And let's begin with a very,
Very deep breath in.
Filling up the entire belly.
And very full exhale with the mouth open and a loud.
Happy sigh ah One more in.
And a sigh out.
And allow your physical body now.
To rest completely on.
The support of the floor.
With your legs elevated in any way.
That is available up the wall or over.
Some supports.
Imagine,
If you will,
In this moment with your body lying there.
From a saying by Michelangelo.
I saw the angel in the marble.
And carved until I set him free.
And that is you.
Within you is that angel.
And all the twisting and moving and breathing is our carving.
Of our own being until we set that free.
From within ourselves.
We often use the analogy that we are like an onion and peeling back layers.
Or like a nesting doll.
Moving through the outer layers to reach the deep.
One within.
So allowing your imagination.
To connect to any of those images.
Begin to wander.
Around inside for a moment.
And take a deep breath as you squeeze your fingers and fists and forearms and arms and shoulders all the way up to your ears and squeeze everything very tight on this inhale.
Let it feel like it is marble or stone.
It is frozen.
And then exhale and release and soften.
Break away.
Some of the outer layers of tension.
With your legs lifted as they are,
Take an inhale and exhale.
Curl your toes or flex your feet.
See if you can engage the ankles and the calves.
Even the knees,
Lift it a little bit through the quads.
If you can do all this,
Leaving the legs as they are and squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Returning back.
To the hardness of the muscles hugging the bone.
Hold that tension.
And like Michelangelo,
Chipping away,
Exhale and release.
Letting some of the hardness fall off of you.
And then on the next inhale,
Squeeze your seat muscles.
Maybe you do a little abdominal squeezing,
Chest and your face.
Kind of squeeze.
Frozen for a moment in time like you are a statue.
And then break away the tension and exhale and soften and release.
Let your lips be soft.
Your jaw becomes slack.
Let your eyes fall heavily into their socket.
You have been feeling and being in your outermost layer.
And the melodic word for this is called Annamaya Kosha.
This is that.
She.
That layer of us,
The outermost layer.
That we show to the world that everyone sees first.
Our physical body.
It is actually changing all the time.
Metamorphosing.
It's composed of all the food,
Anna.
That we eat.
And this kosha,
This sheath or layer.
Responds to all the physical activity that we do,
The asanas.
Body work.
Exercise.
Exhale from the outermost layers.
Notice the outermost layer.
Skin.
The connective tissue right under the skin.
The muscles,
The bone,
The tendons,
Everything is softening and melting.
It's being carved.
Lovingly chipped away so we can reveal.
Our truest nature.
Full breath in.
Exhale out.
Now we'll move to the next layer.
That which resides right here.
Within the physical body.
It's invisible.
And visible at the same time.
We call this prana,
Maya,
Kosha.
Prana maya kosha.
Prana,
The life force where the breath moves and animates.
Maya.
Means.
Veil or illusion.
And kosha is the she.
This is your energetic.
Your breath body.
Allow the breath body to move you.
This is the seat of the subtle energy feel it coursing through.
The physical body.
Without pranamaya kosha.
We cannot sustain life.
This.
Shoot.
Response.
So delicately.
So subtly.
All the ways that we breathe,
All the practices of pranayama.
Can you feel?
Your life force.
Moving within your body,
Animating you at this very moment.
Inhale.
And exhale.
We have now moved past what we can see.
We can do.
Experience with breath.
How we move into.
Mano Maya Kosha.
Mano is mind and emotions.
Maya is the illusion.
Kosha is the she.
Your body.
Takes information in from every sense organ.
And from the environment.
Brings it through.
The layers to the mind.
Harvesting all.
Knowledge from it.
Mantra meditation.
Feeds this part of us.
Mantras,
Sacred sounds.
Harmonizing ourselves.
Calming the monkey mind.
Calming our emotions.
Breaking down barriers.
Om.
Om.
Adios Hari Om.
Hari Om.
The mantras soothe the mind like a lullaby from a loving.
Figure.
Mano Maya Kosha.
Layer of the mind.
Taking in all experiences through the eyes.
Ears,
Nose,
Tongue and skin.
Now the body is calm.
The breath.
Is regulated.
The mind is quiet.
And the next layer.
Vijnanamaya Kosha.
Vijnana maya kosha,
Vijnana wisdom.
Maya illusion.
Kosher sheet.
What is this layer so deep within?
This is the wisdom.
Our higher intelligence,
Highest level of consciousness.
Beyond thinking.
Beyond doing.
This is the layer.
Differentiates us from animals.
As we can direct our life,
Not just from instinct,
Or impulse.
But use our discernment.
To know from right and wrong.
The yamas and the niyamas nourish this layer.
Those precepts guiding us.
From the deepest realms within.
This layer is active in you.
When you witness an injustice.
And you are compelled to act.
When you follow your deep intuition.
When you follow truth.
Non-harming.
Greedlessness.
Non-stealing.
Cultivation.
Of your energy.
Purity,
Contentment self-discipline.
Self-observation.
And surrendering it all.
To something beyond your ego.
That is the nourishment.
Of Vijnanamaya Kosha.
And finally,
We arrive.
At the moment.
Absolute glory.
Deep within.
The most sacred level of all.
Our bliss body.
Anandamaya Kosha.
Ananda is bliss,
Maya is the illusion,
And kosha is the.
.
.
Sure.
This unformed.
Iridescent part of us.
Is the junction where consciousness and energy meet and intermingle.
In this perfect layer of us,
There is no fear or desire,
But a grand opening of the heart.
It feels as if you are one with everything.
And you are.
Allow any mingling any remaining tension to release.
You.
That what resides in the deepest part of you is your true nature.
Of absolute joy.
That angel.
That's been locked in the marble.
And now you are setting it free.
Your breath.
Your body.
Your heart.
Your mind and your wisdom.
Surrender completely.
And allow.
The most.
Divine essence of you.
To be completely set free.
No restraints.
No more holding.
Rest so deeply.
Rest completely.
