Greetings Sweet Yogis This week our spiritual sadhana is 3rd limb of the 8th limb path of yoga – the practice of Asanas.   A good translation of Asana is postures.   Yogis, honoring the body as a vehicle of the soul, move inward toward truth by challenging the body, mind and spirit in postures with the unattached purpose and intent of Self Realization.  One of my favorite discourses on the subject of Asana is found in BKS Iyengar’s book Light on Yoga.  Please enjoy the following short exert.  All my loveNamasteChrsytal Rae Asana/Physical Postures The third limb of yoga.   Asana brings steadiness, health and lightness to limb.  A steady and pleasant posture produces mental equilibrium and prevents fickleness of mind.   Asanas are not merely gymnastic exercises: they are postures which promote, flexibility, agility and vitality. Asana s have evolved over the centuries so as to exercise every muscle, nerve, and gland in the body.  They secure a fine physique, which is strong and elastic without being muscle-bound, and promote a disease free body.  Asana reduce fatigue and sooth the nerves.  But their real importance lies in the way they train and discipline the mind. Many actors, acrobats, athletes, dancers, musicians and sports men also possess superb physiques and have great control over the body, but they lack control over the mind, the intellect and the Self.  Hence they are in disharmony with themselves and one rarely comes across a balanced personality among them.  They often put the body above all else.  Though the yogi does not underrate  his body, he does not think merely of its perfection but of his senses, mind, intellect and soul.  The yogi conquers the body by the practice of asanas and makes it a fit vehicle for the spirit.  He knows that it is necessary vehicle for the spirit .  A soul without a body is like a bird deprived of its power to fly. The yogi does not fear death, for time must take its toll of all flesh.  He knows that the body is constantly changing and is affected by childhood, youth and old age.  Birth and death are natural phenomena but the soul is not subject to birth and death. The yogi believes that his body has been given to him by the Lord for enjoyment, but also for the service of his own evolution and of his fellow men during every wakeful moment of his life. He does not consider it his property.  He knows that the Divinity which has given him his body will one day reclaim it.  By performing asanas, the sadhka first gains health, which is not mere existence.  It is not a commodity which can be purchased with money. It is an asset to be gained by sheer hard work and dedication.  It is a state of complete equilibrium of body, mind and spirit.The yogi frees himself form forgetfulness of physical disabilities and mental distractions by practicing asanas. He surrenders his actions and their fruits to the innate goodness of existence (God) in service of the world. The yogi realizes that his life and all its activities are part of the divine action in nature, manifesting and operating in the form of man.  In the breathing of his pulse and the rhythm of his respiration, he recognizes that flow of the seasons and the throbbing of universal life.  His body is a temple which houses the Divine Spark.  He feels that to neglect or to deny the needs of the body and to think of it as something not divine, is to neglect and deny the universal life of which it is a part. The needs of the body are the needs of the divine spirit which lives through the body. The yogi does not look heaven-ward to find God for he knows that the is within, being known as the Antaratma (the Inner Self)  He feels the kingdom of God within and without  and finds that heaven lies in himself.