The curiosity towards yoga often begins with an attraction to its outer shell. You see it everywhere on social media, in movies, in books, in popular culture, in trends. And as this ancient practice spreads, it is important to see its underlying roots which are all directly related to human spirituality. When you crack it open, the floodgates will take you to a world most people don’t even know exists. Yoga is an inward journey, and once you dial in you’ll never be the same again.

1. BEYOND THE PHYSICAL

There’s often a misconception behind yoga as it is seen solely for its physical benefits. Many tend to pursue it without understanding it’s made up of multitude layers, for there is much more to yoga than its physicality. The fringe benefits of yoga are interconnected to each energy center of our bodies. Through this daily ritual and practice, we peel off inhibiting layers and reveal our true selves.

2. EMOTIONAL BALANCE

There are circumstances in life that are beyond our control, it steers us in different directions and at times we end up losing our path. Yoga brings us back to our center point and keeps our physical and metaphysical bodies balanced, bringing us back to exactly where we need to be.

And no matter where life takes you and what adversities you meet along the way, you can bring yourself back to the mat, back to your breath, and back to yourself. Your mind becomes calmer, and your thoughts and emotions develop a state of clarity. A stable foundation starts to grow within you which will get stronger and more resilient as you practice.

3. SHATTERING LIMITING BELIEFS

Every person in this world has accumulated a persisting set of beliefs. These stem from our experiences in childhood and into adulthood. The beliefs are usually influenced by our peers, our families, our relationships, our religion, and all experiences in between. Once we begin to realize that most of these limiting beliefs or stories are not beneficial to our self-development, we start letting go of the shell that has prohibited us from experiencing inner truth.

The stories we tell ourselves are the most powerful ones. As we learn to peel off the layers we’ve painted into our worlds and have held on to our whole lives, this is where real transformation begins. Yoga gives us the space to ask ourselves why we are still holding on to these stories, and gives us infinite possibilities to create new ones.

4. JOURNEY INWARDS

In yoga, the journey takes you inward. As the mind becomes less reactive and more silent, you start to listen to the navigation of your soul. This is where intuition steps in. Your decisions and circumstances become less about logic and practicality and more about your instincts and initial gut feeling. This inner compass you develop when practicing yoga will help take you exactly where you need to be in order to live the life your soul was meant for.

5. TRANSFORMING GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS

The most prominent word in yoga is “Namaste”. Its ancient meaning is, “My soul honors your soul. I honor the place in you where the entire Universe resides. I honor the light, love, truth, beauty and peace within you, because it is also within me. In sharing these things we are united, we are the same, we are one.”

As your consciousness expands, you will realize how it affects everyone and everything that surrounds you. This awareness is the key to how you interact with people and circumstances through the base of your highest self. You’ll learn how everything is made up of energy and that energy is your intention, which will allow you to develop a higher level of empathy and compassion. Your relationships, friendships, and interaction with the external world will change as you become more capable of seeing any situation with empathy and the willingness to grow throughout the process.

Humanity is connected through this intricate invisible thread from the universe, the very thread that ties us together. There is an illusion in this world that we are alone. But when we realize how connected we all are as we move through our inner journeys, this illusion begins to dissolve. Yoga shatters all boundaries and limitations as it unravels inner truth and allows us the capacity to meet our highest potential.

About our Author

Stephanie Dandan is a writer, poet, photographer, reiki healer based in San Francisco, California. Her soul’s purpose is to show others that we are all tied to one another, experiencing each other in reflection. And to unify them with the belief that there is beauty everywhere, in light and in darkness. If you don’t find her on the road looking for the next mountain, island, desert or city to explore she’s either: in a dance floor or kitchen dancing her skin off to 90s hip hop, sweating on a bike, in a library buried under poetry, or behind the laptop writing her first book.