In his book Light on Yoga, B.K.S Iyengar states that, ‘Yoga is a timeless pragmatic science evolved over thousands of years dealing with the physical, moral, mental and spiritual well-being of man as a whole.’ Quite a statement… and something to consider beyond the physical dimensions of yoga practice.

The word ‘yoga’ is rooted in the Sanskrit word ‘yuj‘. In addition to the meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, it also means union or communion. In his introduction to the Gita according to Gandhi, Mahadev Desai states that yoga is ‘the yoking of all the powers of the body, mind and soul to God.’

One of the things that attracted me to practice yoga was that it wasn’t just about the physical aspect of my practice. Yoga was a way for me to calm my mind (a topic I’ll talk about in subsequent posts); it was also a way for me to commune with God as I practiced my breath work and poses. Yoga practice took me beyond just the physical and into the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga. With the possible exception of swimming, I find the practice of yoga to be well-rounded and helps ground me in other areas of life.

By no means do I consider myself an expert yogi… I simply practice yoga on a regular basis and have taken the skills I’ve learned into the path of teaching yoga to others. I encourage you to develop a yoga practice and if I can help along your path; I’m grateful to do so.