What I love about the practice of yoga postures is not just how rejuvenated my body feels, but how clear and uplifted by mind is, and how happy I feel.
Even today, after practicing for over 25 years, each time I practice I can immediately feel the difference on every level: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
For me the yoga postures are also an invaluable tool for understanding and incorporating the deeper side of Raja Yoga.
For example, we can use the asanas to explore the paths of Karma, Gyana and Bhakti Yoga — which together with the practice of meditation constitute Raja Yoga. These three paths address different aspects of our nature, and by using their teachings to help bring out the best in ourselves, we begin to “neutralize the waves of feeling,” which, in his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali gives as the definition of yoga.
In this three-part series, I’ll explore how asana practice can help us go deeper in each of these paths.
