Deep Sleep Through The Koshas

Take a slow and deep journey exploring the koshas - the layers of your being. This yoga Nidra meditation helps you to be covered by the warm blanket of sleepy awareness; allowing your busy mind to quiet and giving you what you need for your body and soul to drift off to a full night's deep sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice through the koshas for deep,

Deep sleep.

My name is Elka and allow me to be your guide throughout this practice.

Yoga Nidra gives us the opportunity to explore each of the koshas.

Discovering each layer is believed to bring you closer to your oneness with the universe.

The first layer is the Annamaya Kosha,

Known as the physical form of your body made of food.

Noticing this layer now and adjusting your comfort a little more.

Resting shoulders away from ears,

Rolling out the feet,

Maybe making a small movement to the head,

And then allow the whole body to rest.

This layer is the most sensitive and is easily influenced by the externalities of your world.

The second layer is the Pranamaya Kosha or energetic breathing part of your body.

Each cell of your body is infused with this layer and it has a huge impact on your physical form.

Take a breath in now and feel this light force,

The potency of your breath.

Feel its movement,

The motherly nectar of prana,

Cycling and recharging you.

Feel this energy as it flows in and out,

Connecting you with the source of all life.

Notice the way that you can draw your awareness now to your Manomaya Kosha,

The mental layer of your being,

A current of thoughts,

Movement and spaces,

Drifting in and out.

This is the level of thoughts,

Emotions,

Desires.

Practicing Yoga Nidra regularly helps to release patterns of the negative mind.

This practice helps to bring you more clarity,

More insight to your true self.

The fourth layer is the deeper layer of the Annamaya Kosha.

This is the subtle awareness of the witness,

Universal intellect.

When we connect deeply to this subtle layer of self,

We begin to open ourselves up to an emotional wave of inner growth.

Resting within the observation or experience of the Vyanamaya Kosha.

The fifth layer of our being is the Ananda Maya Kosha.

This is the feeling of connection with all that is alive.

This subtlest layer of our self transmits bliss,

Joy,

Contentment and tranquility.

This energetic layer takes a deep swim in the ocean of silence,

Where dualities merge,

Leaving one to dissolve into an equanimous state of being.

The Ananda Maya Kosha deepens your connection to the roots of love,

When all states of mind awake,

Dream and sleep.

Let us begin this journey into the Koshas.

We will begin by taking a few slower breaths,

Inhaling through your nose,

And exhaling through your mouth.

Good.

Breathing in slowly,

And gently releasing the breath.

Any tension or stress.

As you inhale,

Could you begin to imagine drawing in a calming energy.

And as you exhale,

Could you imagine releasing any tension or stress that you may have stored here.

Let's begin to soften into the layer of your being,

Ananda Maya Kosha,

The physical form.

Notice the way you can begin to focus on each part of your body,

Starting at the top of your head,

And working your way down to your toes.

As you focus on each body part,

Allow yourself to breathe in a little more air.

Breathing into this space,

Feel yourself or imagine that you're breathing into the crown of your head.

And now feeling your awareness move down the forehead,

The eyes,

Nose,

Chin and mouth,

Teeth,

Jaws,

Throat,

Collarbones,

Shoulder joints.

Awareness moving down the length of your arms,

Wrists,

And hands.

Gently releasing,

Letting go.

Take a breath into the center of your chest.

Feel as you fill.

Be present with all the sensations as you breathe a little more air out.

Moving with awareness down to the center of your body,

And then sensing down through your hips,

Legs,

Knees,

Ankles.

Heels,

And all the way down to your feet.

The space below your feet.

Whatever tension you may have stored here,

Letting it go.

As you continue to focus on your breath and your body,

Notice in the small and intentional ways you can begin to allow your mind to relax.

Free to float between awareness and thoughts,

Drifting in and out.

Any thoughts or worries that might come up,

Simply acknowledge them and then let them go.

By gently returning your focus to your breath,

Your body breathing,

And the experience of listening to this recording.

Notice the way the breath moves in,

Filling lungs and ribcage.

Being also present with all the layers of yourself that let go as the breath moves out.

Muscles releasing around chest and back,

Arms and legs.

Gentle,

Gentle breath.

Feeling the layer of movement,

The gentle flow of prana,

Life force breathing you.

Free to think and feel movement of thoughts,

Or perhaps there is space between the thoughts and feelings.

Breath creating more space here,

And as you become aware of the thoughts and feelings,

Fluctuations of the mental mind,

They may shift or slow down as you breathe.

Sensing layers of mind,

Layers of movement,

Layers of body gently resting,

Letting go.

Noticing that the thoughts have a rhythm,

A pace,

Just as the breath has a rhythm and a pace.

Repeat in breath,

Thoughts,

While moving in and out of your awareness.

As you explore this layer,

Noticing any sensations or feelings of warmth,

Maybe you can also sense any places that feel cool,

Perhaps a coolness and a stillness within you.

Notice all the ways that you can sense this,

Notice all the ways that you can also feel and sense heaviness.

Perhaps where your body meets the surface beneath you,

Feeling limbs heavy,

Head heavy,

Torso,

Hands and feet,

All heavy,

Supported,

As you feel the body becoming heavier and heavier,

Letting go.

Perhaps now you might sense the opposite feeling,

Noticing where the breath lifts you up,

And how you can start to feel lighter,

Floaty,

Like a cloud,

Floating in air and space,

Soaring above the earth,

Light as a feather,

Whole body light as a feather.

Notice how you can deeply experience every sensation,

Noticing how they feel in your body and your mind.

Fully immerse yourself in the experience,

Each feeling absorbing through layers of body,

Breath and mind.

Layers that are moving and still,

Whole body warm,

Covered in a blanket of awareness,

Feeling the coolness and the freshness of air around you.

Feel all the layers of you still,

Feeling a presence,

A deeper connection with your own being.

From this place you might also welcome the mental image of yourself in this peaceful,

Calming place,

Mentally picturing or sensing the feeling tones of this calming,

Soothing place.

Wherever the mind takes you,

You might find yourself drifting in and out of this layer of sleep,

Free to drift,

Drifting in bliss.

Reviews

This was great. I passed out and slept soundly for 8 hours. Thank you so much 🙏🫶❤️

A deep and immersive restful experience exploring Koshas, something brand new for me. Thank you.

I listened to this when I first woke up this morning! Wow what a way to start my day! Completely relaxed and BLISSFUL! Thank You!
I listened again in the middle of the night. I got a better understanding of this meditation !! Everyone should try it more than once‼️‼️‼️‼️🌺🌺🌺

Will need to listen again. Not sure I understood the koshas
12/18/23

Had a fantastic dream this morning I believe due to this meditation

Will have to listen again because I fell asleep! Mission accomplished....

Great, thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻A clear description/explanation of the koshas, and a wonderful journey through them🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻