There are many signs of progress on the spiritual path. As you practice yoga, you begin to live with more happiness, confidence, peace, wellness and wholeness. Higher states of consciousness develop which bring great joy and bliss. Becoming aware of these indicators helps open you to these possibilities.

One of the joys of life is to center in the atman, the true self. Through the practice of yoga, we can contact and express our authentic nature. Explore the characteristics of the soul which come through as you grow. What would your soul like to express through you?

As I began teaching yoga in Costa Mesa, California in the 1970s, I met a nun named Sister Margarita. She was middle-aged, full of love and joy — a very happy person. Her message was that the Christian life was not meant to be one of sin and regret but of living full of joy, seeing and acknowledging the wonder of life.

Baba Hari Dass was a globally famous master yogi. When I first met him in 1971, he hadn’t actually spoken for 17 years. On the day we met, he communicated by writing on a small chalkboard. We meditated for hours together. He became my friend and we corresponded for many years.

Millions of people (perhaps billions) seek to know and do God’s will. Yoga helps us develop the receptivity to soul and Spirit which is needed to understand the Divine will. Each type of yoga has various approaches for attuning with God’s will. You can open yourself to the presence of Spirit which wishes to move and express in your life, bringing increased sweetness, joy, wholeness and fulfillment.

Our hearts and minds crave to know the purpose and meaning of life. Answering these deep questions often brings peace. Yogis seek answers through attunement with higher wisdom, using a step-by-step process. You can experience accomplishment, joy and peace as you discover what your soul was born to express.

The practice of yoga can bring fulfillment on all levels of our being. It can help satisfy our human yearnings and confer a feeling of completeness and wholeness.

Part three of our series focuses on the transformations which peace brings into our lives and also into the world. Pema Chödrön (Practicing Peace) writes that war and peace start in the hearts of individuals. Our personal transformations inevitably lead to greater peace in the world. We replace hatred with love and compassion.

This is the second video in the series on peace. Both yogis and Buddhists have identified a major factor which is crucial to our experience of peace. Yogis call it craving or attachment and Buddhists call it shenpa, the driving force behind our desires