I’m passionate about the ‘Energy Body’ and how it can affect our overall well-being.

We talk about energy levels and the vibes someone someone gives off. We feel them, too.

How much do we really know about this delicate and integral part of being alive? It’s worth exploring.

What’s the simplest way to tap into the energy body? The breath.

Our breath dictates our emotions and vice versa. When we’re angry our breath is huffy, when we’re anxious it’s rapid, when we’re fearful it’s held. We release with a sigh.

When we’re calm our breath is smooth. When relaxed our breath is deep.

The energy body excites me because it is such a sensory experience, all about connecting to ourselves, each other, the breath, and the relishing of being human. Getting to know the energy body allows us to connect to other animals, and our living, breathing earth. It is an approachable way to jump into our spirituality and feel empowered, at ease.

But it’s also only one part of the whole system.

In order to understand our truest selves we need to understand this: our beliefs about ourselves control our thoughts, our thoughts dictate our emotions, and our emotions are portrayed through our breath.

Beliefs – Thoughts – Emotions – Breath

And of course the pattern also goes in reverse:

Breath – Emotions – Thoughts – Beliefs

Another way to understand these links is to relate them to the koshas. The koshas are the layers/sheaths of our being, from the physical outer layer to our innermost core (the subconscious and our spirituality). Here is my personal interpretation of each:

• Annamaya kosha – physical layer (breath)
• Pranamaya kosha – energy layer (emotions)
• Manomaya kosha – mental layer (thoughts)
• Vijanamaya kosha – wisdom layer (beliefs)
• Anandamaya kosha – bliss layer
• the ‘is’, the part of you deep within that is always at peace, aware and non-attached.

Work on any one kosha can affect all the others. Personally, I like to begin with the breath, I find it to be the most effective & simplest way to delve in.

By altering our breath to a calm, relaxed and peaceful state, we transcend our emotions, our thoughts, and get all the way to our beliefs about ourselves.

How cool is it that we can transcend a limiting belief by simply breathing deeply? Take it one step further and our breath allows us to feel our bliss layer, that place inside of us that is always joyful and abundant, delighted at being alive and feeling the wonders of humanness. And once we move beyond the bliss layer we reach that state of nothingness, of simply being.

This is the state that everyone wonders how to get to in meditation.

Stay tuned for part two of this article which will explain ways to access the layers specifically and a guided meditation to take you into your energy body and a meditative state.

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Pixoto