Introduction

When we make the space in our over-crowded schedules and on the floors our homes, to practise our Yoga postures, what is it that we are hoping to accomplish? What magic do we expect of Yoga that we cannot get elsewhere? Yes, Yoga does have the power to release muscles from their habitual state of tension and return them to their resting length. And it certainly can increase the mobility of our joints, restricted by years of sitting and standing with little regard or respect for the body's form and structure. ‘But will it bring good health? Will it make us live ‘any longer? My guru, Swami Venkatesananda, a world-renowned Yogi, died at the age of sixty-two after suffering from heart disease for a number of years. Indeed, in the West we have now come to see Yogis of all methods who have taught their message and then died after a more-or-less average lifespan. Does this mean the promise of Yoga has failed? And if a longer life is not the promise, what is it that draws us to Yoga and makes us dedicate the precious hours of our lives to it?

Perhaps what calls us to Yoga in this technological world of instant delivery and smart machines is that we are beginning to -understand the vision of the risk (seers) of India from many thousands of years ago. Maybe we had to come through the industrial and technological revolutions in order to begin to ask the right questions about our own existence in this time, to be able to understand the answers the Rishis gave us from their time.

One of the most beautiful ancient Sanskrit texts associated with Yoga is the dialogue between the Devi (goddess), Shakti, and the god Shiva.

Thus the promise of Yoga is perfection, which embraces health, happiness and the quality of our lives, no matter how long we live. And, as we shall see, health is not an absence of disease, and happiness is not an absence of tragedy. Swami Venkatesananda, along with the many Yogis who brought us this wisdom from the East, lived this perfection. Every day of his life was lived to the full, in a wholeness and with a dynamic quality that can only be called human perfection. In the pages that follow, we will explore how coming to 'know the tattva' - the 'vitalities' - through the philosophy and practice of Yoga can move each and every one of us closer to discovering our own innate perfection.