Now a days we also speak about ‘yoga’. Even though the entire Bhagavadgeeta is described as a ‘yoga-shastra’, people generally associate the word ‘yoga’ with mere physical postures – yogaasanas and mudras. ‘Yoga’ means joining, uniting. What yoga can ever be there in the physical level? By taking to aasanas, what yoga or unification can be had? Can we ever bring about unification in the body, between one part and the other? Somehow, profundity of the word ‘yoga’ has thus got confounded and even lost.
Understand that true yoga can be had only in the level of consciousness and its expressions. A question can now be asked: Can there be yoga at the mind level, and how? Yes, it can be there. Your thought can be united with you, the thinker. The thinker can be united with the thinking-substance. The mind-substance can be united with all the mind-processes. The ego can be united with its substratum, the Self. The worldliness or ‘world-idea’ can be united with Godliness or ‘God-idea’.
So, the yoga is possible only in the sphere of the mind or consciousness. But alas, we call aasanas and mudras as yoga-saadhana! That does not mean, these physical postures have no relevance or importance. These aasanas as well as mudras will certainly administer a kind of poise for the mind.
How? Simply sit in a place and start counting slowly from one to ten, repeatedly. If you are able to do it with steadiness, you will find the mind becomes very poised and peaceful. Engaging the mind makes the difference. Similarly, while doing yogaasanas, your mind must give special attention to different postures of the body, and that makes the mind more composed.
Whether it is the path of yoga, the path of religion, the path of devotion or even spirituality, understand that it is the mind that practises anything. The transformation and sublimation are to be brought about within this mind of yours.
-- Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha