“When we are free from physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental distractions, we open the gates to our soul (atma). To understand this, one must gain far more than technical proficiency, and one must do asana not merely as a physical exercise but as a means to understand and then integrate the body with our breath, with our mind, with our intelligence, with our consciousness, and with our core. In this way, one can experience true integration and reach the ultimate freedom.” BKS Iyengar, Light on Life, p. 23. From the chapter on Stability—the Physical Body (Āsana).

Baddha Padmāsana— bound lotus pose