Yoga is a way to bring the body and mind into the present moment. It is a method to become fully alive and awake to what is happening inside of you and around you now. By focusing the mind on the asanas (physical postures), pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation (stilling the mind and listening to your inner voice), we can learn to deepen our relationship with ourselves and have clearer interactions with those around us. Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was really present? They looked at you, listened and responded to you without becoming distracted by their own thoughts or outside stimuli. Yoga helps me to be present for myself and my inner life and for each person or situation I encounter. Being awake and living each part of our day seems to me the only way to be fully in this world. We are given this minute, this hour, this day, this life to realize our true selves. Yoga is a wonderful way to wake up and open up to this realization. Peace is the only goal of yoga. But we cannot have peace if our thoughts or bodies are distracting us. So, practice yoga asana to strengthen, purify and focus the body. Pranayama to deepen our physical energy (sensation) and quiet the mind. Meditation to draw inward and find stillness so that we can see though superficial thoughts and feelings and just be at peace with the Oneness. That One can mean different things to each individual; however, there is a spirituality (not religion) involved in yoga that cannot be denied. One can chose not to pursue this path, yet it is still there. There is more to the practice than stretching and relaxing although these benefits are a wonderful part of the greater whole. It is your choice to decide how deeply you want to practice yoga. Or perhaps to discover that there is no practice - you are living the practice. This is it. How lucky we are to have found yoga. I wish you a lifetime of discovery through yoga - however you chose to approach it.