This is me | March 22

This March we are working through the theme This is Me on my YouTube channel in the yoga classes. This theme is all about coming into deeper alignment with your truest nature and giving yourself some love and compassion even when you are vulnerable and imperfect. In this post, I share my advice on how to connect to your truest self and embrace your imperfections.

Alignment is a process that happens from the inside out.

Over years of social conditioning, we may have accumulated beliefs and ideas about ourselves or the world around us that perhaps don't serve us very well. These could be about how we should act, who we are or what we really want out of life. If you hold onto these unaligned beliefs you probably won't get the most out of your life or feel a bit stuck. But how do you learn what your truest nature is before the world changed you?

In a spiritual sense - aligning to you is coming back to your truth and your authentic self. It is aligning with your true desires, your intuition and acknowledging and working with the shadow self (the parts of yourself you may be ashamed of so keep in the shadows) when needed.

It takes lots of work and practice to reconnect with your authenticity, there isn't a quick-fix you need to have patience and compassion for yourself.

One of the practices that have helped me the most is yoga as it encourages me to show up as I am, an imperfect and messy human being, without judgement. Practising meditation is also really essential, sometimes sitting in silence with your mind is the best thing you can do to connect more deeply. I also find journaling very helpful as I am completely honest with myself about how I am feeling and coping. Throughout this month we will try all of these practices to help us connect more deeply.

There is a wonderful aspect of yoga philosophy that I think can be used effectively to connect to your deepest self, the idea of the Five Koshas (or five sheaths). Originating from the Taittiriya Upanishad, an ancient Tantric yoga text, the Koshas are five energetic layers that interpenetrate each other and surround your soul. Discovering, exploring and diving deeper into each layer can help you to connect to the universe and your true self.

LAYER ONE: Annamaya Kosha. This is the outermost layer of your being. Annomaya literally translates to food but this Kosha is interpreted as the physical body. We can see, touch and feel this layer, it is our skin, fat, bones etc. To help you connect more deeply to this Kosha you can practice yoga asana as it increases your strength and flexibility as well as allowing you to ground into your body more deeply.

LAYER TWO: Pranamaya Kosha. This sheath is composed of prana (our vital life-force energy). This Kosha contains life and controls your biological processes- such as circulation and digestion. It allows your body to move as it provides essential energy. In yoga, pranayama helps you to journey into this Kosha as it allows you to connect to your breath.

LAYER THREE: Manomaya Kosha. This is the mind or mental sheath and is composed of thought processes. The mind sheath is responsible for how we perceive the world around us and how we instinctively think. On a superficial level, it relates to thoughts and emotions, on a deeper level it links to our beliefs, values and opinions- which we either learn or inherit from society. Another part of this sheath is our patterns (or samskaras in Sanskrit) which are typically fixed and constantly repeat themselves until we notice them. Mantra meditation can influence the health of this sheath.

LAYER FOUR: Vijnamaya Kosha. This is the power of judgement or discernment. It is the home of our intuition and intellect. Vijnamaya Kosha permeates all of the first three sheaths as they can all influence our gut feelings and intuition. This is the part of our mind that is aware of the thinking rather than doing it. It is beyond your thinking mind and stems from a deeper and more subtle sense of self. This Kosha links to the Yamas and Niyamas and living your life with good moral values. If you live kindly and follow the Yamas and Niyamas your knowledge sheath will grow stronger and more balanced. This way of living and thinking will lead to better judgement and stronger intuition.

LAYER FIVE: Anandamaya Kosha. This Kosha is the deepest of the energy levels and is underdeveloped in most humans. It means spiritual bliss and is the aspect of our being with deep inner peace and joy, free from our thoughts, emotions, energy and body but yet at the same time embracing and loving them all. It is the sweetness of life itself that we feel when the mind is still. This Kosha is said to pervade all the outer sheaths but you can't truly connect to it until the illusions of the outer sheaths are peeled away. Connection to the bliss body can be experienced in mantra meditation or in savasana following an asana practice. It is believed to be our true nature lying underneath all external illusions. It reminds us that life is good even when times are tough.

Whilst journeying through the Koshas you may be confronted with some parts of yourself that you aren't keen on and would rather keep in the shadows- maybe you're already aware of a few things that you're a bit ashamed of. But approaching yourself with kindness and compassion is so important if you want to move into a state of self-acceptance. Being able to stand up and say 'This is Me' with pride and self-love is such a powerful thing and something that we should be constantly working towards. Throughout this month I'm going to be sharing practices that will help you approach yourself with love and kindness.

Here are a few of my favourite practices for cultivating a sense of self-love:

- Listening to your body and honouring its needs

- Drinking a warm cosy drink whilst snuggled up

- Early nights with a book

- Slowing down when you need to

- Giving yourself a hug

- Listening to empowering music

- A self-love yoga flow or meditation

To get involved in March's theme of This is Me make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. A new video will be uploaded every Saturday at 7am following this schedule.

You can also listen to this month's playlist filled with empowering songs to help you feel confident within yourself.

LISTEN HERE

And of course, follow me on Instagram for more updates and let me know how you get on!

Enjoy,

Megan x

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