Access Your Layers of Self With Bodywork and Massage Therapy

Bodywork and massage therapy are a way to create balance and harmony in your life.

Anand is the owner of Awaken Healing + Massage. She believes that in order to be well, we have to be connected to our Inner Wisdom and Guide.

In her experience, massage therapy is a way to access our body and see what it has to tell us, as a way to access our Inner teacher.

Before Anand decided to become a massage therapist, she thought that massage therapy was something extravagant in life. A spa-like relaxation experience that only the wealthy could afford. She now knows that is far from the truth.

Years ago, when Anand first began receiving bodywork, she saw the pain that she carried from years of sports and dancing. This showed her that massage therapy was more than just a way to create relaxation. It was a way for her to truly heal her physical body.

Anand later became aware of the traumas that were stored deeper within her body and she received immense clearings and healing from many different therapists.

Throughout her time receiving and studying, Anand’s awareness expanded into knowing that we are more than just our physical body. She knows that we need a variety of bodywork (a term used to reference energetic modalities) to access the different layers of the Self.

The tradition of yoga refers to the five layers of Self as the koshas. The koshas are also known as sheaths, or casings that surround the soul or atman.

Within her massage practice, Anand’s favorite offering is her Omni massage because she is able to utilize multiple styles of bodywork to hold space for access to the different layers of your Self. The 5 layers or koshas are:

Annamaya

Anna means food and Maya means made of. The annamaya kosha is the outermost layer of the five and is considered your physical sheath. It is also known as the food sheath as it is connected to how our body reacts to or assimilates food.

Pranamaya

Prana means vital life force. This kosha is associated with our vital life force and is also connected to our breath. Yogically, it is believed that we can change and regulate our life force with pranayama (breathwork) exercises.

Manomaya

The manomaya kosha is within the physical sheath (annamaya kosha) and the vital life force sheath (pranamaya kosha). It is considered your mental sheath. It represents the mind, emotions and inner world.

Connecting to the manomaya kosha allows us to witness the patterns of the mind, our thought forms, perceptions and mental activity. This allows us to connect the outer world to our inner world.

Vijnanamaya

The vijnanamaya kosha is the astral or psychic body that’s your seat of intuition.

Known as the awareness or wisdom sheath, it allows you to develop a deeper awareness and to see reality for what it is. Thought of as “the mind beyond the mind”, this kosha is connected to your deeper and more subtle layers of thoughts.

The vijnanamaya kosha helps develop clarity and inner reflection as you learn to detach from your thoughts, ego, or sense of self. By remaining the witness, you may learn to become more present and aware of each moment.

Anandamaya

The anandamaya kosha is referred to as the bliss body. It’s the deepest and subtlest of all layers. Some people even say that you can’t use words to describe it. Instead, it must be felt and experienced.

Developing your anandamaya kosha requires the discipline to complete inner work and spiritual practices over a long period. This level of consciousness relates to the essence of your true self or nature, which is perfection.

Transcending all five sheaths can lead to a state of samadhi, or unity between individual and universal consciousness. This is said to be pure bliss or joy.

While everyone may not reach samadhi, you can still experience glimpses or moments of bliss that are bright enough to color your world and awaken these feelings of joy, even if only for brief moments.

Whether you receive energy work or massage therapy as a way to maintain wellness or to have a moment to say, “What needs to be cleared today or brought into my awareness?”, there are many ways to connect to the moment of now.

Bodywork and massage therapy are beautiful ways to see what stories your body has to tell. According to Eastern Philosophy we are more than just our physical self.

The other layers of self are invited into your awareness to ask them what they have to share with you.

If you’re ready to access your inner layers of self, book one of our bodywork or massage therapy sessions today.