Softening your eyelids,
Your face and your jaw,
Slightly elevating through your spine.
Okay so wherever you are just taking a few deep breaths making sure that you're really comfortable preferably sitting either in a chair or on a yoga cushion or bolster and just bringing yourself into the environment that you're sitting in.
Beginning to ground yourself,
Grounding your breath,
Creating that connection with your breath,
Breathing in and out of your nose.
Beginning to deepen your breath as you breathe in,
Feel the belly expand.
As you exhale bring your awareness on the base of your spine,
Feeling the weight of your body connected with the earth beneath.
Taking one more deep breath just like that.
Softening your eyelids,
Your face and your jaw,
Slightly elevating through your spine.
Taking this moment to reflect on you as an individual as you're guided through the five layers of self,
The five koshas and this is a primary map of what makes you you.
So if this is your first time doing something like this then I invite you just to simply observe.
Try not to get caught up in not feeling anything or not quite connecting with it deeply but just allow yourself to experience it for the first time or perhaps for quite a few times if you've previously delved deep into this connection with yourself.
We'll begin by starting with the first layer,
The physical body,
Anameha kosha.
To connect with this first layer of yourself I invite you to connect with your posture,
Everything that makes up your physical self.
Noticing any sensations in your body or on the external surface of your body.
Acknowledging your five sensory organs.
Observing without judgment,
Perhaps you feel a weight in your body,
A smell nearby or a sound perhaps a taste.
Perhaps you can feel your body connected to the elements beneath you.
Simply observing.
And I now invite you to move to the next layer,
The energetic body,
Pranameha kosha.
And this is connecting to the central channel of yourself.
Perhaps it's connecting to your breath and where that flows through your body or maybe deeper if you're aware of the chakra system,
Connecting into those aspects of yourself.
Or perhaps I invite you to ask yourself how much energy do you feel today on a scale of one to ten,
Ten being the most.
Simply observing.
Allowing yourself to experience any sensations that come up for you when you connect to this energetic layer within.
I now invite you to move on to the third layer,
The mental emotional body,
Pranameha kosha.
And this is like observing the weather,
Observing your emotional weather pattern,
Observing your current mood and how you feel emotionally.
This is separate to how you feel energetically.
Just observing what comes up for you.
Perhaps you can think of one word to describe how you feel.
Continuing to stay connected with your breath if the mind wanders.
Remembering that meditation is about paying attention with kindness,
Trying your best to be non-judging and content with whatever your experience is.
We'll now move on to the fourth kosha,
The wisdom mind,
Visna maya kosha,
Connecting with the great teacher that is within you.
This is a deep wise part of yourself,
The part that knows.
And there are many ways that you can connect with this aspect of yourself.
Perhaps it's through a role model,
Maybe a deity.
And you relate to this person or deity because you see those aspects within yourself.
This deeper wise aspect exists within you.
And this place within you is always at peace,
Connecting with that part of your wisdom mind,
Visna maya kosha.
Taking a nice deep breath,
Keeping your awareness focused as we move on to the final kosha,
Final layer of self,
The deepest layer,
The bullseye,
Anandamaya kosha,
Which is the soul aspect of yourself.
And this is where I invite you to contemplate your spiritual nature,
Connecting with the energy of who you are.
This is your essence,
The deepest layer of your soul,
Yourself.
And I invite you to connect by feeling into that part of you.
Continuing to use your breath,
Acknowledging whatever comes up for yourself,
Without judgment of course.
And now bringing your attention into a place of acknowledgement,
Acknowledging all of these aspects that make you you.
Perhaps you've learned something from this meditation,
That there's so many different layers,
Kind of like an onion peeling them back,
That make you up to be who you are,
That make you human.
And that by paying attention to these areas with kindness,
We bring more love and appreciation into our body,
This body,
This earth suit.
And of course that allows us to bring more appreciation into this life that we live.
Bringing your hands to your heart center,
Breathing in that acknowledgement for yourself,
Acknowledging all of these beautiful divine aspects of you.
Namaste.
You
