One method for navigating asana practice is the Koshas, which are described in the Upanishads. The five Koshas are energetic layers or sheaths that move from the outermost layer of skin to the deep spiritual core, much like Russian nesting dolls. These five sheaths include the physical body, the energetic body (breath), the mind and emotions, the wisdom or intuitive sheath, and finally the heart center.
Here’s how the koshas can work as a practical framework or technique for practicing yoga asana mat:
1. The Way In Starts With The Body
The first layer is the physical or “food” body (annamaya kosha), which is manifest in muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons. This is the primary arena for creating the shapes of yoga poses.
To access this layer in a pose, ask yourself, “What muscles are being activated?” “Where can I relax?” Scan the body and notice where you’re clenching, forcing, or tightening muscles, or where joints are improperly aligned causing strain. Use simple physical adjustments, props, or conscious intention to release these places of tension and holding (e.g., the neck, shoulders, or belly). For example, something as simple as releasing the jaw or tongue can have a profound effect on relaxing the entire body.
2. Breathe
The second layer (pranamaya kosha) is the energy body, the bridge between physical body and mind. This life force, prana, moves throughout the body. Holding the breath or not allowing for a full inhale and exhale can impede the ability to fully relax and enjoy the unique flow of energy contained in each yoga pose.
Once settled in the outer form of a pose, bring attention to the breath. Are you holding the breath? Is there tightness in the belly? Is restriction in the breath (either inhale or exhale) impacting your level of energy or ability to stay in a pose? Release any restrictions on the breath. Coordinate movement with the inhale and exhale to synchronize the body and breath, increasing and moving the flow of energy to create a sense of calm.
3. Bring Awareness to Thoughts and Reactions
The third layer, manomaya kosha, is the conscious mind, with its automatic habits, impulses, and reactions. The mental body is often where we find ourselves. There’s a tendency to get stuck in the mind, space out, or react instinctively or with fear, resistance, or another emotion.
Check in with your thoughts and reactions. Are you on automatic pilot in a pose you’ve done hundreds of times? Or are you all in your head, over-thinking or using the force of your will to push competitively into a pose in a mind-over-matter kind of way? Perhaps fear is coming up.
To work with this kosha, balance thought waves and patterns by moving back into the body and breath. Return to the present moment. Bring a sense of “newness” to the asana and move with conscious intention, creating attention and focus to what’s currently happening.
4. Open to Intuition and Compassion
The vijnanamaya kosha is the part of our personality where we find discrimination, wisdom, and intuition. This more subtle layer into the Self opens when there is more awareness or insight around what is happening. In a yoga asana, you may be able to experience deeper wisdom and compassion for self and the larger world. At this point, effort and struggle fall away, and the spirit of the pose starts to emerge. You feel a steady strength and inner power, and the heart opens.
5. Relax into Stillness
Finally, there is the joy of relaxing in the seat of the Self (anandamaya kosha), or “moving into stillness.” While this layer may seem inaccessible, we’re all likely to have experienced moments of this—both on and off the mat.
Access to this core Self is most likely to occur in mediation—or other focused practice—when there is a convergence with a flow of energy much larger than our own. In some counterintuitive way, this moving toward our own center opens us to a radiant flow of love, connection, and cosmic union.
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