
Yoga that actually changes your life
January 31, 2025 3:47 pmAmy McDonald explains how the koshas can help you move, feel and think differently.
You know that feeling when you step off your mat after a yoga class and feel lighter, clearer, more connected, but then, life happens? The notifications, the emails, the never-ending list of things to do. And before you know it, that yogic bliss dissolves, and you’re right back in the mental noise and physical tension.
I get it. I’ve been there too.
For years, I felt like yoga was something I did on the mat, but I struggled to carry that same depth into my daily life. I wanted my practice to be more than just movement, I wanted it to reshape how I lived, how I made decisions, how I held space for myself and others.
When I really started to understand the koshas, this is a tool that I can confidently say has been one of the most powerful tools to help me deepen my yoga on and off the mat.
The koshas offer a roadmap for understanding our human experience. They show us that we’re not just a body, not just a mind, not just emotions, we are layered and complex. And we are deeply interconnected.
And when we learn to work with these layers, we can begin to see where we’re out of balance and take steps to realign.
Because ultimately, yoga isn’t about nailing the perfect pose or achieving the deepest backbend, it’s about developing a way of being that feels aligned, resilient, and deeply attuned to your inner world. It’s about moving through life with a sense of presence, adaptability, and connection, where you can listen to your body’s needs, honour your energy, and navigate challenges with more ease.
When we work with the koshas, we’re not just practicing yoga, we’re cultivating a more intuitive, embodied, and conscious way of living that supports us far beyond the mat.
Here, I’m going to show you how…
How I teach with the Koshas for transformation…
If you’ve ever been to one of my retreats or taken my classes, you’ll know that I don’t just guide you through poses, I aim to create a multi layered experience for you.
I weave together yin and yang practices, allowing you to move between effort and ease, strength and surrender. I bring in breath practices – pranayama, meditation, mantra, and chanting to shift energy and really connect you in, to get the most out of the practice. I love to use essential oils to engage the senses, to bring you into an energetic space that feels more balanced in seconds and to deepen awareness. And I always take into account the environment we are in—whether that’s an open-air studio surrounded by nature, a candlelit room, or the changing seasons that shape how we move and feel.
Nothing is random. Everything is designed to take you on a journey of inner exploration and transformation.
And one of my favourite frameworks for this journey? The koshas. Because they give us a structured yet fluid way of exploring ourselves, on every level.
Understanding the Koshas: A Map for Balance
Think of the koshas like layers of clothing, from the heaviest outer layer to the lightest, most subtle inner sheath. In yogic philosophy, the teachings are that we are made up of five koshas or layers, each influencing the way we experience life:
Annamaya Kosha – The Physical Body
Your muscles, bones, tissues, and organs, the part of you that physically moves through the world.
Pranamaya Kosha – The Energy Body
The unseen flow of breath, circulation, and energy that fuels every action. This is also our nervous system.
Manomaya Kosha – The Mental & Emotional Body
The patterns of thought, emotion, and reactivity that shape how you perceive life.
Vijnanamaya Kosha – The Wisdom Body
Your ability to see clearly, make aligned decisions, and trust your intuition.
Anandamaya Kosha – The Bliss Body
Your deepest sense of connection, joy, and inner peace, the feeling of being completely present and whole.
What I love about the koshas is that they are constantly influencing one another. If your physical body is tense, your breath becomes shallow. If your energy is drained, your mind struggles to focus. If your mind is racing, it’s harder to hear your intuition.
When one kosha is out of balance, we feel it, sometimes as physical exhaustion, brain fog, self-doubt, or emotional heaviness. But when we learn how to nurture each layer, we start to feel more aligned, present, and resilient in every part of our lives.
So how do you know which kosha needs your attention? Let’s explore them one by one. For each, I’ll share practices to try and a journaling prompt to help you start this exploration today.
Bringing the Koshas Into Your Life
1. Feeling Heavy, Disconnected, or Physically Stuck? – Nourish Your Annamaya Kosha
This is your physical body, this is the most tangible layer and a lot of the time we are completely disconnected because we are all up in the mind like a floating head so this is where it easily is pushed out of balance. When it’s out of balance, you might feel tightness in the body, tensions, feel tired or sluggish.
Try this:
- Instead of forcing yourself through a high-intensity practice because you want to get your workout in, ask: What does my body actually need today?
- Focus on grounding movements, slow, steady flows, deep stretches, time in nature.
- Prioritise restorative sleep and nourishing foods to replenish your body at a cellular level.
Journaling Prompt:
- What is one small but meaningful way I can nourish and care for my body today?
2. Feeling Scattered, Overstimulated, or Drained? – Rebalance Your Pranamaya Kosha
This is your energetic layer, and when it’s depleted, you might feel tired, anxious, or foggy.
Try this:
- Regulate your breath, longer exhales to calm the nervous system, deeper inhales to re-energise.
- Notice where your energy leaks, are you constantly multitasking, saying yes to too much, overloading your system, scrolling as soon as you wake up or before you go to bed? The first step with this is to shine a light on whatever these are and then consciously start to make changes.
- Take breaks from overstimulation, step outside, breathe fresh air, unplug from screens.
Journaling Prompt:
- What in my life expands my energy or renews my energy, and what in my life is draining my energy?
3. Stuck in Negative Thought Loops or Emotional Overload? – Soothe Your Manomaya Kosha
This is your mental and emotional body, and when it’s overactive, you might feel overwhelmed, reactive, or mentally exhausted. Maybe you’re finding it hard to sleep or turn off your brain.
Try this:
- Take five minutes to journal, letting your thoughts spill onto the page without filtering. Just as you wake up or before you go to bed, do this for 7 days and you will quickly see the effects.
- Do a walking meditation, bringing awareness to each step, each breath.
- Use mantra or chanting to shift emotional energy and calm the mind. Just chanting ‘OM’ for 2-5 minutes will not only calm the mind it will also balance the nervous system.
Journaling Prompt:
- What is a story I have been carrying with me that is no longer serving me and how can I reframe this so I can positively move forward?
4. Struggling to Trust Yourself or Make Clear Decisions? – Awaken Your Vijnanamaya Kosha
This is your wisdom body, and when it’s clouded, you might feel indecisive, disconnected from your intuition, or doubtful of your path.
Try this:
- Create space for quiet reflection, sit in stillness, even for just a few minutes.
- Ask yourself – ‘If I trusted myself completely, what would I do next?’ and ‘What patterns keep showing up that I need to pay attention to?’
- Pay attention to what feels expansive vs. constrictive, your body often knows before your mind does.
Journaling Prompt:
- If I could receive guidance from my highest self, what would it say to me in this moment?
5. Feeling Disconnected from Joy, Creativity, or a Sense of Purpose? – Access Your Anandamaya Kosha
This is your bliss body, and when it’s dimmed, you might feel flat, uninspired, or restless, even when everything “looks” fine from the outside.
Try this:
- Do something joyful with no agenda, dance, paint, sing, move intuitively.
- Shift your focus from doing to being, spend time in nature, in stillness, in presence.
- Practice gratitude, not just as a list, but as a felt experience.
Journaling Prompt:
- Where in my life am I forcing or striving, and how can I invite more ease and surrender?
A Simple Kosha Check-In Practice
Pause for a moment. Take a deep breath.
Which kosha, which layer of your being, needs your attention today? Is it your body, your energy, or your mind? Start there.
Let that awareness guide your next step, maybe it’s resting, maybe it’s moving, or maybe it’s something as simple as slowing down and taking a full, conscious breath. The more we practice checking in with ourselves, the easier it becomes to make choices that bring us back into balance.
Because when we start working with the koshas, yoga stops being something we “do” and becomes a way of being.
And that, to me, is where the real transformation—and the magic—happens.
If you would like to join Amy on retreat you can see her upcoming dates here.
Categorised in: Asana, Health & wellness, Holidays & retreats, Koshas, Meditation, Pranayama, Relaxation, Well-being, Yoga