Coverings of the Self: The Koshas as a Model of Integrated
Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Well-Being
Carol Haefner; email - [email protected]
The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA.
Abstract: Yoga developed as a discipline that sought to better understand human
nature and to explicate the trajectory of human growth to its full spiritual
potential. Yoga, specifically the koshas, outlines an integrative approach for
reaching this potential that comprises the full spectrum of human nature including
the physical body, the breath/energy body, the psycho-emotional body, the
wisdom or insight body, and the bliss or spiritual body. Yoga’s approach to the
study of human nature has been so systematic that it is believed to be “one of the
oldest continuous disciplines studying” (Rama, Ballentine, & Ajaya, 1998, p. xx)
human psychology and physiology.
Calling on this ancient wisdom, it is proposed that the koshic model is
relevant to the discussion of spirituality, health, and human flourishing because it
is based on an integrative and holistic view of the human being. Though the model
describes the “coverings of the self” in five layers or bodies, it is understood that
it is not really possible nor is it desirable to segregate the layers from one another.
This means that the physical cannot be separated from the psycho-emotional or
spiritual aspects of life. Fundamentally, yoga approaches the human organism as a
whole comprised of many interwoven and ever evolving aspects that continuously
interact and inform one another. Based on this understanding, this poster
demonstrates that the koshic model expands the current understanding of the
interdependence of the physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions that
underlie human flourishing.
Introduction: The koshas are an ancient concept that first appeared in the Taittrîya-Upanishad (c. 2500-1500 BCE). The
Taittrîya-Upanishad described five dimensions of the human being that is a physio-psycho-spiritual model of human nature. The
word kosha, which means layer or body, is used when describing the model. In concert with the idea of layers, concentric circles
or the analogy of an onion are often used when explaining the koshas. Layers imply that each dimension exists separately from
the others. Desikachar (2005) suggests using the word pancamaya instead of kosha to describe the model. He feels that the word
pancamaya (panca means five and maya means something that is all-pervading) better describes the multidimensional reality of
the human system (i.e., we are not simply a physical body). Pancamaya suggests that the “human system is comprised of
interconnected and interpenetrating dimensions . . . [that are] all present, all the time, in each part of the human system, even in
each cell of the body” (p. 18). The koshic model, which is embedded in yoga, describes the interdependence of all the dimensions
of the human being and suggests that a key factor in physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being is the conscious
integration of all these aspects of being into daily life. Yoga addresses the “roots of negative conditioning [and provides a]
multidimensional practice for positive transformation” (Blossom, 2004, p. 23).
Annamayakosha
Physical Body
Pranamayakosha
Energy/Breath Body
Manomayakosha
Mental/Emotional Body
• Deep, relaxed breath
• Reduced anxiety
• Pranayama: (prana means life
• Reduced muscle tension
force and ayama means extension • Mental and emotional balance
or expansion), breath work
• Working with the energy systems • Tranquility in body and mind,
viewed as a prelude to spiritual
of the body: nadis and chakras
practices (Saraswati, 1999)
• Yoga is dedicated to training this
level of mind: asana (postures),
• Disciplined and trained mind
pranayama (breath work),
necessary for spiritual growth
meditation
(Rama et al., 1998)
• Pratyahara: control sensory input • Greater capacity for
• Develop positive/loving
discernment
mental/motional states
• Begins to escape preoccupation
• Psychotherapy
with sensory data and
• Develop insight into
entanglements in the material
thoughts/attitudes/emotions:
world
Insight style meditation techniques
• Read holy texts
• Higher aspect of mind called buddhi
• Power to discriminate and evaluate
• Ability to step out of cause and effect
• Only aspect of mind that can select a course of • Setting intention to live with
action that leads to growth
integrity
Vijnanamayakosha • Nonjudgmental witnessing
• Meditation to help develop the
Wisdom/Intuition • Opens the way to transpersonal (beyond the
discriminative power of buddhi:
personal) awareness
Body
Dharana - focused concentration;
• Differentiates between relative reality
Dhyana - contemplation
(everyday mind and ordinary consciousness)
and larger, spiritual reality
• Intricate and already present aspect of human
beings
** Information from Blossom (2004) unless otherwise noted
Human’s are multilayered, multidimensional beings. The densest layer is the
physical body, while the most subtle layer is the bliss body. In the koshic model, none of
the layers stand alone, which means that health and human flourishing must be addressed
and integrated at each dimension.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga: Integrating the Koshas
1. Yamas: Code of ethics relating to aspects outside of oneself
2. Niyamas: Codes for personal behavior, attitudes toward the inner life
3. Asana: Physical postures
4. Pranayama: Breathing exercises, channeling and expanding prana,
(life force), bridge between external and internal realms
5. Pratyahara: Beginning stages of meditation, controlling the senses,
not being buffeted by external stimuli, bodymind grows calmer
6. Dharana: Concentration, focus, attention
7. Dhyana: Reflection, observation, contemplation
8. Samadhi: Bliss, integration, living to the full human potential
References
• Insight into self and world
• Ability to focus and direct the
mind
• Less tendency to get caught in
anxiety and “busy mind”
• Pure buddhi: energy beyond
the body and mind
• Equanimity
• Compassion, joy, love, peace
• Dimension of human exist that recognizes its
• Harmony between internal and
true nature as part of the Divine or Absolute
• Prayer
external environment while
reality
(Feuerstein,
2001)
Anandamayakosha
• Transcendent, boundless, ultimate (Pargament, • Meditation: Samadhi - absorption engaged in action necessary to
Bliss Body
live in the world (Srivathsan,
2007)
• Service for the greater good
2004)
• “State of bliss is the natural innate state of the
• Living full potential
conscious being” (Srivathsan, 2004, p. 6)
* Information from Rama et al. (1998) unless otherwise noted
Bliss Body
Physical
• Physical fitness
• Agility
• Flexibility
• Stamina, endurance
• Healthy body awareness
Anandamayakosha
Breath/
Energy
Manomayakosha
Mental/Emotional
Body
• Nervous system and sensory organs
• Everyday mind: Manas - lower mind;
Ahankara - ego, sense of I-ness
• Level of busy mind with its litany of likes,
dislikes, wants, aversions, impulses, emotions
• Does not evaluate or discriminate, reacts
through habit or instinct
Signs of Health
Mental/
Emotional
• Circulatory, respiratory systems
• Link between physical body and more subtle
aspects of mind
• Prana: life force which exists in all things,
animate and inanimate - energy of all physical
and mental activities
Pranamayakosha
• Breath: links humans to larger ecological
Breath/Energy Body system
• Interpenetrates and informs all aspects of the
human organism as well as all the rest of
creation while supporting the
interconnectedness of all dimensions of
existence
• Asana (hatha yoga, postures)
• Healthy diet
• Body work, massage
• Somatic therapies
• Rest, relaxation
Wisdom/Intuition Body
Wisdom/
Intuition
Annamayakosha
Physical Body
• Anatomical systems
• All psychological, emotional, and spiritual
expression rooted in the body (Cortright, 2007)
• Expresses subtle energies - “physical state is an
‘embodiment’ of . . . mental state[s]” (Rama et
al., 1998, p. 3)
Vijnanamayakosha
Bliss
Kosha
The Koshas
Characteristics*
Practices**
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