Using the Pancha Koshas as a Lens For Healthy Aging

This year in our yoga classes, we’re using the Pancha Koshas as a starting point for exploring something that becomes increasingly important as we get older: what can we do to age well?

Ageing well is about much more than keeping the physical body healthy. Of course, movement, strength, flexibility and balance matter enormously.

But increasingly, we are recognising that healthy ageing is also about our minds and brains. It is about our energy levels, the quality of our sleep and how we manage stress. Our relationships, sense of connection and sense of purpose matter too.

This broader understanding of ageing has been reflected in some of the books I’ve been reading recently. One of these is Mark Hyman’s Young Forever, which takes a whole-person approach to health and longevity.

It has encouraged me to think about ageing not simply as something that happens to the body. Instead, we can see it as an opportunity to consider the whole of our wellbeing — body, energy, mind and everything that gives our lives meaning.

And this is where I find the ancient wisdom of yoga particularly interesting.

Long before we had the scientific language of longevity, healthspan and brain health, yogis were already looking at the human being as something much more than a physical body.

The yogic tradition describes us as having different, interconnected layers. These include the physical, energetic, mental and emotional aspects of ourselves, along with deeper layers concerned with wisdom, meaning and a sense of connection.

The Pancha Koshas — five layers of ourselves

These are known as the Pancha Koshas, or the five sheaths.

I love the idea of bringing these two perspectives together. Modern research and thinking about healthy ageing increasingly recognise the importance of caring for the whole person. Yoga has been exploring a similar idea for thousands of years.

The Pancha Koshas offer us an interesting way of looking at all these different aspects of ourselves.

They aren’t a medical model, and they aren’t five separate parts of us. Instead, they provide a way of thinking about how different dimensions of our wellbeing are interconnected. Nurturing one layer can have an effect on the others.

As we move through our yoga year, we’ll to use these Pancha Koshas to explore what it might mean to age well, live well and feel well — in the whole of who we are.

What are the Pancha Koshas?

The Sanskrit word pancha means five, while kosha can be translated as sheath, layer or covering.

The idea comes from the Taittiriya Upanishad, one of the ancient philosophical texts of India. It was probably composed more than 2,000 years ago.

It describes the human being as having five interrelated layers, or sheaths, through which we can explore our experience of being alive.

They are sometimes imagined as layers surrounding our deepest self — rather like the layers of an onion. But this can be slightly misleading.

They aren’t separate parts of us, and one isn’t necessarily more important than another. Instead, they are different dimensions of our experience, constantly interacting with one another.

You can see the idea in the image at the top of the post.

Annamaya Kosha — the physical body

Anna means food. This is the layer of the physical body — the part of us nourished by food and shaped by how we move, rest and care for ourselves.

Pranamaya Kosha — the energy body

Prana is often translated as life force or vital energy.

This layer relates to our breath, vitality and the movement of energy through the body.

Manomaya Kosha — the mental and emotional layer

This is the realm of our thoughts, emotions, sensory experiences and habitual patterns of mind.

Vijnanamaya Kosha — the wisdom layer

This is associated with discernment, awareness and our deeper capacity to observe ourselves.

It is also about making conscious choices rather than simply reacting to life.

Anandamaya Kosha — the layer of inner contentment

Ananda means bliss or deep contentment.

This isn’t necessarily about being happy all the time. Instead, it points towards a quieter sense of peace, connection and wellbeing that can exist beneath the ups and downs of everyday life.

Looking at ageing through the five layers

Over the course of our yoga year, we’ll use these five layers as a framework for thinking about wellbeing and ageing well.

We’ll begin with the physical layer because it is the most tangible.

As we age, our bodies inevitably change. Muscle mass, bone density, balance, flexibility and recovery can all change too.

Yoga gives us many ways to work with our changing bodies rather than fighting against them.

Next we’ll move into pranamaya, exploring breath and energy. We’ll consider how our vitality can be supported as we get older.

After that we’ll explore manomaya, looking at stress, thoughts and emotions. We’ll also consider the importance of giving the mind opportunities to rest.

Then comes vijnanamaya, the wisdom layer.

Perhaps one of the gifts of getting older is that we have accumulated experience. We can become better at recognising what really matters. We can make choices that serve us and let go of things that no longer do.

Finally, we’ll explore anandamaya — contentment, connection and the possibility of finding a sense of wellbeing that isn’t dependent on being young, fit or endlessly busy.

The whole of you

I love this model because it reminds us that we are so much more than our physical bodies.

Ageing doesn’t mean that every aspect of us has to decline at the same rate.

While our bodies change, other qualities can deepen and grow. We can become wiser. More accepting, discerning, comfortable with ourselves. Happy in our own skin.

We can discover new interests and purposes, strengthen our relationships and perhaps become more appreciative of the ordinary pleasures of life.

So this year, rather than thinking about ageing as something we need to fight against, we’ll use the Pancha Koshas to explore how we can care for the whole of ourselves as we grow older.

Because ageing well isn’t about trying to remain the person we were at 30.

It’s about continuing to become the whole of who we can be at every age.

If you would like to find out more or try one of our classes at a Discovery Session, please use the form below to contact me.