[ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ]

The purpose of yoga is to put a smile on your face despite all the stress, tension and different situations we face in our day-to-day life. You can find happiness only when you look into the root cause of unhappiness, and unhappiness comes because of lack of vision, stress and tension.

Yoga can help us get rid of stress, physical fatigue, and mental turbulence.

For sane living, yoga is almost indispensable. It improves the quality of life, and helps a human being unfold his or her full potential.

What is yoga, then? Yoga is not just the asanas or postures. Of course, exercise and yoga postures are a part, but yoga should not be limited or misunderstood as just exercise. It is a holistic development, expression and connection of human life. It is a complete science.

Yoga means skill – skill to live our life, skill to manage the mind, to be with people, skill to be in love.

In yoga, the very first step is yama, that is, restraints or social ethics. The first among them is ahimsa or non-violence. One must renounce violence in thought, word, and deed. Violence only gives rise to more violence, doesn’t it? It creates a chain reaction. Someone says something hurtful to us, and we respond with something hurtful in return. In this way, the cycle continues endlessly. This cycle must be stopped somewhere. Without this, success in yoga is not possible. Non-violence should be your baseline.

What is the benefit of this?

Ahiṁsāpratiṣṭhāyāṁ tatsannidhau vairatyāgaḥ

When non-violence is well-established in you, the result is, in your presence people will lose their violent tendencies. I have seen this happen many times.

The degree of non-violence that we have in our life, to that degree aggression or hatred in others comes down. Your vibrations speak more than your words. That is why vibration needs to be uplifted. Yoga is the way to accomplish that, and meditation is like its soul.

So, asanas have to be performed in sync with the breath and with full awareness. If you lift an arm, you should be fully aware that you’re lifting your arm. It is like a dance by itself, leading from one posture to another. Every asana needs to be done with stability and comfort. So, initially stretch a little more than what you can, and then relax and let go of the effort.

If you do it this way, yoga has an impact on one’s behaviour pattern, thought pattern, and one’s attitude. Infinity dawns in your awareness.

We often feel helpless about our negative emotions. Neither in school, nor at home have we been taught to handle them. If you are upset, you remain upset, or wait for time to heal you. Yoga has the secret to turn your state of mind. It makes you independent by empowering you to feel the way you want to feel at any time.

Yoga is connecting with yourself, connecting with the source. It unites body, mind and spirit, and the universe. When stress dissolves, vision becomes clear. When the mind becomes calm, violence gives way to compassion. When awareness deepens, life blossoms in its full potential.

This is the secret of yoga.