certified yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is guest faculty at the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy. She writes for the blogs, Yoga for Healthy Aging, and Accessible Yoga. Her master’s degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA is in Yoga Therapy and Mind/Body Health. Categories |
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