Category: Yoga Mudras for Healing

The Subtle Body: Learning in Yoga Nadis, Chakras, and Koshas

Have you ever led students through a yoga class and felt as though something else was involved? That moment when a student leaves class radiant with a sense of peace they cannot quite articulate or when a deep hip opener brings unexpected feelings? The subtle body has magic like this.

Yoga teachers deal with something far more than just muscles, joints, and breath. Yoga is a science of energy, a road map of human consciousness, not only exercise. Knowing the subtle body—nadis, chakras, and koshas—allows you to lead pupils into actual transformation rather than only movement.

The subtle body what is it?

One can grasp the physical body quite easily. We see, touch, feel it. Benevolently beneath this outward layer, though, are layers of being (koshas), energy channels (nadis), and energy centers (chakras). This is the subtle body, a blueprint of energy guiding our emotions, ideas, and general state of health.

Though modern science cannot “see” this system in MRIs or X-rays, ancient yogis mapped it thousands of years ago. And today? Acupuncture, energy healing, even neuroscience point to what yogis always knew: our bodies are more than just flesh and blood.

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Nadis: Prana’s Roads of pathogenity

Should the subtle body be a city, the nadis are its highways—channels for prana, or life force, all around the body. Among the three most crucial are:

Ida Nadi is left side, cool, connected with feminine energy and the moon. regulates leisure and intuition.

Pingala Nadi, right side, heating connected with the sun and manly energy. Act and with reason under governments.

Running along the spine, the central channel is Sushumna Nadi. Kundalini awakening can happen when energy moves here.

Fact: Ancient writings claim we have 72,000 nadis! All play a part in energy balance even if we concentrate on the three key players.

For yoga teachers, knowing nadis helps improve breathwork (pranayama). Alternate nostral breathing, or nadi shodhana, balances ida and pingala to open the road for more profound meditation.

Chakras: The Transforming Energy Centers

Think of chakras as spinning wheels of energy found along the spine. They control all, including our highest spiritual awareness and our most basic survival instincts.

The following is a brief overview:

Muladhara, the Root Chakra, is survival, security, grounding. Right at the base of the spine. Students who are out of balance could become nervous or unstable.

✠ Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) – Emotions, creativity, pleasure. Tucked down in the lower abdomen. Should it be blocked, students could find themselves stuck or unmotivated.

Manipura’s Solar Plexus Chakra: confidence, personal power. Located in the upper belly. Weakness here may manifest itself as self-doubt.

❗ Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Love, empathy, relationship. At the middle of the chest. Blockers can build emotional barriers.

Vishuddha, the throat chakra, speaks to communication, truth, self-expression. When weak, students could find it difficult to express their truth.

Third Eye Chakra, or Ajna: insight, wisdom, intuition. Between the eyebrows is where it is. Lack of clarity can follow from a blocked third eye.

Sahasrara, the crown chakra, is spiritual connection and enlightenment. Students that are open experience great peace and direction.

💡 Would you know? Research indicates that stress and trauma can produce energetic blockages in the body that yoga helps clear!

Working with chakras for teachers means designing courses that support the balance of these energy centres. While core work increases confidence in the solar plexus chakra, yin yoga may open emotional blockings in the heart chakra.

Koshas: The Five Levels of Existence

The koshas expose more profound facets of our life, much as layers of an onion expose. The physical body comes first; pure consciousness comes last.

1. Annamaya Kosha – The food body, or physical body. reinforced via diet and asana practice.
2. The energy body is Pranamaya Kosha. Under control with breathwork.
3. Manomaya Kosha is the mental body. Our ideas, feelings, and subconscious trends.
4. Vijnanamaya Kosha: The knowledge body. Sensual knowledge and thorough understanding.
5. Anandamaya Kosha – The bliss body. pure delight and divine connection.

Beginning asana (physical), breathwork (energy), meditation (mental), insight (wisdom), and deep relaxation (bliss), a great yoga class moves through all five koshas.

Why This Matters for Yoga Teachers

Teachers guide energy, awareness, and transformation; we are not only guiding movement.

✅ Do students seem to be resistant? It might be an energetic block, not their hamstrings.
✅ Students who are struggling? Deeper healing can be accessed by class themes addressing chakras.🅆 Want to expand on your lessons? Researching the subtle body changes your classes from soul work to workouts.

Including subtle body awareness increases your effectiveness as a yoga teacher. It lets you lead seminars, private sessions, and strong retreats that impact people’s life outside of only strength and flexibility.

Including This Into Your Classes

Before extending the practice, teach Pranayama—breathwork—to clear nadis.Design courses around chakra themes—e.g., heart-opening for compassion.🔹 Lead students through meditations examining koshas in search of increased self-awareness.Use mantras and sound to affect chakras and energy flow.To enable students to access more deeply koshas, offer longer savasana or Yoga Nidra.

💡 Fact: Breathwork and meditation rewire the brain, so supporting what yogis have long known!

Last Thoughts: Beyond the Mat

Yoga is about knowing and balancing the forces influencing our life, not only about poses. By using the subtle body, you as a teacher enable students to reach their best physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Thus, keep in mind that you are not only running a class the next time you roll out the mat. You are directing an energy trip.

Visit our teacher training courses at www.onlineyogalife.com to learn more and master the subtle body. Let’s take yoga together, beyond the obvious surface.

5 Magics of Mantras: A Yoga Instructor Guide to Sound Healing

As a yoga instructor, I’ve experienced personally how effective mantras can be. Have you ever noticed how quickly a music can raise your mood? Or how a deep “Om” in class makes everything seem… calmer? That is the power of sound. And in yoga, we use it in the form of mantras—rhythmic chants that may appear incomprehensible at first but have powerful healing properties.

Mantras are more than just fancy words in Sanskrit. They are vibrations, frequencies that can influence how we feel, think, and even heal. Does this sound crazy? Let’s get into it.

What is a Mantra?

In my experience guiding kids, a mantra is more than just a chant; it’s a sound healing formula. Think of it as a password for your subconscious. When repeated, it creates a rhythm that relaxes the mind, transfers energy, and allows you to enter a deeper state of consciousness.

In Sanskrit, “man” signifies “mind,” and “tra” means “tool.” So, a mantra is a tool for the mind that keeps it focused, elevated, and free of superfluous chatter. In my seminars, I frequently use simple mantras to assist students attain inner quiet, particularly when their minds are racing.

How Do Mantras Heal?

Science backs it up! Sound therapy has been explored for its impact on the brain, neurological system, and even physical recovery. Many of my students tell me that even a few minutes of chanting makes them feel more relaxed, focused, and lighter in spirit.

Mantra chanting offers several benefits, including less stress and anxiety, improved attention and concentration, emotional balance, deep relaxation, better sleep, and a stronger immune system.

It’s similar to how a beloved music may quickly make you feel better—but on a deeper, more conscious level.

Why are mantras in Sanskrit?

You are not required to chant in Sanskrit, but there is a reason why yogis have used these ancient sounds for centuries. Sanskrit is classified as a vibrational language, with its sounds intended to produce specific energetic effects in the body and mind.

Think of it like this: Have you heard about binaural beats? What are the frequencies that can alter brain states? Sanskrit mantras function similarly, but they have been refined over thousands of years for healing and inner development. I encourage my students to experience the vibrations of the words rather than focusing just on their meanings.

Popular Mantras and Their Meaning

Here are a few mantras that I frequently introduce in class, and why they’re so effective:

🔥 Om is the sound of the universe. Chanting it alone promotes inner peace and balance.

🙏 Om Namah Shivaya is a powerful mantra for transformation, strength, and releasing what no longer serves you.

🪷The Gayatri Mantra is believed to bring wisdom, clarity, and illumination into one’s life.

💖 So Hum– It means “I am that,” and it’s a lovely reminder of your connectedness to everything around you.

And if you find Sanskrit overwhelming, you can make your own affirmations and repeat them like a mantra! Words have power regardless of language.

How to Use Mantras in Practice

Mantras are not only for monks meditating in caves. You can use them at any time and from any location. Here’s what I teach my pupils.

🎶 Meditation Chanting: Close your eyes, focus on the chant, and allow it to guide you to stillness.

📿 Use mala beads for 108 repetitions. A terrific technique to keep focused and immersed in the vibration.

Listen to mantra music. Not into chanting? Not an issue. Playing mantra recordings while working or relaxing still has a significant impact.

💬 Repeat throughout the day – Try whispering “Om” or “So Hum” to yourself during stressful times. Instant resetting!

Begin Your Journey With Mantras

As a yoga instructor, I’ve witnessed how chanting may improve a student’s energy and perspective. Mantras are simple, effective, and accessible to everyone. You do not have to be a yogi or a Sanskrit scholar. You only need to be open to the experience.

So, why not try it? Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and repeat “Om.” Feel the vibrations. Allow it to settle into your body. Maybe even incorporate mantra chanting into your yoga practice.

If you want to understand more about the deeper science of sound healing, look into our teacher training programs at Online Yoga Life. We go beyond the positions to explore the genuine core of yoga, including the magic of mantras.

See you on the mat—or perhaps in the vibration of a chant. 🙏✨.