The Anusara Sadhana: The Hidden Treasures Within

The Hidden Treasures Within

Discovering and unfolding the Universe that we are

Written by Rachel Dewan

I have always been a seeker. From a young age I wanted to know the secrets of the Universe, the sacred meaning of life, the hidden mysteries of life that the enlightened ones seemed to understand and draw peace from. I always had a strong sense of my connection to the divine, but I struggled with the messages that that connection was contingent upon so many dogmatic rules that were part of the conservative religious household I was raised in. My world opened up when I discovered Eastern philosophy in my 7th grade social studies class. Perhaps it was just the human tendency to want what we don’t have, to want to be different than we are, but that class led me to explore Hinduism, Buddhism and yoga. 

What was so profound to me about learning these philosophies was that it didn’t feel like learning something new, it felt like my soul had a knowing in it that finally had a language. (Side note - as yoga became my chosen path, ironically it allowed me to turn back to my religion of my birth and enjoy the rituals and traditions of my childhood with a new lens to see and appreciate them through. I am grateful for that joyful reintegration.) 

Yoga has given me many tools and practices to find my own connection to the Great Oneness that underpins reality. The koshas are once such a system of understanding, and they have helped guide me to the answers I had been seeking but that get so often pushed aside by the daily tasks of being a human and raising a family. 

So What are the Koshas?

he koshas are the five layers or coverings that are present in every conscious living being. The literal translation of kosha is sheath. They are, from outermost to innermost 

• Annamaya Kosha (food sheath)

• Pranamaya Kosha (sheath of prana or life)

• Manomaya Kosha (mind sheath)

• Vijnanamaya Kosha (knowledge or wisdom sheath)

• Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath)

When I think of the word sheath, I think of a sleeve that holds something; it wraps around and contains something snugly within. In this way, Understanding the koshas is understanding the sacred architecture of our being.  I’ve always thought of them like Matryoshka (nesting) dolls, but as I’ve been thinking more about them recently and working with them in my own practices, I am coming to understand them more as interpenetrating and interdependent layers. How we care for one affects all the others. 

For example, eating food directly nourishes the annamayakosha, but it deeply influences the manomayakosha: what and how I eat affects my mind, my thoughts, my emotions, even my ability to eat.  Similarly, the thoughts I entertain, the way I think (arising in the manomayakosha) impacts my physical body (annamayakosha).  If I’m practicing asana and distracted with unrelated thoughts, my body is not receiving the full benefit of the practice. I might be practicing asana but not practicing yoga in its fullest sense.  If I’m not breathing well, or practicing with optimal alignment, prana is not being circulated through the pranamayakosha in the most efficient way, which causes dysfunction in my body, and my mind to be turbulent because the prana is disturbed. 

The anandamayakosha, the bliss body, is the hidden treasure and the nexus of this system. It is what we seek when we practice yoga.  I like that it is designated a “body”, an actual form we have that is a part of us, like an inner, invisible scaffolding that is the barest possible discernment of matter and form, but form nonetheless, and is the subtlest essence of our humanness. The most subtle yet the most powerful. 

When we touch into each of these layers, we feel how they play with and influence each other. We learn how we can feed and nourish each of them and draw strength from them. The ultimate goal is to lead us to that most subtle body of bliss so that even though it is the most ephemeral and elusive of the 5 sheaths, when we touch into it, it becomes the most “real” part of who we know ourselves to be. The koshas give us a particular user’s manual to work with our glorious, precious and problematic bodies, just another way to understand the refined and delicate layers of being a human being. 

June 6 – 8, 2025 I will be hosting a retreat at the Kripalu Center for Yoga with Jacalyn Prete and Julia Pearring called Finding the Hidden Treasure Within: A Retreat of Self-Discovery. 

On retreat, we will guide different practices to help us access every kosha. We will learn how to understand and feel and nourish each of them, giving us deeper access to the hidden treasure of our blissful, true nature. We will come to understand that our physical body, our energy body, our thoughts and mental processes are infused with the blissful inner self, untouchable by the changeable world. And once we know this, the hidden treasure is revealed, we learn to recognize its presence within us, we can hold steady to the unchangeable in the world of change, the infinite within our own finite form. I encourage you to join us! 

Ready to harmonize your inner temple? ✨ Join Rachel for a playful mini-practice and set the tone for a day of wonder.

Enjoy!