Layers of experience

One of the challenges of modern life is that we tend to experience ourselves almost entirely through the mind. We think, analyse, worry, plan, remember, and imagine. So when something feels wrong, we assume the solution must also be found in the mind.

Yoga takes a broader view. It sees human experience as existing across several interconnected layers: the physical body, the breath and vital energy (prāṇa), the mind, and awareness itself.

While these layers can be described separately, they do not function separately. A disturbed mind affects the breath. A disturbed breath affects the body. A tired body affects the mind. Everything is connected.