The Five Koshas - Attaining An Expanded Consciousness

In this meditation on the five koshas of yogic philosophy, we aim to achieve an expanded state of consciousness, by contemplating these unique layers of our being. Through visualizations tied to each of the five kosha's related elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—we come to embody each of these koshas fully, and ultimately connect with the wisdom and bliss bodies, which reside within us all.

Transcript

In yogic philosophy,

The five koshas are our layers of consciousness from our densest form of existence to our most subtle.

In this meditation,

We will be breaking down each kosha and identifying them within ourselves.

Through contemplation of these levels of our being,

We aim to reach an expanded state of consciousness,

One which will embolden our mindfulness,

Our alignment with our truest selves,

And our harmony with the entirety of this magnificent mystery we call our universe.

And so let's settle in now for this practice,

Finding a comfortable position,

One which ensures our spines are straight and allows us to place our palms on our laps or the floor beside us if we're lying down.

Make any adjustments you need to ensure your comfort throughout an extended stay in this position.

Make sure your chest is open,

Your heart lifted.

And when you're ready,

Let your eyes fall closed.

Let's take a big,

Deep breath here,

Filling ourselves all the way up.

And let's hold.

Squeeze in the muscles of your stomach.

Squeeze in the muscles of your back.

Tighten everything in around your spine.

And release with a sigh.

Let's take one more deep breath like this.

Fill yourself all the way up and hold.

Squeeze everything in around your spine.

And release.

Perfect.

Just allow your breath to fall back into its normal rhythms.

Allow your breath to become light.

Simply witness its gentle flow.

Take a moment here to scan the muscles in your head and face.

Relax any tensions you find.

Move your attention down to your torso and your arms.

Loosen any tightnesses you may have been holding onto.

And now check in with your lower body.

Your hips,

Legs,

Knees,

And feet.

Just let go of anything stressed.

Now feel your whole body as one,

As if you were your own skin.

Let yourself relax.

Let it all fall away.

Know this is a safe place.

And choose to take this time for yourself.

Allowing your body to fully relax.

Beautiful.

This brings us to our first kosha.

The densest part of our being.

Our physical body.

The Anamaya kosha.

This is comprised of our bones,

Muscles,

Organs,

Connective tissue,

And skin.

By maintaining awareness of the physical body,

We bring more ease and presence into our lives.

And so let us ground here into our bodies,

Held by our Mother Earth.

Place your palms face down on your lap or on the floor beside you.

Feel the solidity of your connection to Mother Earth.

Allow yourself to see the enormous scope of the planet below you,

Realizing yourself as one small facet of its massive being.

Feel tethers of energy extending down through the foundations of any building you might be in,

Deep into the crust of the Earth.

Feel the tethers extend further into the liquid molten mantle and core of the planet.

Feel the tethers connect with the solid,

Hearty inner core.

Feel these tethers offering you upflowing energy,

Which rises into your physical body.

Feel this energy grounding your very essence into that body.

Feel yourself being nurtured by our Mother Earth.

And so.

.

.

So having brought our presence into our physical bodies,

Let us move our attention to the next kosha,

Realizing that all further koshas are deeper within us,

More subtle,

And less dense than this outermost layer.

The second kosha is our energetic body,

Our pranayama kosha.

This layer and all that follow cannot be seen or touched,

They must be felt.

You can recognize your energetic body when you feel expanding energy in your heart,

Ripples of heat,

Or tingling throughout your body.

And so let us realize our energetic bodies by raising one or both of our hands to our heart and feeling its rhythms.

Now I want you to imagine yourself floating peacefully on your back atop a serene lake.

The water here is entirely still,

Except for the ripples created by your own body.

And as you lay here,

Feeling the steady beat of your heart,

Feel how the energy of your heart is expanding,

Feel it growing.

Realize that this is no ordinary lake,

Its energies are cleansing and revitalizing.

It's empowering the energy of your heart.

It's helping your mind to still,

And allowing your energy to flow freely.

And now let us float here silently for a moment,

Dissolving into the energies of our heart,

Becoming to fully realize this energetic layer of our being.

It's inspiring… So now,

Please lower your hands to face,

Palms upward.

Having come to realize our physical bodies and the energetic layer within them,

Let us head deeper still to the layer within the energetic body,

Our mental and emotional body,

The Manamaya Kosha.

This is the space within us in which we think,

Fantasize,

Feel elation or anger.

It's where we judge and order things,

Where we hold beliefs and opinions.

Within this space also lies our mental tendencies.

These are known in Sanskrit as Samskaras.

Most people spend their time in connection with the first three koshas,

The body,

The energy and the mind.

Yet,

To go deeper,

We must quiet this third kosha,

The mind,

And we must free ourselves of any limiting mental tendencies we've accumulated through the course of our lives.

And so,

Let us imagine ourselves standing together,

Side by side our brothers and sisters,

Families and friends,

Everyone and everything which has joined us here for this meditation.

We surround a great fire,

Its blue flames rise up,

Doubly tall as any one of us here.

This purifying blue flame will allow us to clear our minds,

To untangle our samskaras.

And so,

Realizing that we are safe,

Realizing we deserve this,

We step forward,

Together,

Into the beautiful cleansing energy of the blue flame.

Allow yourself to become fully immersed in its purifying energies.

Watch us breathe here,

Feeling connected to the collective as we heal together.

Advice.

And so now,

Having grounded into our physical bodies,

Recognizing the energetic and mental layers within it,

Let us move to an even more subtle layer.

The wisdom body,

The Vijnanamaya Kosha.

Here,

Within the mind-body,

Only perceived once we've found stillness and focus,

Lies our intuition.

It's our repository for wisdom.

It's the observer,

Pure awareness.

In an effort to realize and embody this wisdom,

This inner awareness,

Let us imagine ourselves resting in our meditative posture atop a grand,

Fluffy,

Cumulus cloud.

The sun,

Far in the distance,

Beginning to fade over the horizon.

See the beautiful hues of the sunset,

The infinite depth of their color fading seamlessly into the light blues of the evening sky.

And feel the air upon your face,

Feel a cool breeze whipping past you,

Carrying away any thoughts or emotions,

Allowing you to feel light,

Buoyant,

And free to embody the wisdom which lives within you.

We're here today and also in our hearts.

We are here toward an identify silence in our life that clears our environment.

And so finally,

We reach the deepest layer of our being,

Having come to ground in our physical bodies,

Identifying our energetic layer,

Perceiving our minds and clearing them so we can see through to the wisdom within.

Let us realize our bliss body,

The Anandamaya kosha.

This deepest level of our being is the most hidden part of us.

It's what connects us to each other,

The earth,

The universe,

And the very fabric of reality.

This bliss body is often referred to as the unconditional love we are all composed of.

When we're in touch with this body,

We experience ease,

Contentment,

Alightness,

And joy.

This love is the deepest reality of our being.

I want you to imagine yourself now,

Floating deep in outer space,

Surrounded by the void,

Floating in peace and safety.

Feel your weightlessness.

Feel how free you are.

Yet,

At the same time,

Feel how connected you are,

Feel how the entire universe,

Even those bits composed of complete darkness,

Are a part of one large,

Energetic being.

And feel yourself free from all illusions of separation.

To assist us in bringing forth this body,

We will use the mantra Waheguru.

The translation for this is wow,

The ecstasy of moving from darkness to light.

Waheguru.

Within it is an acknowledgement of the great mystery and an unbridled enthusiasm for embracing the entirety of our living experience.

And so,

Still floating in the depths of intergalactic space,

Let us repeat this mantra aloud or in our minds,

With the intention of bringing forth the bliss body to grace us with its presence,

Remembering the meaning as wow,

The ecstasy of moving from darkness to light.

Waheguru.

Waheguru.

Waheguru.

Continue this on your own,

Floating in space,

Allowing a gentle smile to grace your lips.

Waheguru.

And release this mantra now,

Allowing it to sink in to your very essence,

Feeling it dissolve any over seriousness you may have allowed to rule over your life,

Feeling joy come up from deep within.

Bow your eyes.

You Having come to realize all five of our layers of being Let us now set the intention of retaining the stillness of mind so we can maintain connection with the innermost layers our wisdom and the bliss body We choose here and now to embody our highest selves By living in connection and harmony with these deepest layers of our being Now we return to our bodies coming to find they're right where we left So wiggle your toes Wiggle your fingers Take a deep breath in And a deep breath out Allow yourself to sense the space around you and whenever you're ready Open your eyes I want to thank you for joining me today for this guided meditation I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have led you Namaste

Reviews

Sublime. Thank you

Thank you that was lovely