This post is dedicated to my fellow devoted yogis or anyone aspiring to deepen their practice in yoga. With each passing year, I find it interesting to see how differently I show up on the mat, and thankfully, it’s with a greater sense of gratitude each time. When the world gets loud, both inner and outer worlds, there is nowhere else I find myself more grounded, calm, and with a clear sense of direction than on the mat. How many times have you said to yourself: even if the world burns to ashes, all is well, as long as I show up on the mat,  I’m moving in the right direction? Comment below if you happen to be a fellow yogi and somehow found this post, probably buried somewhere deep past page 7 of Google search, practically the dark web with better lighting.

Now, why is that? Have you ever wondered why? Is it just a feeling, or is it simply what yoga does to the body? There is an actual science to this, and we all kind of understood it vaguely from our Level 1 training. One of the first things we are taught about yoga is what yoga means, and that is to yoke or unite. As an advanced yogi, you probably have a better understanding now and what this actually entails. Yoga doesn’t lie. We show up as we are, and on the mat, we carry with us our fears, our doubts, our inner critic, our emotions, and everything else that comes along with being human. Eventually, we understand how to find the right balance of pushing too hard or not pushing at all. Pushing beyond our comfort zone is an essential part of being a yogi, and we understand that better with time, hopefully, as growth is not possible otherwise.

From a more esoteric and spiritual perspective, we can associate the act of uniting with two different forces, like Shiva and Shakti. As I’m sure you are already familiar, in Hinduism, all that is manifested or unmanifested is God. According to Hindu philosophy, God is Brahman, the unchanging, infinite, and eternal reality behind the universe. Brahman is beyond all names, forms, and limitations, yet it permeates everything. It is pure consciousness, the source from which all creation arises. The Hindus gave Brahman two distinct roles, though of course they are one and the same: Nirguna and Saguna. Nirguna Brahman is God without form, attributes, or qualities. It is pure and formless consciousness. Saguna Brahman, on the other hand, is God with form and attributes, which humans can relate to through devotion, such as Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi.

The Awakening of Shiva by Shakti | Yoga

Between the 12th and 15th centuries CE, the Tripuratapini Upanishad was composed by an author unknown. For some reason, the simple idea of books written by unknown authors excites me more than anything, giving me butterflies in my stomach. Anyhow, in this text of the minor Upanishads, we find the story of Shiva and Shakti. When we look at science, energy is everything. Science explains it better than we could have, as we have discovered that the entire manifested Universe in form is made up of atoms, with the exception of light, of course. Atoms are the building blocks of matter, and Einstein’s famous quotation E=mc² has already proved that mass is nothing but condensed energy. Einstein’s equation E=mc² means that mass (m) can be converted into energy (E), and the amount of energy equals the mass multiplied by the speed of light squared (c²).

Light, on the other hand, doesn’t contain rest mass, and it is not made of atoms; it is a form of electromagnetic radiation. It consists of photons, which are massless particles that carry energy but have no body or mass. Unlike matter, light can travel through the vacuum of space without needing a medium, which is why we can see sunlight across millions of kilometers. So while atoms make up matter, light is made of photons and is pure energy moving through space, capable of interacting with atoms but not composed of them. Photons travel at the speed of light. According to relativity, as an object approaches light speed, time slows down for it relative to an outside observer. Because photons already travel at light speed, time essentially “stands still” for them. From a photon’s perspective, its emission and absorption are instantaneous, no matter how far it travels. They don’t experience time.

For example, from our perspective (Earth), since the distance from the Sun to Earth is roughly 150 million kilometers (93 million miles), if we are traveling at the Speed of light (about 300,000 kilometers per second, 186,000 miles per second), Time = Distance ÷ Speed, it takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds for sunlight to reach us. We see the journey unfold over time. Remember that photons have no rest mass, and according to relativity, time does not pass at light speed, so from the photon’s perspective, the Sun and Earth are effectively at the same point. Its journey is instantaneous.

Now, holistically speaking, you can travel to the Sun, not with your physical body, of course, but with your light body. How do I know? Because I’ve experienced it myself. And no, it was not intentional. I didn’t go to sleep and say, “Oh, I’m going to travel to the Sun tonight because life on this planet is just boring as hell lately, and I’ve got nothing better to do, so why not?” It just happened, and I still don’t know why, but I have a partial understanding of why it might have happened and what the whole experience meant, metaphysically as well as spiritually. And yes, I did see some things as I was approaching the surface of that thing we call the Sun. But that’s a whole other topic for another day, and I’m not even sure I want to discuss it. Rest assured, I’m slowly mastering the art of not giving a f*ck. It’s just that things take a little longer for me, and I’m learning to accept that.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way (whew!), let’s come back to Shiva and Shakti. Another way we can view these archetypes is that Shiva is regarded as pure energy or consciousness, while Shakti is condensed energy, such as matter, but flowing and dynamic. Together they form the cosmic dance. Energy becomes matter as matter is energized by consciousness. In yoga, the mat becomes a microcosm of this cosmic union. Through yoga postures, challenges, and movement, we embody Shakti and Shiva, the flowing energy of our breath and muscles, meeting the still awareness of our mind. Each posture is a tiny universe, a balance of motion and stillness, effort and surrender. In striving for alignment, steadiness, and wholeness in the body, we reflect the eternal union of energy and consciousness, seeking perfection, completeness, and above all, balance within ourselves.

A headstand is not just balance, it is completeness within, and a quiet self-assurance that grounds us beyond our fear. A warrior pose is not just strength but the flow of energy meeting still awareness, rooted yet expansive. Each posture, from the simplest stretch to the most challenging inversion, demands that we embody both Shakti and Shiva, moving and holding, striving for balance, alignment, and wholeness that mirrors the eternal union of energy and consciousness. So together, Shiva and Shakti symbolize the union of consciousness and energy, the balance of stillness and movement, potential and manifestation, the inner and outer worlds.

Building your own practice | Mindful movement

If you want to improve your practice, the first thing that I recommend is that you develop your own practice at home. Yes, going to a yoga class or another studio and practicing under the guidance of another is great, as we learn from their lineage of yogis and teachers and whatever unique practice they offer. But if you are on your way to finishing your teacher training or are already a teacher, you already know that holding your own practice at your own pace and in your own space is crucial. Showing up on the mat and showing up every day is, of course, necessary. Life sometimes gets too overwhelming, and yes, we may skip a day or two or sometimes a whole week, even though it’s very rare, as you know. And if it isn’t, we should try our best to make it so. Anyhow, why is this important? First and foremost, because your body will be your own best teacher. We are working with the challenges that are presented through the body to overcome the limitations that our mind imposes on it. Let’s say today you are able to do Elevated Lotus pose, but three years ago you couldn’t even do a proper forward fold and never imagined you could possibly accomplish something like it. Well, that’s the beauty of yoga: through persistent practice, we realize how we can overcome the limitations that our mind imposes on our practice and how much we can achieve.

The second, if not equally important, thing is to get a mirror so you can actually see yourself practicing. Yes, a mirror will do wonders, because if you think you’ve been doing three-legged dog right for the past seven years, you might reconsider once you get a mirror in your home. A mirror is a must if we want to improve, overcome bad habits in the practice, and heal old injuries that lead to those habits, whether in the way we come in and out of a posture or the way we hold it. Injuries play a big part in our practice, and traumas in the body play an even bigger role in many of the chronic injuries we struggle with. When I was five, I broke my right wrist, and still to this day I am starting to truly understand how that physical trauma to my wrist has affected my joints and muscles and the way my body has coped to compensate for it. When we develop a deeper personal practice, the body speaks for itself, and we have to learn to listen. A simple adjustment in the rotation of the shoulder can enlighten us as to why that chronic injury keeps bugging us for months or even years.

Another important key in yoga is to practice what is often called muscular engagement or even bandhas, which means energy locks in the body. It is not just about holding the outer shape of a pose but about scanning the body with the inner eye to activate the right muscles within it. For example, when I am practicing an open twist in a lunge, I notice that engaging my inner thighs, almost as if I were hugging into the midline, completely transforms my posture. My core aligns naturally, and the pose becomes more stable. Practicing this kind of mindful engagement helps us protect the joints, heal old patterns in the body, and unlock new depth in familiar poses. This is done through graceful movement, with a sense of strength yet also lightness in the body, supported by mindful breathing. Relaxing within the postures is just as important, because if we hold unnecessary tension, we can create more bad habits or even injuries.

Relaxing in the postures does not make us weak, but rather allows the posture to settle into the body so it becomes more natural over time. This balance of effort and ease is especially important in the lineage of Vinyasa, which in the West is called Flow yoga. The last tip I can give for now is to be mindful of your joints. Your joints are your guiding stars in yoga. They are especially important in how we guide the body through circular movement on the mat. Your elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, and wrists are the roots of your body. Without these roots, you cannot create or hold any shape on the mat. Joints are where movement originates, connecting bones, muscles, and ligaments into one functional system. They act as bridges that allow energy to flow through the body. If a joint is unstable or misaligned, the entire posture can be thrown off, leading not only to poor form but also to injury over time.

In yoga, paying attention to our joints means learning to stabilize them through muscular engagement while keeping them mobile enough to allow fluidity in the practice. Circular movement is especially helpful, because it lubricates the joints, warms up the body, and prepares us for deeper poses. When we practice this balance of stability and mobility, our movements become more meaningful, our postures feel natural, and we protect the health and resilience of our practice.