What are the Five Koshas?
THE FIVE KOSHAS
As a certified yoga therapist, and practitioner of yoga for 33 years, Terra Gold, also
use the 5-koshas model as her blueprint for medical intakes and
treatment. In the 5-koshas, the body is viewed as being made up of five
bodies that range in form from more dense, to subtler. These bodies
impact and interweave with each other.
-The Physical Body (Annamaya Kosha) refers to the structural body we
see (i.e. bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments).
-The Energy Body (Pranamaya Kosha) refers to the energy we are
composed of that travels through inner channels called nadis, and
travels on the breath.
-The Mental/Emotional Body (Manomaya Kosha) is the layer where
emotions and our instinctive mind reside.
-The Higher Intelligence Body (Vijnanamaya Kosha), also known as the
wisdom layer, is our intuitive guiding self that recognizes with greater
overview perspective what is most useful and relevant.
-Then there is the Bliss Body (Anandamaya Kosha), the subtlest layer,
connecting us each with divine flow, bliss, and ease.
By recognizing the role of the kosha bodies as a blueprint for health and
healing, it helps me choose what kinds of treatments to offer in support
of what is presenting.