Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom

ness of just the body toward the consciousness of the soul. Indeed, as
I often say, body is the bow, asana the arrow, and soul is the target.
An asana must be righteous and virtuous. By righteous I mean that
it must be true. You must not cheat or pretend. You must fill every inch
of your body with the asana from your chest and arms and legs to the
tips of your fingers and toes so that the asana radiates from the core of
your body and fills the entire diameter and circumference of your
limbs. You must feel your intelligence, your awareness, and your con­
sciousness in every inch of your body.
By virtuous I mean that it must be done with the right intention,
not for ego or to impress but for the Self and to move closer to God.
In this way the asana is a sacred offering. We are surrendering our
egos. This is supreme devotion to God (Isvara pranidhana).
It must not be just your mind or even your body that is doing the
asana. You must be in it. You must do the asana with your soul. How
can you do an asana with your soul? We can only do it with the organ
of the body that is closest to the soul-the heart. So a virtuous asana
is done from the heart and not from the head. Then you are not just
doing it, but you are in it. Many people try to think their way into an
asana, but you must instead feel your way into it through love and de­
votion.
In this way, you will work from your heart, not your brain, to
create harmony. The serenity in the body is the sign of spiritual tran­
quility. As long as you do not feel the serenity in the body, in each and
every joint, there is no chance for emancipation. You are in bondage.
So while you are sweating and aching, let your heart be light and let it
fi ll your body with gladness. You are not only becoming free, but you
are also being free. What is not to be glad about? The pain is tempo­
rary. The freedom is permanent.
In the next chapter, we proceed deeper from the body to the
breath, from flesh to vital energy. We will learn more about the I'Oie of
our ener�y and of our breath in the next sta�c of the Inward Journl'y.