Do you prefer yoga to meditation? Or meditation to yoga? For many of us in the western world, moving our bodies is a lot easier than sitting with our unruly minds. For others, a daily yoga practice is just too much to ask, but meditation feels doable.
With yoga, breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation flourishing in the western world in an amazing way, I still see a lot of confusion around the roles of these techniques in relationship to each other. The truth is that yoga, breathing and meditation are all cogs of the same wheel, each playing a very important role in the purification of the body and the freedom of the mind.
Join me as I explain the subtle body science and profound effects that yoga, breathing and meditation have on the body, mind and spirit.
- COACH: Using a gentle voice, guide your client through this meditation before or during a coaching session. Alternatively, you may choose to create a recording of the script that may be used in-between coaching sessions. This mindfulness meditation script is designed to assist you to explore your inner and outer experiences in the present moment.
- Anandamaya kosha. This is the bliss body and is known as the kosha of joy, bliss and love. Ananda means bliss – not bliss in the sense of emotions (such as pleasure or desire), but bliss in the sense of a long drawn-out, unbounded experience of reality. The ancients viewed the experience of the bliss body as an experience of the deepest.
Guided meditation script Therapeutic Yoga Meditation for Connective Tissue. August 26, 2013 August 26, 2013 Nancy Levenson. Maitri Yoga, Manomaya Kosha, meditation, meditation script, Meditations, NamasteWorks, NamasteWorks Free Yoga in the Park, NamasteWorks Therapeutic Yoga.
The Vedic Sciences
Before we talk about yoga, breathing, and meditation individually, let’s examine the common goal of all the Vedic sciences. These three techniques were all used as part of Ayurveda, which was the Vedic system of health designed to purify the body in order to enhance self awareness and lay the foundation for deep and profound transformational changes in one’s life.
Of these three techniques, yoga works most directly on the density and imbalance of the body. Clearly, there are well-documented benefits of a yoga practice on physical health, well being, stress reduction, fitness, and mental and emotional health. Each posture in a yogic practice breaks up physical congestion and adhesions in the muscle and soft tissue that literally block the flow of the body’s prana, or life force, through the body. Without the unobstructed flow of prana, the body becomes dense, toxic and emotionally protective.
Pranayama, or breathing techniques, were prescribed to drive the prana or life force into both the body and the mind. Once the yoga has plowed through subtle physical blockages, old protective mental and emotional patterns that create the density of the body are cleared by the movement of the life force through specific pranayama breathing exercises.
Meditation is the final step on this road to deep transformational change. With the prana now moving through the subtle energy channels (called nadis ) into both the body and mind, the ability to drop into a state beyond thought becomes possible. This is the role of meditation – to transcend incessant thinking and begin to function from a deeper place of feeling and knowing.
Traditionally, each yoga posture, breathing technique and type of meditation was individually prescribed by a master to help redirect subtle energy into subtle channels or nadis that would support the most successful spiritual progress for that specific person.
Before I take you further into the subtle body science of yoga, breathing and meditation, let’s take a look at a map of the whole person through the lens of the Vedic sciences.
Koshas – The Building Blocks of a Human Being
In the eyes of Ayurveda, the human body is a container for the true self – or pure consciousness – which has its seat in the center of this container. Surrounding the eternal Self is a series of sheaths, traditionally called koshas, which organize the various elements of the human being. These sheaths get progressively more dense as they move outward. As I map out the sheaths, I’ll start with the densest, outermost sheath and move inward.
Understanding the way the sheaths work can be helpful in mapping out a way to access the stillness of pure consciousness, which may be said to be the goal of yoga, breathing, meditation, and Ayurveda.
Annamaya Kosha – The Body Sheath
The sheath that we are perhaps most conscious of is the annamaya kosha, or the body sheath. According the the Vedic sciences, this sheath is actually the last line of defense, meaning that imbalances that go unchecked in the other sheaths will ultimately manifest as symptoms in the body.
As I mentioned, as a technique with a strong physical component, yoga works most directly on the imbalances of the body. But it really begins before that, in the Pranamaya kosha, or energy sheath.
Pranamaya Kosha – The Energy Sheath
Just within the body sheath is the energy sheath (pranamaya kosha) where prana, or life force, moves. The energy sheath is the support system for the body sheath. In order for the body to function properly, prana must be flowing freely. Pokemon x decrypted rom.
It is here that yoga is most effective. When prana does not flow freely, the whole energy flow of the subtle body system is compromised. The 72,000 subtle energy channels (called nadis) don’t activate – in fact, they don’t exist if prana doesn’t flow. Without prana flowing through the nadis, the energy centers (chakras) are blocked and spiritual progress comes to a grinding halt. Each yoga posture is much like a whole body mudra. Each asana has a specific effect on the opening of subtle channels and on the movement of the prana. This movement of prana is not just an esoteric idea, it is something you can feel and experience directly by trying a few simple yoga postures.
Pranayama also works at this level. Pranayama breathing exercises are used to activate the nadi system. These are very subtle channels that not only carry prana but also the body’s most subtle energy, its consciousness or what is called shakti. It is the movement of consciousness that begins the nudge the body into heightened awareness and transformational change.
But how does prana get blocked in the first place? To get the answer, we have to look back at the manomaya kosha, or mind sheath.
Manomaya Kosha – The Mind Sheath
In childhood, we inevitably get our feelings hurt. Someone takes our seat or makes fun of us on the playground, and we are crushed. We no longer feel that it is safe to live in our heart-centered world, and we employ the mind to protect our feelings from getting hurt again. The mind is located in a more dense sheath called the Manomaya kosha. I call this the great barrier sheath. Unfortunately, the mind does such a good job of protecting us that, over time, it creates a seemingly impenetrable barrier – doing everything it can to keep all invaders out of our delicate heart space, including ourselves.
When we’ve lost touch with our true selves and the mind takes the reins, the prana does not flow freely and blockages are created in the pranamaya kosha.
Meditation helps balance the manomaya kosha by inviting us to still the mind and transcend the trajectory of thought, unveiling the connection to pure consciousness that is always there. Pranayama also works at this level by driving prana into the mind and loosening old protective mental and emotional patterns. In this place of non-thinking, uninhibited by old emotional patterns, the mind finally has a choice. Seeing its fears and attachments for what they are (protective thought patterns), we have the choice to act out of that fear, or out of our true nature.
With a clear mind, we can connect into an even more subtle sheath that acts to gently protect our hearts from the stimulating and distracting nature of mind: the vijnanamaya kosha, or discernment sheath.
Vijnanomaya Kosha – The Sheath of Discernment
Sometimes called the Intellectual or Wisdom sheath, the Vijnanomaya kosha is the sheath of discernment. Here we discern between the impressions that we allow ourselves to experience on the deepest level, and the ones we do not let in. You can think of this kosha much like a lotus flower that opens and closes as needed.
Meditation helps balance the vijnanomaya kosha by stilling the mind and allowing us to access a pure place of feeling and knowing, so that we can know what is right without having to think about it. It can also be described as the level of gut feeling or intuition.
Anandamaya Kosha – The Bliss Sheath
At the center of all the other sheaths, the subtlest sheath is called the Anandamaya kosha, or bliss sheath (Ananda means great joy or bliss.) Housed in the heart, the seat of pure consciousness, the bliss sheath lies closest to our eternal Self and governs our authentic self-expression.
Yoga, pranayama, and meditation work together to help us cultivate and maintain a constant connection to the Anandamaya kosha, so that we may carry this connection to our true selves and pure consciousness into every aspect of our lives.
Overcoming Fear
The only roadblocks in the healing process are our fears. From here, as we continue to live with awareness through the practices of yoga, breathing and mediation, we are constantly confronted with more choices. We are continually challenged to take the risk to be vulnerable, powerful and loving rather than controlling, needy and fearful. This is the game of life and the real purpose of all Vedic sciences.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
Lie comfortably on your back, and try to support your head as best as possible as the weight of it may become a distraction throughout the practice. Ensure you feel safe, warm, and supported by the blankets, props and space you are in.
Lying down in savasana, rest your head in neutral alignment, let your legs will fall easily to the sides, however allow the right and left side body to feel symmetrical. Walk one shoulder blade underneath of your body and then the other as your arms and hands comfortably fall to the side of your body with your palms outstretched.
Staring at the back of your eyelids, engage your peripheral vision and allow the eyes to sink back and wide into the eye sockets. Swallow, and track the energy of release down through your mouth to the base of your digestive system.
Yoga Nidra is a practice of deep relaxation to guide you to the seat of your conscious awareness. Through complete voluntary stillness and conscious relaxation of the physical body, tune yourself to the electric current of your nervous system and cue it to start to relax, rest and calm down. Through the practice of yoga nidra, you can enable the consciousness of your cells to come into a vibrational frequency with the optimal blue print of the human body and Spirit. This is naturally done by entering deep states of conscious relaxation. Position the awareness of your mind to staying awake and alert through the entire practice.
Stillness of your outer form will inspire and allow the inner fluctuation of thoughts and wakefulness to take the cue towards a quieter inner landscape as you begin to notice the natural pregnant pauses in between the top of your inhale and the bottom of your exhale. (pause) If you have trouble calming the mind, allow yourself to think the thoughts that are coming to your awareness right now and by the action of watching and observing their fluctuations, sink into a deeper seat of awareness inside of yourself. If you have no resistance to whatever is arising inside this moment, you will naturally be in a state of freedom…
Widen the bones of your pelvis and the bones of your skull and allow both to sink into the soft receptivity of the earth. Widen the central channel of your spinal column and feel a mercurial widening of the abdominal organs, the lungs and giving more space for your soft-beating heart. The bones on either side of your nose begin to widen and the muscles of your face soften any expression, personality and emotion gently melts off.
Any hardness your body has had to adapt due to stress, worry, or concern is placed on pause, you are here right now…in a safe environment., feel a newborn like softness and liquidity is taking over your entire system. You are feeling the bones, joints, and muscles start to pool to the back of your body and the edge of where you end and the atmosphere around you begins, becomes more ethereal. Relaxation is a choice, a choice to return to your natural state.
Lastly, relax the part of your brain that labels and identifies matter into things separate from yourself. The sounds outside and inside of this room, my voice, the sound of your beating heart, the temperature of this room, the light dancing at the back of your eyelids, all become reduced to the vibration of light and sound that your softening inner ears begin to receive merely as vibration rather than things you prefer or dislike. Feel the vibration of your cells, the vibration of your environment, and the electricity of your body become quieter, softer and like a soft breeze to your conscious awareness.
SANKALPA
Through conscious relaxation and the soft receptivity that is evoked with humble prayer we will plant the Sankalpa, the intention or resolve that we work with in yoga nidra to express our authentic desire to the field of consciousness that we are softly swimming inside. This nidra practice will be guiding you towards a powerful and complete healing within your form. In a concise, powerful, and positive statement, your sanklalpa will be worded to express the form of healing that you are intending to receive in this practice.
Allow your mind to go into the quiet space associated with listening as you direct your awareness to the exquisite intelligence of your body, the all-seeing nature of your spirit, and the perfect condition of your heart to receive the Sankalpa that wants to come through you at this time. When you place your precise intention into that same receptive stillness of your mind, it is in this place that the fertile soils of quietude that become the deepest root amongst many thoughts that carry a more shallow foundation.
The doubtful, unwell, and disconnected portions of the mind now silence for the Sankalpa to rise to your awareness. If you are seeking an overall feeling of health and wellness, you may keep your Sankalpa general intending to align with the optimal blueprint of a perfect human form. If you are requesting a healing of a specific body part, internal issue, holding pattern within yourself, or disconnection from your essence – allow your Sankalpa to reflect the specifics of the healing that you will be receiving.
Examples may be. “ I am a perfectly healed, vibrant channel of Divine life force” or “My internal organs and systems are operating with perfect wholeness and wellness” “I am an expression of optimal health in human form”
“I am completely aligned with my body”
“I am well”.
Now, repeat your Sankalpa three times with courage, sincerity and complete faith in the power of it.
ROTATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
I will begin to guide you deeper into the practice of yoga nidra. Relax your looking eyes as we move through the rotation of physical consciousness – begin to see with your inner eye and your feeling state of sensation. Because this is a healing focused nidra, as I guide you to specific body parts, see and feel a warm glowing golden light being awakened in that area See the golden light connecting all the parts of your body that you bring your consciousness to. Move your awareness in sync with my voice as we connect the entire body in warm golden light.
Feel and see now the warm golden light awakening in your right thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, small finger, palm of the hand saturated with golden light, back of the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, right side of ribcase, keep moving the golden light down the body…right thigh, knee, calf, ankle, top of the right foot, sole of the right foot, big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe. Hold the entire right side of your body in strong presence of the golden light.
Leave the right side, move to the left. Warm golden light awakens in the left hand. Left thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, small finger, palm of the hand filled with warm golden light, back of the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, left side of ribcase, continue feeling the golden light…left thigh, knee, calf, ankle, top of the left foot, sole of the foot, big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe. Feel and see the entire left side of your body come online.
See this golden light move into your torso, connecting every single cell of your internal organs, lungs, heart, spine, nerves and muscular connections. all being touched by awareness…golden warm light…
Move up the central spine into the brain. Move now into the forehead, right eyebrow, left eyebrow, center of the eyebrows, right eyeball, left eyeball, right cheek, left cheek, right ear, left ear, right nostril, left nostril, nose, tip of the nose, upper lip, lower lip, chin, whole face, teeth, gums, tongue, right and left side of the brain – Your entire head saturated now with golden warm light. Now bring awareness to all major parts, arms, legs, front, back, Entire body lit, connected, without any disconnections in your awareness…homogenous awareness of your whole body…warm golden light…whole body awareness…whole body awareness… Feel and see your entire body deeply woven into the energy of this golden light. Feel your whole body buzzing light without interruption or disconnection seamlessly from top to bottom, within all areas, perfectly connected, perfectly glowing patterns of light. Feel your whole body communicating perfect and optimal health…you are in a healing state…recalibrating to the larger intelligence field of nature…there’s nothing you need to do…just stay aware and observe your body healing itself…(long pause)
PRANAMAYA KOSHA
Observe the breath…watch the natural breath arising inside you…you are witnessing life happening…without any interference…see the warm glowing golden light as the breath…moving…pulsing through you…the natural breath is growing the light…intensifying the light inside your body…Your breath is not localized to lungs…but every cell in your body is breathing…observe this…feel the power and movement of the breath like rivers of golden light flowing through your body. Every inhale and exhale seamlessly connect and move powerful light through your entire system. Soft, powerful light glowing with each inhale and exhale…(pause). Now bring awareness to your spine. Start at the bottom and watch the inhale travel up your spine…bringing the golden light to this area…once you reach the crown of the head, the exhale brings the light down the spine to coccyx. Maintain awareness of the breath moving up and down the spine…golden light moving simultaneously with the breath….(pause) Now mentally repeat the mantra of the breath - SO HAM with every breath. S-O as you breath in….H-A-M as you breath out…Stay alert with the mantra…light channeled up and down the spine…growing brighter and brighter with each repetition…illuminating the entire system…(pause)
MANOMAYA KOSHA
Now bring your awareness to the opposite sensations that I cue to you. Awakening these specific sensations will bring balance and homeostasis to the brain enabling a deeper sense of relaxation.
Now experience yourself becoming heavy. Feel every muscle, every bone, every joint heavy, sinking into the floor. Imagine the body being filled with sand, the sand filling out to the edges and corners of your body adding weight to your fingers and toes, sinking deeper through the back of your skull, through your shoulders, hips, and heels. Feel yourself so heavy that you couldn’t lift your body from the floor if you tried. So heavy, extreme heaviness.
Lightness, lightness, lightness, the body now becomes light, weightless. Every bone, muscle and joint begins to lighten and feel buoyant as if it could begin to float up off the floor. All the sand is now pouring out of your body and onto the floor. Feeling extremely light. The boundaries of the physical body begin to dissolve and fade away as your inner space begins to merge with the space surrounding you. Lightness, lightness, lightness.
Now, Recall the feeling of heavy and light. Hold both these sensations at the same time in your awareness. There is enough room inside you for both these sensations to be held in a relaxed way…(pause)
Feel the body now become very HOT
Develop the manifestation of heat in and around the body.
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Imagine standing in the desert, at midday, in the blazing hot sun. Your throat is becoming dry and parched from the heat. You are breathing in intense heat. Each inhale of the hot air increases the heat within your body.
Develop the feeling of heat within the body from head to toes.
Feel the experience with all of your senses.
You are experiencing extreme heat.
Now reverse the feeling and try to feel COLD
Become aware of temperature below zero, and dropping rapidly.
Your whole body experiences the effects of a freezing cold wind blowing from a snow-covered glacier.
A deep freeze descends around you.
Awaken a sense of intense cold. Feel your body start to shiver.
Now, hold both the sensations of hot and cold simultaneously. Feel both hot and cold together at the same moment in time…(pause)
Now bring about a feeling or past experience of sickness. What did it feel like to be sick..remember that feeling and tune into the low vibration of sickness..
Wellness, remember a time where you felt completely well and healthy. Your body and mind vibrant and rich. Let this sensation of total health and wellness expand throughout your body, as you stay relaxed…
Now hold both the feeling of sickness and wellness together in a relaxed way…(pause)
Shift into the space between the eyebrow centre. This is called Chidakash in yoga nidra…the space of consciousness…rest here in the dark emptiness… like the farthest corners of deep space. Sink your entire awareness into the blackness of the space and grow your mind even quieter…remember you are practicing yoga nidra…(pause)
VIJNANAMAYA KOSHA
We now prepare for rapid visualization. I will call off numerous images. You should try to develop a vision of these on all levels - feeling, emotion, awareness, imagination - as best as you can.
Jump from image to image as you hear them. Do not dwell on any particular images.
Practice non-attachment to anything that arises from the naming of the images. If you cannot keep up, do not worry - just follow the instructions. I may repeat a few images.
Some of the images may be known to you, some may be unknown. Either way, do not think too much or dwell on the images. Keep your awareness moving by following my voice.
Bright gold of the rising sun, luminous light of the full moon, green rainforest canopy, turquoise glacier lake X3, radiant pink of a sunset, bright red healthy blood, 100 purple wildflowers, ruby red statue of ganesha X3, A burning candle, Greek temple at sunrise, peacock feather, your own reflection in a mirror, a cross above a Church, white dove, a burning house, your mother’s face; raging mountain stream, tibetan prayer flags blowing in the wind, thousand petaled lotus flower X3…
Now see a tube growing out of the crown of your head. This tube extends upwards..to the furthest reaches of your conscious space..and plugs into source light (pause). This light is pure, clean, and in vibrational alignment with love. Sense the tube connected and plugged in..and the light begins to flow down the secure tube right into the crown gate of your head. Feel this clean pure light filling up your body. Sense the high vibrational energy moving through your body from head to toes. See and feel the quantity of light in your cells increasing. The overall frequency of your cells is growing higher. There is so much light inside your cells..light is emanating from your body into the surrounding space…(pause) Continue to see and feel your body’s amount of light growing and growing. Your body is in alignment now with love..your body is full of vitality..health..and wellness…(long pause)
Remember your Sankalpa. See and hear the words of your sankalpa in the space of chidakasha. With full awareness, faith and conviction, repeat your Sankalpa now 3 times (pause).
Gently return to your breath….your natural life giving breath…(pause)…feel the bones of your body, the sensations of the hard floor, the temperature of the room, the sound of my voice. Feel the formation of the many curves and lines of your form. Experience your relaxed body…your physical existence…whole body awareness…
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Kosha Meditation Script
Hari Om Tat Sat. Hari Om Tat Sat. Hari Om Tat Sat.
Pancha Kosha Meditation Script
When you are ready begin to move your body and feel yourself coming back fully. In your own time you can roll over onto one side into fetal position, and rest here for a few moments. (long Pause) Use your arms to push yourself to a natural seated position, eyes closed and attention inward. Sit in the state of wellness and vibrancy that is your essence and feel a powerful alertness grow through your being.