In Yoga practice we find that what began as a personal practice for our own benefit can change the very nature of everyday life and the wider world in which we live. We discover that this self-reflective journey has not made our world smaller and more encapsulated but rather has dismantled our perception of separation. This new awareness allows us to see that no matter how different we may appear on the surface, we all share the same life. And it allows us to see that no matter how convinced we are of our own ideas there is always another facet to consider. Such an undefended self can arise only out of the inner tempering process of daily practice. Such is the paradoxical virtue of practice. Through steeling and strengthening ourselves in the kiln of daily practice, we unleash a capacity to be vulnerable, tender, and open. The world is in desperate need of these qualities.

The teachings of Yoga describe many extraordinary states of consciousness and superhuman feats of control. Many erudite books have been written on the hypothetical states offering us glimpses of a world beyond. While attaining such hyperconscious states may be of some value, of far greater value are our attempts, however crude, to live with greater kindness and compassion in our everyday lives.