June 21 was declared International Yoga Day. It is to highlight the very good effect of yoga on health and spirituality. Of course, yoga has become popular internationally when Hollywood stars discovered these. To an extent that it even became sort of a fad. But there is no short cut to good health. Yoga in fact comes with a rigorous discipline. Not just in terms of regular exercises. A strict diet is also a requirement. Those who are serious about the practice must become strict vegetarians.
The ultimate purpose of yoga is enlightenment. If you want to attain the ultimate purpose of spirituality, then yoga is it. The other effects such as good physical and mental health are just some of the side effects.
If these are what you are after, for sure you can achieve them without even having to adhere to the very rigorous discipline required. In addition, you will also be more relaxed, or can deal better with stresses or tensions of modern life.
The nature of people is to always to hanker for more. More material things or wealth until you reach the point you realize what you really want is unlimited wealth, happiness, or in short to achieve limitlessness. This cannot be had through anything material. It is only through spirituality that such can be achieved.
Or, it is through spirituality that a person can have the discipline to be contented with the minimum requirements of life and be happy about it.
Yes, those are the key words, contentment with the basics, for the more you desire about material things, the more problems you have or will have to face. In the end, your physical and mental health might even be sacrificed.
As they say, the more you have, the more problems you have.**