The densest of the five koshas (sheaths) is easy for us to understand as it’s made of matter as we know it.

“From food creatures are produced:  whatsoever creatures dwell on earth.

Moreover, by food they live, and into food they finally pass.  

Those who care for this body are nourished by the universe itself.”

Taittiriya Upanishad 1000-600 BC

 

Organic and inorganic matter in the form of food builds our bodies from the earliest cell division, its intake as food maintains our bodies and then, when our physical life is over, molecules and atoms which make the physical body up contribute to the food cycle again.

In our physical yoga practice (asana and vinyasa flow), we take care of Anna-maya-kosha by

• stretching, strengthening and relaxing muscles and tendons
• encouraging greater range of movement in the joints
• massaging and toning the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, reproductive and endocrine systems