Peace in the mind is more important than poise in the body.

Peace in the mind is more important than poise in the body. Peace in the body need not be accompanied by peace in the mind as our day to day problems and other issues my tear us apart. But if our mind is at peace , whatever happens in the body will not disturb us. Classical example- Ramana Maharishi. So we need to first control our mind. This is why yamas and niyamas were the first step and not asanas - in the system of Patanjali.

Heart- the temple of the indweller

We may consider our body as a temple and follow hatha yoga but the pure heart is the home of the indwelling God. Hence we need to make sure that we cleanse ourselves in our heart. This is adequate and a more difficult task than mastering asanas.

Spirituality and Asanas

Some of us may be good at standing poses and some at all others. Nevertheless these are not necessary to help us focus on higher levels. Yet keeping our limbs fit and agile and weight under control we need to have our priorities right. We cannot lay claim to being omnipotent while in an asana. God wants our heart, not our bodies. He wants our sincerity, not perfection in the physical. The physical is always prone to problems and hence perfection there is not a sensible approach. Without going overboard, we need to keep our mind always God centered. We need to remember that Lord Krishna has said in the Gita- Higher than the yogi is he who surrenders to Me- he is a maha yogi, So strive O Arjuna to be a maha yogi.

Inner silence is more needed than bodily silence

Hatha Yoga can make the body quiet and one may feel a certain sensitivity. However an "inner silence" brought about by change in our outlook is far superior and long lasting than asana practice. So we must strive for this rather than depend on asanas and pranayama. This requires daily introspection and reflection.

Missed yoga some days? Dont feel bad about it.

Many hard core students and teachers tend to feel guilty if they miss practice. Neither will helath deteriorate if we dont practice yoga for a few days nor are we ensuring bullet proof health by regular practice. We need to remember to move as life takes us and try to do the best we can. Building up resistances inside ourselves for not practicing or for practicing is not so appropriate for our health.