The 5 Koshas and Matrescence

In yogic philosophy, the state of being at any point in time is considered to be the culmination of five sheaths or layers of your existence called the koshas. They were first described in written form in the Taittiriya Upanishad and range from the densest part of our being (the body) to the most subtle (inner joy/peace/soul).

As you journey through pre-conception, pregnancy, postpartum and into parenting, you are undertaking an intense period of transformation (called matrescence). During this time, every one of these five layers is affected in life-changing ways.

By understanding how your powerful transformation is affecting each layer of your being, you can understand how best to support yourself throughout your entry into parenthood.

Similarly, if you are supporting someone going through matrescence, working through this process with them can help to identify how you can best support them.

The 5 Koshas: our Model of Care

The biopsychosocial model utilised by many health practitioners considers factors that can influence a person’s state of being and care needs across their biological welfare, psychological welfare and sociological background and circumstances. Comprehensive individualised and inclusive perinatal care can take an approach even beyond biopsychosocial considerations.

Whilst acknowledging these factors play an important and crucial part, we have found that the biopsychosocial model is missing some things, and could be described as an ‘incomplete remembering’ when we consider that the 5 koshas model from Vedic science has been in existence for thousands of years.

The missing considerations include:

energetic wellbeing
fostering parenting intuition
celebrating the journey and experience of stepping into the role of mother/parent (matrescence)

You will find us incorporating all of both the biopsychosocial considerations and the 5 koshas into our support services: whether you are coming to us for yoga, coaching or Bowen Therapy.

5 Koshas Quiz

In order to support yourself, or someone else, holistically through matrescence, it’s helpful to understand which of the 5 koshas you are most connected to right now and which ones could do with a little more love and attention.

To help you out, we have developed a quiz and accompanying yoga practices (depending upon your quiz results) which can be completed when you sign up to our mailing list.

The quiz is just for you if you are: