The koshas - anandaMAYA

Where the unconscious meets the soul. Home of your own unique essence, your ahamkara (ego mind) calibrated to your dharma or purpose. It is known as the 'bliss' body and can be felt during those few moments when you start falling asleep, before consciousness is totally let go. There is a moment where all of your worries dissolve and you rest (usually very briefly) in a cloud of peace and pleasantness. Deep states of meditation allow this sheath to be accessed more systematically and for longer periods of time. In saying that accessing the soul's final coating; the Anandamaya Kosha, or a feeling of bliss, is not the ultimate goal of yoga.

Beyond all five sheaths, beyond all layers, is our essential self, referred to as Atman, Purusha, or the individual Soul; the one who inhabits the 'human being’ yet is simultaneously completely free of it. A being living completely from this space is called a Siddha, a perfected or enlightened being. This is the ultimate goal of yoga. As Yogis, our mission is to use practice to pierce through the Koshas and experience subtler realms of our being. If our practice is taking us further outwards, then we have seriously missed the point of Yoga. For example, the purpose of Asana is not only to strengthen the connection to our body, it's also to transcend it.

Asana performed correctly clears the blockages from Annamaya Kosha allowing us to perceive subtler realities. Asana performed incorrectly exacerbates negative tendencies and fries the nervous system. Another commonly undervalued and misunderstood component of the Koshas is the importance that Prana plays in the movement of awareness from one layer to the next. Prana, the content of Pranamaya Kosha acts as the lubricant that allows one to slide through different levels of awareness efficiently.

If the body is not sufficiently charged with Prana, then the Yogi's awareness will not be able to move beyond the level of Annamaya Kosha - the physical body. In its essence, true Hatha Yoga is primarily concerned with Prana and deepening our relationship to it. The ancient Yogis knew very well that it was their energy levels that shaped their perception, that ultimately, it was Prana that determined the way they saw an experienced themselves and the world.

As Yogis, our mission is to use practice to pierce through the Koshas and experience subtler realms of our being. If our practice is taking us further outwards, then we have seriously missed the point of Yoga.

Namaste. 🙏🏼