Which layer are you?

I was in sprouts picking up some food and got to the checkout and the May Yoga Journal Magazine jumped out at me! This magazine hit me so hard it may as well been a baseball slugger! So needless to say I did my dudiligence, listened and put it in the cart, took it home and read it.

What transpired from reading the article titled "Getting to know you" has been intriguing and this is what I would like to share with you!

This article talks about the body and soul having 5 sheaths or layers:
1. Physical Sheath
2. Vital Energy Sheath
3. Mental/Thinking Sheath
4. Wisdom Body
5. Bliss Body

What is interesting is that each of us have very strong sheath/s and very weak sheath/s that we operate from. My strongest sheath is the physical sheath. I thrive being outside, I am in tune with my body, majority of the time (being pregnant was fun and insightful!!!!). I go nuts if I am cramped inside for too long!!! Lets say LONG cold winters would not be good for me, hence me living in Texas so I can get outside and enjoy myself! My strength is not the thinking layer (hence me writing this blog - strenghtening my mental sheath!!!) The vital energy sheath is awakening in me. I am becoming more aware of energy and how it works and how to use it! I have some awareness of my wisdom body, however working on the bliss body!

This information is intriguing for a number of reasons, the biggest reason is to gain some perspective on how my husband and I can gain more from our relationship with each other and as a family.

My husband is has a VERY strong thinking sheath, if what he is participating in is not complicated with several different levels with very hard as the starting level, he gets bored very easily! It boggles my mind!!!! He also has a well developed vital energy sheath. He knows what people are feeling and thinking, it is very impressive!

This got me thinking!!! Thinking sheath here we come!

Do we attract as individuals a person who has a strenght in a sheath that which we do not possess ourselves? The answer is, absolutely!

You need to ask yourself which sheath or layer is your strength, and which is not your strength, is it the physical, thinking, vital energy, wisdom, or bliss sheath?

What is your spouses strong and not so strong sheath? Are they opposite?

What got me thinking about the impact of this insight is that my husband always wants to participate in games,and puzzles and complicated thinking stuff, and I always want to participate in physical activities outside like walking, play Frisbee,soccer, picnics, walk around a lake! It drives us nuts in that his enjoyment is not derived from being outside and my enjoyment is not derived from being indoors playing a game of Risk for 6 hours or WII Lego's!!!! Interesting or interesting.

There is no doubt in my mind that I attracted my husband to help me strengthen my thinking and vital energy sheaths, and I have no doubt he attracted me to him to help him strengthen and balance his physical and wisdom sheaths!

How you fix this is a whole different story, but being aware of yourself and your strong and not so strong sheaths can help you to figure out the differences you face with yourself, spouse and children, family and friends on a daily basis.

All of this awareness go me thinking (here we go again) about clients I see and about health problems people have and I have some theories based on what I have learnt!

Would it be that strong physical sheathed individuals whose thinking sheath is weak be more prone to strokes? Obviously strokes come on for a variety of reasons but I think back to my mothers three strokes and come to find that her physical sheath is extremely strong and her thinking sheath is not. She was at a seminar the day she had her strokes!!!!! Did her thinking sheath become too overwhelmed???

Also I find that clients who have alot of pain have a strong mental/thinking sheath. Their strength is not in the physical layer. I find a person who has the least amount of pain is more in tune with their physical selves!!!!

Which is why when one moves, their pain usually subsides. They are strengthening their physical sheath and hence helping to decrease pain.

Thoughts to ponder on!

You can read this article in the May 2009 Issue of Yoga Journal Page 59.

May your new awareness of your strong and not so strong sheaths help you to understand the world you live in better and make it a more fulfilling and happy place to be!

Here is to balanced sheaths all around!