Real Yoga

In a way you can begin knowing your SELF by knowing why you chose to do Yoga. Some people wish to do the postures because they have heard about its health benefits — or how they can keep fit and get slim. Others have some fanciful idea about the almost magical powers they may acquire by studying Yoga.

Somewhere along the line you may have read about Siddhi Powers as listed by Patanjali. Still some are attracted to the proverbial meditation techniques of Yoga and Zen, and what theta wave mind state they can put themselves in. Others are attracted by friends who extol the benefits of a Yogic vegetarian diet, or even the fantastic Guru they have met and, by solicitation, get swept up into the same group as their friends.

Yet, many have read books on Yoga and the somewhat mysterious world of astral bodies, levitation, magical powers and visions of heavenly hosts, and by all the above, find themselves entering the Yogic door. Motivations are very interesting. Some people are motivated by a strong desire to get closer to God, or to better themselves by becoming a better person.

But the interesting thing is the motivation and how it changes as we grow and develop along this Yogic path.

You may even find, after some months of practicing, that this Yoga business is not going quite as expected. The postures are too difficult and your old carcass you carry around cannot maneuver the positions and so might feel like giving up on them.

Meditation, whatever sort you are doing, may seem to be going nowhere, and using visualization in the Kriya technique might just be too much work. And the time! Where does one find the time to do the postures, the breathing, the meditation and the Gnana Yoga and still carry on with household duties and ones daily job — and still, what I hope you will all do in some small way, teach what you have learned to others for free!.

Yoga is a way of life that you work into your daily activities. How many minutes that add up to hours are wasted in the day — sitting on a bus, driving to town, etc. These are moments you can steal and practice pranayama. You can even practise my meditation technique while you are working. Yes you can — work at it.

No matter how late you come in from an evening out — perhaps an evening at the theatre or a dinner party, you can practise before you sleep. Meditation takes the place of sleep and so does Pranayama. You will not miss sleep once you get the hang of making Yoga a Way of Life.

Just think also of the attention needed to prepare your meals in a Sattvic manner. Yoga is Union with the SELF, and the SELF — without attributes — is living through you throughout the day and night and it is in these living experiences we can commune with our true SELF. This communion may be rough at first, but in time, by not renouncing anything but by fulfilling ALL of your nature, you will finally Wake Up to who you really are living in this shell with a label with your name on it. You, the Real You, will realize then, as Shakespeare said , that you are an actor on the stage, a shadow picture on the screen, fulfilling the shadow's dharmic patterns. In the meantime, you, the real you, will be bathed in Bliss, and unlike in Deep Sleep, you will be fully aware of it.

So no matter how you began Yoga, or what your motivations were, press on, keep active in this way of life. It is a life time training. There is no hurry. We are not going anywhere as there is nowhere to go. We are HERE. We are always HERE.

Articles by Swami Harinanda and Yogi Karmananda are © 2026 and are licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Most images do not qualify for use under this license. The 9 Planes of Reality image is, however our own image and thus qualifies.

Some images are used under a Creative Commons License and can also be used as long as you follow their license agreement.

Music has been used with permission and may be used if you qualify and abide by the licensing requirements.

The Real Yoga website is designed to be a self–study website. But, feel free to send us a message — but do make sure your email is correct.

Select and match the date shown below so we know you are not a spambot 🤖
January	22
Month January February March April May June July August September October November December	Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Send

No spying. No cookies. No Google. No advertising. No tracking. No joking — well, maybe a few jokes.

Say yes to 100% free! Two thumbs up!