Before I understood the koshas, I was often overwhelmed. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations; they were all one ball of noise. And they often felt like too much information. Too much chaos.
It was no wonder I experienced anxiety, depression, and wanted to dissociate. It was no wonder I developed an eating disorder. The signals were buried under so much noise that I could not tell what was what. I could not hear what my body was actually saying.
The koshas gave me a way to listen to the different parts of myself. To slow down and hear the nuance in my experiences.
And I am not the only one who has been asking these questions. Yoga has been asking them for thousands of years.
Because they are human questions.
Questions about how we experience the world. About why we get stuck. Questions about how we cope. About how we find our way back to ourselves.
What Are the Koshas?
The koshas are a framework for understanding the different layers of our human experience. They are often described as sheaths or layers that make up who we are. These layers are not separate from each other. They are interdependent and constantly influence one another. But when we look through this framework, they give us a way to slow down and listen to what is happening, layer by layer.
The five koshas are:
Annamaya Kosha (Physical Body)
This is the layer of the physical body. The bones, muscles, organs, tissues. This is where we feel sensation, tension, pain, ease. It is the most tangible layer, and often the easiest to notice. We can feel a tight shoulder, a sore back, a knot in the stomach. These sensations are often more familiar, concrete, and relatively easy to name.
But even this layer can be challenging. Many of us have learned to override physical signals—to push through pain (no pain no gain), to ignore fatigue (sleep when your dead), to dissociate from discomfort. We have been trained to treat our bodies as vehicles for productivity rather than sources of wisdom.
And lastly, when this layer is loud, it is often harder to hear what the others. Just think of the last time you stubbed your toe, or were hangry.
Pranamaya Kosha (Energy Body)
This is the layer of breath and life force. The movement of energy through the body. This is where we feel the quality of our breath—whether it is shallow or full, constricted or free. It is also where we feel the more subtle sensations of aliveness or depletion.
This layer is harder to notice than the physical body. The breath is always there, but we rarely pay attention to it. We only notice it when it becomes difficult—when we are short of breath, when we are panicked, when we are exhausted. Learning to notice the breath without waiting for it to become a problem is a skill.
This layer can also be loud, and make it harder to hear other layers. Just look at the last time your allergies flared, or congestion made it hard to breathe.
Manomaya Kosha (Mental and Emotional Body)
This is the layer of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The stories we tell ourselves. The narratives that run in the background. The feelings that arise and fall. This is where we experience the churn of the mind—the endless commentary, the worry, the planning, the remembering.
This layer can be particularly loud. For many of us, the mental and emotional body is the only layer we are aware of. We live in our heads. Get caught in the stories, the judgments, the endless analysis. We mistake our thoughts for reality.
And, we can dismiss this part of ourself. Labelling some emotions as bad, for example anger. We can quiet them by overwhelming our senses, such as watching netflix while scrolling.
Vijnanamaya Kosha (Wisdom Body)
This is the layer of discernment, insight, and intuition. It is the part of us that can witness our thoughts and feelings without being swept away by them. It is where we access clarity, perspective, and the ability to make choices that align with our deeper values.
This layer is quieter. It does not shout; it whispers. It is the voice that says “this feels right” or “this is not for me.” The knowing that comes before the mind has time to analyze. It is the part of us that can hold our own experience with compassion, rather than judgment.
In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, DBT, we call this Wise Mind. But it can be hard to access when we have developed distrust in ourselves. Doubt our own intuition, or have spent years farming it out to others we see as smarter or stronger than us.
Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Body)
This is the layer of deep peace, connection, and wholeness. It is not about pleasure or happiness. Or being zen all the time. It is the felt sense of being at home in yourself. It is the layer that knows you are okay, even when life is hard.
This layer is the most subtle—and often the most difficult to access. It requires us to slow down enough to feel it. To be with ourselves without needing to fix, change, or improve anything. It is the layer of radical acceptance.
And it requires us to work through our stories and narratives about ourselves. Hello therapy!
The Challenge of Interoception
Interoception is our ability to sense what is happening inside our body at any given moment. It is how we know we are hungry, tired, anxious, or calm. It is how we feel the early signs of stress before they become overwhelming. How we know when we need rest, when we need to move, when we need to pause.
For many of us, interoception is a challenge.
We have learned to override our internal signals. We push through hunger, exhaustion, discomfort. Our conditioning says to override and tell ourselves that we are fine when we are not. We have been shaped by a culture that values productivity over presence, that rewards endurance over listening.
Sometimes we quiet our listening because it is hard to feel. Because feeling means being with what is actually happening, and that can be painful. It can be overwhelming. It can bring up things we are not ready to face.
This is further complicated by the way our brain functions. For those of us who have experienced adaptions in our executive function, us neurospicy folks, our body’s communication can be complicated. For example, when I am basking in the glow of an AudHD flow state, it is really hard to notice hunger, a full bladder, or remember that I have needs like social connection.
This is where the koshas become a guide. They give us a way to slow down and listen, layer by layer. Without judgment. Without pressure. Or needing to fix anything. Without an ablistic, “I should be able to…” way of thinking.
What Are the Kleshas?
The kleshas are the obstacles—the patterns of mind that keep us stuck.
They are often described as the afflictions or the root causes of suffering. The word klesha translates to “poison.” They are the mental and emotional habits that obscure our clarity, cloud our judgment, and prevent us from seeing ourselves and the world clearly.
The five kleshas are:
Avidya (Ignorance)
This is the fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. It is the false belief that we are separate, broken, or not enough. It is the root of all the other kleshas—the core distortion that shapes everything else.
Asmita (Egoism)
This is the identification with the ego. The part of us that says “I am this” or “I am not that.” It is the voice that compares, judges, and clings to a fixed sense of identity.
Raga (Attachment)
This is the attachment that causes us to cling to and prefer to pleasure or comfort. And drives our aversion to discomfort. The belief that if we just get what we want, we will be okay.
Dvesha (Aversion)
This is the resistance to what is unpleasant. The pushing away of discomfort, pain, or fear. The belief that if we can just avoid the hard stuff, we will be safe.
Abhinivesha (Fear of Death)
This is the deep-seated fear of annihilation. The primal urge to survive. It is the fear that drives so many of our patterns—the anxiety, the control, the inability to let go.
Sound familiar? This isn’t a sign that something wrong, these are realities of having a meaning making mind and deeply human. These are cognitive distortions. Patterns of thinking that keep us stuck in loops of suffering.
Understanding the Gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas
The gunas are the three qualities of nature, the energetic states that shape our experience, that helps us understand our mind states.
Sattva is balance, clarity, and harmony. It is the state of wise mind—where we can see clearly, respond thoughtfully, and feel grounded. When we are in a sattvic state, we are able to discern what is helpful and what is not.
Rajas is activity, agitation, and restlessness. It is the state of drivenness—where we are caught up in doing, striving, and wanting more. It can be productive, but it can also be exhausting and depleting.
Tamas is inertia, dullness, and heaviness. It is the state of stuckness—where we feel unmotivated, sluggish, or disconnected.
None of these states are good or bad. They are simply qualities of experience. The goal is not to eliminate rajas and tamas. It is to notice them, to understand them, and to have the flexibility to move between them—and to recognize when we are stuck in one.
The kleshas are often driven by rajasic or tamasic patterns. When we are caught in the churn of the mind, we are usually in a rajasic state—overthinking, overdoing, overanalyzing. When we are shut down or disconnected, we are often in a tamasic state.
The koshas can help us notice which guna is dominant—so we can make choices that bring us back toward balance.
Why This Matters
The koshas, kleshas and gunas are not something to memorize. They are a tool and framework to use.
They help us slow down and make space for our experience. And, they give us a framework for noticing the different layers of what is happening inside us—and a language for working with them.
When we understand the koshas, we can recognize that our physical exhaustion might be asking for rest, while our mind is still racing. We can notice that our emotions are overwhelming, but our wisdom body knows we are okay. We can learn to listen to the nuance, instead of being overwhelmed by the noise.
When we understand the kleshas, we can recognize when we are caught in a pattern of attachment, aversion, or self-judgment. We can notice when we are operating from ignorance or fear. We can begin to untangle the stories that keep us stuck.
This is not about fixing yourself. FAR FROM IT! It is about understanding yourself. It is about bringing curiosity and compassion to the parts of you that have been shaped by a world that told you to be different, better, smaller, stronger.
These help us to slow down, listen, and make choices that create life-enhancing outcomes for yourself, the people you love, and the people you serve.
The Invitation
One of the most powerful ways to work with the koshas is to do a simple check-in. This is not about getting it right. It is about practicing the art of listening to yourself, layer by layer.
I have created a short 10 minute audio guide for a kosha-based check-in. It is a way to slow down, tune in, and notice what is happening in your body, your breath, your mind, your heart, and your deeper knowing.
And if you want to learn more about how to use these frameworks in your own life—and in your work with others—our 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training is a place to deepen this understanding. You can join us for the whole training, or start with the module that calls to you most.
This is the kind of work that changes how you show up—not just as a teacher, but as a human.