Koshas for Integration: At the Heart of Spiritual Embodiment

From Insight to Integration: Why the Koshas Became the Heart of My Work

Early on, many spiritual paths emphasize awakening—realization, insight, peak experience.

Those moments matter. They open doors. They change perspective. They initiate us.

And eventually, a different question arises:

How does this actually live in a human body?

A nervous system?

A relationship?

A real life?

That question is where the koshas live.

I’ve been aware of the koshas for 15 years—maybe longer. They’ve floated in the background of my yoga trainings, my teaching, my personal practice. And over the past three to four years, something shifted.

As Shakti fully awakened within me—not as an idea, but as a lived, embodied force—the koshas stopped being a framework I referenced and became a way I see.

I realized recently that I don’t “use” the koshas.

I live from them.

They explain something I’ve been doing intuitively for years: meeting people exactly where they are, without hierarchy, without shame, and without rushing them toward a level of awareness their system isn’t ready to integrate yet.

Not everyone needs to start in the spiritual or causal body.

Some people need support in the physical body—rest, nourishment, safety.

Some need help regulating energy and emotions.

Some are stuck in mental loops and meaning-making.

Some are brushing up against deeper wisdom and discernment.

Some are quietly remembering who they’ve always been.

The koshas honor all of this.

How the Koshas Support Embodied Spiritual Integration

The koshas are not just a framework—they’re a roadmap.

They take us from the outer layers of experience to the inner, and they remind us that the journey is not about escaping one layer to arrive at another. They are a place to begin and a destination all at once.

They show us—again and again—that everything is connected.

A spiritually wise person still needs to care for their body.

They still have emotions.

They still experience mental loops and old patterns.

Wisdom doesn’t eliminate these layers.

It changes our relationship with them.

As we come to know ourselves more intimately at each level, he power these layers once held begins to soften. Emotions still move, and they no longer feel like a roller coaster. Thoughts still arise, and they don’t automatically dictate our actions. Sensations still speak, and we know how to listen instead of override.

Life begins to flow with greater ease—not because it’s free of challenge, but because you know how to navigate the waters.

And when an obstacle arises, there’s less panic and more presence.

Less reactivity and more discernment.

Less collapse and more capacity.

This is what integration feels like in real life.

The Koshas and the Path of Regulated Wisdom

This is why the koshas have become central to my work—not as a philosophy, but as a lived pathway of regulated wisdom. Not transcendence culture. Not bypassing. Not chasing peak states.

But embodied awareness, regulated wisdom, spiritual insight that knows how to live in a human nervous system.

They remind us that we are not just spiritual beings having a human experience—we are layered, living systems. And each layer deserves care, attention, and respect.

Over time, I’ve come to love working with the koshas not because they are complex or esoteric, but because they are compassionate and timeless.

They explain why so many people come to me saying:

“I’ve done the mindset work.”

“I’ve had powerful awakenings.”

“I understand the teachings.”

And still ask:

Why hasn’t this fully landed in my life?

Because insight alone doesn’t integrate itself.

Integration happens layer by layer.

The koshas give us language—and a pathway—for that integration:

• The physical body (annamayakosha): how you care for yourself, rest, and feel safe

• The energy and emotional body (pranamayakosha): how you feel, regulate, and move life force

• The mental body (manomayakosha): how you interpret, narrate, and make meaning

• The wisdom body (vijnanamayakosha): how you discern truth beyond conditioning

• The bliss body (anandamayakosha): how you remember who you are beneath it all

This isn’t about fixing yourself.

And it’s not about learning more.

It’s about allowing what you already know to live—in your body, your choices, your relationships, and your daily life.

That’s why the koshas have become central to my work.

And that’s why they are the foundation of The Next Step program.

Because the next step isn’t another concept.

It’s integration.

This is why the koshas don’t pull us away from being human.

They teach us how to be fully human—with awareness.

With bold love and clear awareness,

Mindy

Guided by Shakti. Rooted in You.