By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

It’s predictable. You start doing yoga or meditating and pretty soon you’re eating healthier.

How does that come about? Your life is becoming “yogified.” I confess that I made up the word, specifically to describe the organic process of upliftment yoga provides.

This experience is the fulfillment of a promise made thousands of years ago, repeated through the ages by India’s ancient and modern sages.

In addition to physical improvements, your life begins to change. You are less anxious, so you deal with situations and people differently. You sleep better. Dare I accuse you of becoming more peaceful? Your relationships improve as a result; you even see those around you from a different perspective.

These results are predictable because you’re aligning yourself with Consciousness-Itself. The light of your inherent Divinity, svaroopa, is beginning to shine through. These organic lifestyle changes are the best part of yoga! They are your first steps toward enlightenment — you’re cleaning up your act.

It’s helpful to understand what’s happening to you. When you get the map of the inner terrain you are traversing, you can cooperate with the process and anticipate your next steps. The writings of the sages describe clearly how you…

— Excerpt from A Yogic Lifestyle, pages ix-xii