Why I Practice Yoga

I practice yoga because it awakens me to love. Love is what yoga is all about. God is love, and whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (I John 4:16). Teresa of Avila, 16th century Spanish mystic, wrote in her mystical treatise, The Interior Castle, “Remember: if you want to make progress on the path and ascend to places you have longed for, the important thing is not to think much but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens you to love.” I consider Teresa my patron saint because she was devoted, daring, defiant, and indomitable. When I practice yoga, I am taking Teresa’s advice.

Yoga is just plain brilliant psychology. The Yoga Sutras (Threads), attributed to a sage known as Patanjali, is one of the foundational texts on the practice of yoga. The opening line of The Yoga Sutras declares, “Now begins the practice of yoga” (Sutra 1:1). As the text continues, Patanjali states that yoga is the release of the commentary of the mind, which facilitates the seer abiding in their True Nature. Patanjali instructs that this commentary is released through practice and non-attachment and encourages that any effort toward steadiness of mind is practice (Sutras 1:2, 1:3, 1:12, & 1:13).

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that can seem rather esoteric and exotic, even scary, to Western ears. The translation of the word yoga is “to yoke up or join; union.” Using the English translation of…