Draft Course Analysis Document v.09

Concept: Teaching the concept of the five koshas to professional consultants.

Course Goal: The goal of this course is to give the students an understanding of how the layers of the kosha, layers of their personal reality, are related to the layers of the corporation’s reality. The intention is that this knowledge will enhance their understanding of the … We will know that this course is successful if students ….

Course objectives: When the students complete this course they will be able to:
* List the five koshas. (Note: the student is not required to use the sanskrit names. Alternative English names will be provided.)

• Physical – Annamaya kosha
• Energy – Pranamaya kosha
• Mental – Manamaya kosha
• Wisdom – Vijnanamaya kosha
• Bliss – Anandamaya kosha
• Self – Atman (not a layer, but the source)

* Describe the concept of five koshas using metaphors such as layers of reality, bodies of illusions, or veils of perception.
* Describe the benefits of kosha integration and transparency (integral, alignment, power, etc)
* Use a guided meditation to practice connecting to and integrating the koshas.
* Given a work scenario,describe how koshas are interacting, blocking flow, or clearing in the scenario. (Note: examples will be from personal, business, and/or spiritual life)

Audience Characteristics:
Professional staff at xyz consulting company. Most are A-type, driven, career-focused individualists. These are the kind of people that work hard and play hard. They likely have a positive attitude towards programs that teach specific skills or techniques that will help them be more effective in their work. They may have a negative connotation of anything that appears to slow them down. They may have trouble with sitting silently for any extended period of time, and are more likely to pay attention in more active learning situation. They don’t have tolerance for playing games or busy work types of exercises. They likely have not have previously been exposed to any of these concepts.

Resources:
http://www.swamij.com/koshas.htm
http://www.layogamagazine.com/issue21/departments/koshas.htm
http://www.experiencefestival.com/kosha
Also see: Light on Life by BKS Iyengar

Possible Teaching Strategies:
Use metaphors that seem less woo-woo, less sanskrit and more American English, modern-media like, but still green. Possibly using terms such as Physical/Energetic/Intellectual/Intuitive/Bliss(?)/and Self. The first teaching goal will be for students to differentiate between layers, for example to feel the physical layer and energetic layer within them selves. Or discuss a scenario from a physical and energetic perspective. This needs to be active, it could be accomplished through a guided meditation or an interactive learning experience … first engaging their body, then their energy, then intellect, and so forth.

Possible Development Strategies:
Focus groups to decide on the language we’ll use to describe the layers.
Create the interactive simulation (in the first phase we’ll simply use the iMax with surround sound).
Record multiple scenarios and play them over and over and over again until we can clearly articulate the interactions of the koshas there.