Thomas Michael Fortel
is a longtime yoga practitioner/teacher, influenced by the Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara styles of Hatha yoga, and drawing from his devotional experience in Bhakti yoga. He travels widely, sharing his love for yoga.
Yoga Practice: An Ongoing Metamorphosis
One's whole being, starting from the physical body, can be refined and strengthened so it acts as a medium for the higher cosmic force. The system of hatha yoga was designed to transform the gross elements of the body so they can receive and transmit a much subtler and more powerful energy. — Hatha Yoga Pradipika (6th century text)
Yoga is a practice of ever-unfolding metamorphosis. This is accomplished through the physical postures (asanas), conscious breathing (pranayama), and the clearing and focusing of the mental consciousness (meditation, or dyana).
A Matrix of Light: Prana and the Practices of Yoga
Just as a plexus of nerves (many criss-crossing at the same place) in the body emits a stronger force of energy, the practitioners of yoga, by virtue of ongoing practice, have developed a high level of pranic force within the body and nervous system. We could say that the prana is an invisible or metaphysical force of energy, yet flows through and illuminates the physical body and being of the practitioner. We students of yoga engage conscious breathing as a way to connect to alternative states of consciousness.