Does Yoga have to be a spiritual practice or can it just be a practical tool for being fit?
The word ‘spirit’ is derived from the Latin word ‘spiritus’, which simply means ‘of the breath’. With this in mind, yoga is indeed a spiritual practice. It is also interesting to note that the word ‘psyche’ comes from the Greek work ‘psukhe’, which also means ‘of the breath’. Yoga has long recognised this integration between the mind and the body (the life-force [or breath] and the thought processes). You might sat that yoga is a great tool for maintaining both a fit body and a fit mind. But it certainly does not have to be spiritual in the way we usually interpret this word—that is, in a religious or worshipping sense.
