evaluate the choices you make in your life, which is by lis-
tening to the signals of comfort or discomfort that your
body generates as you consider your options. This is the
essence of the Law of Karma, which utilizes body aware-
ness to make karmically correct choices. Learning to
trust the feedback your body provides will enhance your
ability to make karmically correct choices in life.
There are two important benefits of practicing yoga
poses that enhance mind-body integration. The first is
that yoga postures enable you to be more aware of the sig-
nals your body is sending so you can interpret them accu-
rately. It is easy for human beings to be so immersed in
their minds that they lose awareness of their bodies. The
body is sending signals of what it needs, but the mind is
too preoccupied to notice the signs. The practice of yoga
enables you to reduce the mental background noise so
you can pay attention to the messages of your body.
The second benefit of yoga is that regular practice of
these poses will enhance your general level of physical and
emotional comfort. If the background state of your body is
one of chronic discomfort, it cannot be a reliable instru-
ment by which you evaluate your choices. When using
your body as an instrument for making choices, the subtle
sensations of comfort or discomfort provide the guidance
for right action. If your baseline state is disturbed, you will
not be able to notice the shifts your body takes when
considering different choices. Helping your body release
obstacles that impede the healthy flow of life energy is a
great benefit of practicing yoga postures.
Practitioners at all levels can perform these body
awareness poses. It is important to remember that yoga is
not a competitive sport. The goal of yoga is to enhance
Consciousness in Motion 123