Whether we practice yoga with pure or impure intention, all is good...

It really doesn't matter if people practice yoga or just the yoga asana exercises with pure intention or impure intention, all is good...

At least during that few moments of yoga practice or performing the yoga asana exercises, whether we do it with pure intention or selfish intention, we are moving the body and mind away from committing worldly passionate activities and unwholesome activities...

We are not taking any intoxicants or drugs. (Except for those who cannot live without intoxicants or drugs even for a few moments...)

We are not indulging in sensual enjoyments of sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch and thoughts... (Except in certain modernized yoga classes nowadays which include passionate sensual decorations, aromatic incense or fragrances, musics, beautifully designed yoga clothings and accessories, special materials for cushioning and positioning, temperature control and etc, into the yoga class or the space for yoga practice)

We are not engaging in gossiping or slandering or back-bitting or criticizing or scolding or blaming (we should be in silence while performing yoga practice being busy observing and minding our breath and stay focus on what we are doing)... We are not talking, expressing, arguing, discussing, debating, teasing, mocking, boasting, lying, justifying and etc... All these restrictions are there to restrict the speech organ and silent the thought currents, as well as eliminating the ego... (Except in some of the yoga group class where complete silence is not being observed. For example, chitchatting or socializing during the class with the other practitioners or continue to be communicating with somebody outside the class through the phone... Or even in our own self-practice at home, we couldn't let go of the phone calls or messages... Or imagine that we try to hold our breath (Pranayama) and being angry and arguing with somebody at the same time? It's an extremely difficult task to do...)

While performing the yoga practice (self-control over the thoughts, actions and speech, self-introspection and observation, mindfulness, chantings, prayers, study of the yoga scriptures, practice of asana and pranayama, limiting and restricting the senses inputs, practice of concentration and meditation, performing Kriya yoga, performing selfless service or Karma yoga and etc...) or just performing the yoga asana practice, we are not engaging in watching movies or show performances; reading novels or magazines or newspapers; eating or drinking; listening to music (There's no special music background in traditional yoga practice like in most of the yoga classes nowadays conducted in many yoga centres. There's only natural sounds of nature and the environment in the background. Some yoga teachers even cracked their head in search for different music albums for their classes because the yoga students might be complaining for playing the same music over and over again...); lying on soft bed; thinking; worrying; imagining; anticipating; speculating; planning; scheming; creating; interacting; socializing; committing sexual or reproduction activities; or doing any worldly passionate social activities apart from exercising and training the body and mind to be pure, calm and still, and be free from thinking or possessing worldly objects... All these are the practice of controlling the senses and withdrawing the senses from the sense objects. This is practicing self-control, control of the mind, purification, dispassion and detachment...

In those moments of yoga practice, worldly connections or relationships with "this and that" disappear... There is no easy life or hard life, there is no good relationship or bad relationship, there is no happy moments or unhappy moments, there is no enjoyment or suffering, there is no good people or bad people... Just the body and mind performing the yoga practice...

In those moments while we are engaging in sincere yoga practice, we are not creating any disturbance or bad influences into the environment or the world...

The entire yoga practice itself is nothing but bringing positive benefits or impacts into our own body and mind, and the world...

When we perform any yoga practice whether with pure or impure intention, we are purifying, harmonizing, charging, balancing and calming the energy fields in our body and mind, and naturally this will be benefiting the entire world...

In those few moments, there is less a being generating harms or damages into the world...

At least during those few moments of yoga practice while being silent and being attentive in performing the physical movements of the yoga practice, we control and restrain our body and mind from performing any evil thoughts, actions and speech that will cause disharmony in ourselves and other people or the world...

We are not committing or involved physically or mentally in wars, killings, lying, hatred, greed, jealousy, gossips, criticisms, slandering, back-bitting, violence, sexual misconducts, hypocrisy, stealing, politics, agendas, propagandas, power, position and etc... We are temporary being moved away from any worldly egoistic activities... (Except in those whose mind is still busy with thinking about worldly activities and sense objects while performing the yoga practice... That means they are not really concentrating on what they are doing...)

And so, it really doesn't matter what are the intentions or motives or reasons or desires that bring people to be practicing yoga, whether it is pure or impure, authentic or inauthentic, for spirituality, for physical fitness, for beauty, for youthfulness, for mobility, for strength, for health, for wealth, for fame, for satisfaction, for achievement, or for anything, it is all good...

It is better than engaging in unwholesome activities that will harm ourselves and others...

Those few moments of sincere yoga practice is actually being compassionate towards ourselves and the world...

The mind can only do one thing at one time... Even just by observing the breath for one tiny moment... That is already the greatest moment of peace and compassion...

Be happy...

Om shanti.