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The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit “Yuj” which means to “yoke” and is often translated as “union”or “to unite or connect” and “relationship” with oneself and the universe. Yoga is a powerful connection to yourself, a support system whose many results depending on your desires. Yoga can lead you to a new understanding of who you are and show you where the power to be yourself lies. Many people in the West have been mislead into believing that yoga is just doing postures to gain more strength, flexibility, and beatification. Yoga is also a spiritual practice and not just a physical practice.  The misunderstanding of what yoga is can take a student in the opposite direction of the true meaning of yoga. It can lead to inflation of the ego and increased identification with the body not realizing that it is just an illusion and not who we really are. The awareness of this programming is the first step. The willingness to get rid of it in order to evolve into something higher is the second step, and this will create a new movement in our consciousness and relationship with the world.
While the goal of yoga is "self-realization" "liberation" or "enlightenment" its rarely what most beginners of yoga have in mind at the onset, the slow, steady, and gradual awakening that comes from a regular practice, does brings change.
This change often includes very tangible aspects of personal transformation, like improved health and vitality, reduced stress, disease, and increased sense of well-being and feelings of generosity, compassion, and understanding. What may have started, for example, as a curiosity about yoga or a purely physical pursuit of the yoga postures for increased fitness and flexibility, can become a vehicle for emotional growth and spiritual adventure.
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