Journey Through the Self: Exploring the Five Koshas in Yoga

Posted on by Esterina Anderson

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
– Bhagavad Gita

In the ancient Vedic texts, we find a beautiful framework for understanding the self beyond the physical body. Known as the Panchamaya Kosha system, this five-layered model is still embraced by yoga therapists today as a holistic map for healing and self-discovery.

Each kosha, or “sheath,” represents a different layer of our being—from the tangible to the most subtle essence of who we are. These sheaths are energetic in nature.

Since this is a conceptual idea, it’s not easily visualized. This is an artistic rendition I created, using inspiration from search engines, to give the model a visual form.

Let’s take a guided journey through each layer, pausing along the way to reflect, breathe, and connect.

Annamaya Kosha: The Physical Body

The outermost layer is the Annamaya Kosha, often referred to as the “food body.” Annamaya derives from the words anna (food) and maya (made of), signifying that the body is composed of physical matter sustained by food. It is the densest of the five koshas and the layer most familiar to us—the physical body that we see and touch.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, it is the body that allows us to engage with the material world and fulfill our physical needs.

Yoga asana (postures) help us strengthen and care for this layer. But it’s only the beginning.

Beyond our physical body exists a subtler, more energetic presence—what the yogis call the life force or prana. This leads us to the next kosha: Pranamaya Kosha.

Pranamaya Kosha – The Breath or Energy Body

Beneath the surface of what we see and touch lies a subtler layer of our being—the Pranamaya Kosha, or breath body. This sheath is composed of prana, the vital life energy that flows through and animates us. It is this energy that sustains every physical and mental function. It’s not too dissimilar to “chi,” as known in Chinese traditions.

This kosha both surrounds and penetrates the Annamaya Kosha, flowing through subtle channels known as nadis—akin to the meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ancient texts speak of nearly 72,000 nadis crisscrossing our being, creating an intricate web of energy distribution as sophisticated as our physical body.

It is said that when this energetic layer is vibrant and balanced, it manifests as vitality, clarity, and resilience. An imbalanced or blocked pranic flow, on the other hand, can lead to physical fatigue, emotional disturbances, or even illness.

Because prana is intimately tied to the breath, pranayama (breath control) becomes a key yogic tool to nourish and regulate this sheath. Practices such as deep diaphragmatic breathing, alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana), and kapalabhati invigorate and purify the Pranamaya Kosha, enhancing the flow of energy throughout the body.

Breath becomes the bridge between the body and the mind. As you become more aware of your breath, you tap into the present moment, calming the nervous system and centering the mind.

Manomaya Kosha: The Mental Sheath

The Manomaya Kosha is the “mental sheath,” representing the mind and emotions. It is associated with our thoughts, feelings, and mental patterns, known in Sanskrit as vrittis. This kosha encompasses the mental body—our emotional responses, internal dialogue, and perceptions of the world.

As one of the more subtle layers of our being, the Manomaya Kosha significantly influences how we interpret experiences and impacts our overall well-being. The mind shapes our interactions with the world and colors our experiences with judgment, attachment, and preference.

Cultivating mindfulness is key to mastering this sheath. By learning to observe our thoughts without attachment, we can begin to detach from mental chatter and emotional turbulence. Meditation is a powerful tool for calming the mind and finding inner stillness.

🧘‍♂️ Practice Tip: Let your thoughts come and go without judgment. Be the observer, not the story.

Vijnanamaya Kosha – The Wisdom Body

This kosha is the intellectual or wisdom sheath, housing our intuition, discernment, and inner knowing. It’s the layer of deep insight that enables us to distinguish truth from illusion, and ego from the true Self.

“Listen beyond your thoughts to the quiet wisdom within.”

This sheath transcends ordinary thinking. It’s where we connect with spiritual insight and our inner compass, guiding us toward Svadharma—our true calling.

This kosha is about deep understanding—not just of the world, but of our true nature.

Last night I taught a class and went through this exercise to describe what the 3rd and 4th kosha might look like.

Close your eyes and picture a bright red triangle.
Where did it come from? Your thoughts created it, but it isn’t real. I suggested it, but the image itself is imaginary.
Now ask: Who is seeing that triangle?
It’s not your thoughts—they made it. The one seeing it is the witness. That part of you is real. It watches your thoughts come and go without being them.

The red triangle will fade with the next thought, but the witness remains. It observes what arises—whether from outside influence, subconscious memory, or your own deeper wisdom.

Now, imagine that red triangle turning into a dark purple circle.
Who made that change? Who watched it happen?

This is the heart of self-awareness: You are not your thoughts.
Thoughts pass through like weather. But if you’re not aware, they shape your emotions, breath, and even your body.


The wisdom body discerns the difference between the thoughts and emotions (Manomaya Kosha) and the witness who is unaffected by the thoughts (next kosha). However, your thoughts and emotions do affect your breath and ultimately your physical body. So mind your thoughts!

Anandamaya Kosha – The Bliss Body

At the center of all the koshas lies the Anandamaya Kosha, known as the “bliss body.” This is the most subtle and innermost layer of our being—beyond the physical, energetic, mental, and wisdom layers. It represents our pure essence, a state of peace, joy, and spiritual bliss.

This kosha isn’t shaped by thoughts, emotions, or material form. Instead, it is pure being—the unchanging, eternal part of us, often touched during deep meditation, savasana, or moments of transcendence in everyday life.

It embodies Sat-Chit-Ananda—existence, consciousness, and bliss—where the ego dissolves and unity with all of creation is felt. These aren’t fleeting emotions but deep, abiding joy and contentment, experienced when we are in perfect alignment with our true self.

Practices like meditation, mindfulness, and present-moment awareness help us access this layer. In yoga, it’s the ultimate experience—being one with the divine, at peace, beyond form.

You might even say this is Your Spirit. There’s another blog I wrote just a few weeks ago about this place: https://esterinaanderson.com/2025/02/12/on-your-spirit/

Integrating the Five Koshas

Yoga is not just about stretching our bodies—it’s about integrating all parts of our being: body, breath, mind, wisdom, and spirit. As we journey inward, we realize that these layers are not separate, but interwoven—each one informing and supporting the others.

By nurturing all five koshas, we move closer to our true Self—the eternal spark of consciousness that yoga ultimately helps us remember.

Namaste,

Esterina

Sufi Breathing Techniques

Posted on by Esterina Anderson

Sufi Breathing

Relaxation Technique

The following series of Elemental Purification Breaths come to us through one of the lineages of Sufi teachings. This is a perfect focusing and centering practice to begin your day, and takes only the time of 25 breaths. It can be used as a short and simple meditation practice in itself, or as a warm-up breathing relaxation technique to focus the mind for another meditation practice you may choose to do.

  1. (Bhu Mudra) Begin by breathing naturally in and out through your nostrils for five full breath cycles. This first series of five breaths is focused on purifying your¬self with the element of earth. As you inhale, imagine that you draw the energy and magnetism of the earth up into you. It circulates through your subtle energy systems and replenishes and renews the vitality and strength of Your body.

As you exhale, imagine that the magnetic field of the earth draws all the heavy, gross elements or energies within you down into the ground to be purified and released. With each breath, you feel revitalized, lighter, less dense, and clearer to the free flow of breath, life, energy.

  • (Jala Mudra) Then with a second series of five breaths, imagine purifying yourself with the energy of water. Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, envision a waterfall of pure, clear energy pouring down into you from the heavens above, flowing through you, and dissolving, purifyinganything within you that might block the flow of life-energy moving through you. With each breath, you are washed clean and clear, as this stream of energy and light flows through you.
  • (Surya Mudra) With the next series of five breaths, purify yourself with the element of fire.Inhaling through your mouth and exhaling through your nostrils, let the breath flow focus at your solar plexus as you inhale, and then rise up and radiate as light from your heart-center, shining out between your shoulder blades, and like a fountain of light up through the crown of your head. Inhaling fire, exhaling light, envision and affirm that this circulation of energy is a purifying fgire gathering any remaining impurities or congestion and burning them into radiance and light in the fires of your heart.
  • (Vayu mudra) With the next cycle of breaths, imagine purifying yourself with the air element. Inhaling and exhaling through your mouth, imagine the air element sweeping through you like the wind blowing through the spaces of your whole body, purifying any sense of density or obstruction that may remain.
  • (Akasha Mudra) Finally, breathing very gently through your nostrils, envision yourself being purified by the most subtle element – the “ether” element of the ancients, or the most subtle energies that infuse space, or the quantum field of infinite potentials. Let this most subtle breath dissolve any remaining sense of solidity or density and let your heart and mind open to be clear and vast like the infinite sky.

On Rainbows

Posted on by Esterina Anderson

This morning I was doing mantras on my beloved mala beads off the Exuma Islands in the Bahamas on our good friend’s catamaran. 

It suddenly started to drizzle, then rain – quite abruptly and hard. My husband who was doing his own yoga on the other hull and I ran to the back of the boat where we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow.

Wow… It stopped me in my tracks. How beautiful. And how beautiful to see a full rainbow on the horizon. We are so lucky.

I couldn’t help but think of the state of Ukraine and her beautiful human citizens who are not so lucky. These past few days I have instinctively wanted to use personal mantra to will something positive or hopeful to the outcome of this unnecessary war. But I also remembered that mantra is personal and will not work for anyone outside yourself. I briefly wondered just then as I have for the past several mornings why then do we use group mantra to raise consciousness or send faith outward? 

The answer was in front of me. 

The rainbow. I marveled at the colors. The anagram of ROY G BIV that I learned around the kindergarten years. The order holds true no matter where you are. 

About 10 years ago while listening to U2’s song Ultraviolet, I contemplated and then researched the meaning of colors and the length of their spectrums. As I started to get back into art a few years later, I considered the meaning of colors even more. The way they blend, and how a color wheel can seem continuous from red to purple, it’s really not. Purple to red is the only place on the wheel that isn’t quite part of nature. What happens between those two? Is there a real place between them? 

White light contains it all. The earth bends the suns rays and we get the rainbow to the visible eye. But what is beyond that? We know about infrared and ultraviolet, but what is there that we can’t see or detect with the combination of instruments and our 5 senses? 

Universally red is considered basic and instinctive while purple is considered spiritual and highly conscious. Red is larger and takes up more space on the rainbow. Purple is smaller and is only accessed by passing all of the rainbow’s outer colors. 

What lies past purple going inward?

What can’t we see?

I stared at this gem that appears when the elements of fire (sun) and water mix into the element of air seemingly right into the element of earth’s horizon. 

The purple color starts to go within. 

Going within is the key. It’s the path to something deeper, meaningful and what isn’t just a mirage or hologram, but what is real and we can’t see or detect with our eyes. 

We can all go within and quiet the mind of excuses, fears, worries, selfish desires, etc to find the right answer to anything. The answer that is ultimately right for the world, not just the human who is asking. 

Those fears, excuses, desire, etc are the other “colors” you need to pass through in order to find the peace within. 

The place within where field or maybe plane of existence of the personal self does not matter. What matters is what is real and what is for the greater good. 

So perhaps the question I wondered about mantras for personal matters vs mantras for others was right there in the rainbow. It is the bridge between personal self and greater good. I can do mantra to seek my own higher consciousness, which is ultimately for the greater good. Or I can chant with others in community for the greater good. 

It all works if the intention is to leave all the material and selfish behind and pray for peace and harmony for all. 

ALL. 

Regardless of species, race, skin or hair color, or beliefs anyone was taught. 

If you truly truly go within, you too will know that none of anything material or visible matters if what you wish for others is what you want for yourself. 

Just some of my deeper thoughts this morning. 

Namaste

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Chinese New Year and the Magic of Your Thoughts

Posted on by Esterina Anderson

Last year right around this time a trip to the post office may have changed my life.

I was online and noticed a sign for stamps celebrating Chinese New Year. I picked up my phone to look up the date. Friday, February 12, 2021. I wondered why Chinese New Year wasn’t based on the calendar. 

Later, at home, I popped that very question into Google. I learned Chinese New Year was based on the new moon and I read quite a bit about the traditions and celebration.

Still, I wondered – Why this time of year? 

A few days later during my morning meditation routine I had some interesting thoughts. 

This time last year I set an intention during my morning meditation to quit drinking. I would do some EFT (tapping) and imagine burning up the energies getting in the way of doing so.

For the New Year of 2021 I placed a Shiva statue on my meditation table and switched my daily mala mantra to “Om Namah Shivaya”. I also placed a wooden sign I painted above the door frame of my meditation space with this same mantra.

Each morning felt fresh and new. I optimistically thought “Today is the day I don’t drink”. By mid-day I’d decide to drink, but that would be the last day. It was a futile merry go round and I couldn’t seem to make it stop and find where the exit back into the amusement park was.

I needed a push. I chose Shiva for that push. Stick with me about why… 

In yoga teacher training I learned a little about Hinduism and the 3 main deities of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are the Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer. In Ayruveda they can be likened to Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter. 

Shiva destroys the season of summer each year and ushers in Fall, then Winter. At some point Brahma takes over and creation starts over. Spring begins. Simple enough concept. 

This particular morning of 2/8 on my meditation cushion, I looked up at this piece I created in 2019.  It may literally look like “Chinese” to anyone but me – however; it represents my own conglomeration of beliefs/knowledge regarding Taoism, Hinduism, Ayurveda, the seasons, the directions of the earth, time, and the color wheel. 

I thought about Shiva and my question of why Chinese New Years falls during this time of year.

And while looking at my art I saw how I incorporated the 3 primary colors with the 3 Ayurvedic doshas into 4 seasons. 

Was there is a distinct point in which Spring really begins and Winter ends? A time when Shiva’s work ends and Brahma’s begins? How could it not be at this very time of year? 

While the ground is frozen and the leaves are long gone, it’s only 3 or so weeks away from crocuses coming up. Clearly flowers can’t pop up above ground without some underground work below right?

Buds are already on the trees at the Equinox. 

Mother Nature silently begins her work as the days become noticeably longer but it’s still very much winter. 

She must start around now. And why not with a mid-winter New Moon? Seems like good timing to me! Perhaps that is when the bulk of Shiva’s work is “done” for the season. 

Still with my conglomerate story? 

Shiva is a “destroyer” but simultaneously/alternatively known as a change agent or transformer. When Shiva is involved, it is apparent.

In this famous statue, Shiva is shown dancing. He is known as the cosmic dancer. Stomping and keeping the beat of the universe moving. The stomping and dancing represent moving things along, transforming life and matter, keeping it all going and preventing it all from being stuck. 

It’s why I was meditating and attempting to tap into this energy.

Side Note: In Christianity – Do you know who else is known as the Lord of the Dance?

This particular Monday morning of 2/8 I lamented on how another weekend went by and I did not stop drinking. Chinese New Year was that Friday 2/12. A new start, a new beginning. I would stop by that Friday with the Chinese New Year NO MATTER WHAT.  

I went through my morning routine: meditate, tap, mantra; with the strong intention of quitting the drink woven in.  

Be careful what you wish for. And even more importantly how you wish for it. 

That Friday did not arrive, at least not in the way I had planned. I wanted to stop by then and by golly some forces came in like a lion and made darn good certain that by Friday I was not to be drinking.

I drank that Monday. Forces were with me. There were four very irritating things taking place around me; four really tough things that would irritate and worry just about anyone.

Did I face them? No I didn’t. I drank instead. 

So what happened?

I lost my mind. I had a strong and violent PTSD episode. It wasn’t the first time. I had a lovely trip to the Emergency Room until the wee hours of the night because I was simply unable to stop hyperventilating in an elevated panic attack. 

It was on a gurney in the middle of the night on the morning of 2/9/21 at Yale New Haven Hospital, by myself. In the middle of a pandemic with a mask on and the future unknown in every way. 

I KNEW what had happened wouldn’t have happened if I did not drink. I couldn’t drink anymore. There can’t be any more “tomorrows” when I’ll quit. It had to happen now. Not Friday. NOW. I looked up a service I kept seeing on TV during my soap opera where they come into your home to help you with addiction issues. I put in a request for information and I began enrollment the next day.

The next few days and weeks were an absolute mess. I made a mess of my life. I didn’t live in my house again until April. My husband and I didn’t live together again until June. 

It was the worst of times.

It was the best of times. 

I prayed for a Shiva-like intervention. A Shiva like intervention is what I got.

It’s not how I would have imagined I’d get there, but it happened.

I don’t know if anything else would have given me pause to really self-reflect and evaluate where I was in my life, how I’d gotten there, and to really acknowledge and own the mistakes I made along with way.  

I knew the moment I made the absolute decision to quit that no matter what came next, things would be better even if everything fell apart and my future life would be unrecognizable. 

“All of these things make me who I am”

On the one hand my whole life, every decision I made and experiences I lived through led me to where I was (the bottle). On the other hand, in trying to quit and going to therapy and learning about PTSD with the intention to become a better person for the prior 10+ years; I felt I had been training for this moment for a long time. 

I’d learned and understood deeply before then that life goes on and everything happens for a reason. I learned how to meditate and breath through it. I knew where to look for resources, who in my life would be helpful, how to fall asleep in the face of pain and how to channel the influx of both good and bad overwhelming energy into something creative. 

I knew from mistakes past that I had to stop and rest when my body called for it. I knew I had to forgive myself when I really took the veil off about how I had hurt others. While it hurt to know, see and feel this pain, I knew ultimately it was ok because I had faith and know my creator doesn’t make mistakes. I was not supposed to be in any other place in space or time other than where I was.

It wasn’t AS easy as I am writing it out to sound. But it was easier than I thought. I knew no matter what happened that I would be ok, and eventually even better. I had preferences on what I would have liked and put the intentions out there. But I was careful to also put out the intention to accept whatever did happen, especially if it is ultimately for my own good.

Good things happened to a handful of others in my immediate circle as well. Based on some of the realizations and choices I made, others were able to ultimately respond to me in healthier ways and evaluate themselves with a new set of eyes.

If I expanded what I just wrote to those I have met in the past year from various recovery avenues; I have been unbelievably inspired and have been told that I have inspired many others too.

While not quite a picnic, everything that transpired put me and my loved ones in a more enlightened and accepting place. 

There are some folks in my outer circle who might not see it that way, but I trust in the powers that be that if those individuals were willing to look, there is a gem in there for them to uncover as well. Something we were meant to bump into one another for to better ourselves and each other in some form.

The Coelho’s The Alchemist, the boy searches the world for the treasure, only to learn it’s been within the whole time. One of my favorite lines from that book is: 

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Thank you Shiva? 

However, the universe will not give you what you want directly. It will provide for you the intention that you have behind that desire. 

If your intentions are less than desirable, selfish, or towards only your kind/posse/etc, that will come to you just as it was put out. The Lord’s Prayer tells us this in the line: 

“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. 

You will only get from the universe what you give. 

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

If you strive to become better – and your intentions are pure, you will see how clearly this plays out and notice how you are creating your own life with your own thoughts. 

It’s TRICKY. Pure doesn’t mean “I want to be rich”. Being rich means someone else loses or you have more than others. That isn’t pure and even if it happens, it will not manifest in ways that feel good. 

While tricky, little can go wrong if you are good and have respectable intentions. Also, it is important to be and be clear about what you want, because as you vacillate the universe is equally vacillating in giving it to you. 

I learned a lot this past year. Especially how I can enjoy life more by controlling my thinking which is so much easier when it is never clouded by alcohol. 

My life is different, but you’d hardly notice. Good and bad things can and will always happen. But it has been easier as I learn and remember to accept what is and I’m not pining and wishing for it to be any different. 

While I still may instinctively want things another way – I need to know that I really don’t want it any other way. What happens as my response to it – that is ALL on me. 

Namaste. 

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