Krishnamacharya teaches that yoga can be found in any chosen direction, course of action or object of observation, whether that be a seated meditation or a chocolate Entenmanns donut. Asana and pranayama just happen to be particularly fruitful vehicles for yoga because body and breath are our most tangible realities (granted some vehicles are more fruitful than others).

There is no linear progression to asana. No one pose is more advanced than another. To do a simple thing with ease, precision, and joy is infinitely more advanced then doing something complex without. To do something that hurts your body or in some way makes you feel inadequate is perhaps the most beginner thing you can do.

It is impossible to injure oneself practicing yoga. It is very easy to do so performing a posture. If one has injured oneself in practice then no yoga was happening and one ought consider modifying if not completely changing the asana or practice that caused the injury.

Modern hatha yoga draws on British gymnastics? The yoga of Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Krishnamacharya influenced by a potpourri that included Indian wrestlers? These are claims guaranteed to send a frisson of horror up the limber spine of any yoga fundamentalist. But according to Sjoman, his book is meant not to debunk yoga—but to pay tribute to it as a dynamic, growing, and ever-changing art.

Sarah says that many people overlook the fact that mindfulness in meditation is the essence of yoga. "There is a saying that if you start with yoga you'll discover you have a mind to watch, and if you start with meditation you'll discover you have a body that's uncomfortable. So either place you start will lead to each other."