Last week we learnt that Hatha Yoga unites the body and the soul through physical movements and postures. It establishes stillness, lightness and flexibility in the body, and enables the body to hold increasing flow of prana with calm stability.
In order to consciously create a life that is meaningful to you, physical fitness is extremely important. The body is your vehicle that enables you to function. It is imperative to ensure that the body is not merely free of disease, but has the strength to support you in your endeavours.
There is a life-force, also known as Prana or chi, which flows through our body, keeping us alive and healthy. A lack of adequate Prana to a specific part or element of the body causes illness. Practicing Hatha Yoga regularly increases and purifies this life-force energy that is essential for being healthy. It clears energy blockages, purifies and enhances the flow of Prana. As a result, illnesses begin to vanish and your energy levels increase.
Hatha Yoga also enhances your capacity to hold energy. Over time, your ability to retain energy, without wasting it unconsciously, also increases. Therefore your pool of energy as a resource for directing into activities that make your life more meaningful is tremendously increased and conserved.
The ultimate aim of physical education is to bring about a perfection in the physical body, to the greatest extent possible given the means that we have access to. Hatha Yoga helps one towards this.