when a blood vessel to his heart suddenly became
blocked. He trusted that despite the twists and turns his
life was taking, he would be okay whatever the outcome.
This is Ishwara-Pranidhana—surrender to the divine.
The Yamas and Niyamas represent the inner dialogue
of a yogi. These are not qualities one can make a mood of
or manipulate. They arise spontaneously as the natural
expression of a more expanded sense of self. You can see
them as milestones of your spiritual progress. Allow them
to resonate in your awareness, avoiding the impulse to be
self-critical or judgmental when you occasionally fail to
express the highest value of each principle. To awaken
spontaneous evolutionary thought and action in your
being, Patanjali encourages you to put your attention
on more refined aspects of your body, your breath, your
senses, and your mind. These are the next branches
of yoga.
The Third Branch of Yoga—Asana
The word asanameans “seat” or “position.” When people
consider yoga, they usually think of this branch, which
refers to the postures people enter into to achieve physical
flexibility and tone. At a deeper level, asana means the
full expression of mind-body integration, in which you
become consciously aware of the flow of life energy in
your body. Performing asanas with full awareness is prac-
tice for performing action in life with awareness.
In the great Indian epic, the Bhagavad Gita, Lord
Krishna instructs the archetypal human Arjuna first to
become established in being, then to perform action in
The Royal Path to Union 39