Like a boat that allows us to move upon the surface of water, the body allows us to navigate the waters of manifestation. The body is essential. Without a body, there is no experience. Through the body, the process of knowing unfolds; through the body, we receive a touch of the Infinite; through the body, realization occurs. The body can be both the source of our possibilities and the cause of their absence.
Our body is a vast laboratory in which the processes of creation, growth, and dissolution take place. Five types of vital force circulate within it: prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana. Their balance determines not only our physical health but also our spiritual development. Within this laboratory of the body, there are 72,000 channels known as nadis. Everything that happens to us unfolds within these channels. When energy does not circulate freely in some of them, it may manifest as disturbances in the physical body or the psyche.
Among the 72,000 nadis, three are of primary importance: Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna. Ida and Pingala are the lunar and solar channels, respectively. They function like plus and minus within the body, like excitation and inhibition of the nervous system, like anabolic and catabolic processes, like flexors and extensors of the muscles, and so on. The balanced functioning of Ida and Pingala determines the harmonious operation of all 72,000 channels, and thus our health and inner equilibrium.
Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna originate in the region of the coccyx and ascend along the spine. However, only the central channel—Sushumna—reaches the highest point, the Sahasrara chakra, located at the crown of the head. Among these three, Sushumna is the most essential, for when Sushumna is active, a human being becomes divine. When the energy of apana enters Sushumna, we transcend the mind and move beyond dualities—beyond good and evil, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. Sushumna enables the realization of our meeting with our true Self. Yet all of this is possible only because we have a body.
Yogis give special attention to the body, while remembering that we are neither the body nor the mind. The practice of yoga can completely heal the body and make it strong and beautiful—but it requires practice. No one can perform the practice for you, and no one can claim the results of your effort.
If you intend to bring change into your life, do not postpone it until tomorrow—begin now. With a clear intention, you will attract everything that is necessary: the right knowledge will come to you, and the right people will appear. It does not matter where it comes from; what is needed can arrive from anywhere.
With the right intention, one may even encounter one’s Guru. A true Guru teaches no one—each person learns for oneself. The Guru can only share experience and speak of what has been realized. A Guru may indicate practices, but cannot perform them on our behalf. The true benefit of the Guru does not lie in words or demonstrations, but in the profound opportunity to discover the Guru within oneself. When the disciple is sufficiently attentive, sensitive, and receptive, it becomes clear that there is no difference between Guru and disciple. The disciple and the Guru are one. This is the universal play of the Absolute. And even after realizing this, the play continues. As long as the music is playing, as long as the lights are shining, the game goes on—the game of the Universe unfolding on the screen of our consciousness.