Looking for a practice to detoxify your body, improve your posture, increase muscle mass, and calm your mind? Then yoga may be for you.

Today, yoga is practised by millions worldwide. While many associate it with the latest fad at the gym, it's actually an ancient practice that connects the mind, body and spirit through different body postures, controlled breathing and meditation. Yoga originated from India as a discipline to get a deeper understanding of oneself and subsequently, the universe. The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit word yug, which means to join or unite.

Manoj Kaimal, founder of Manasa Yoga, explains: "We're made up of four bodies - the physical body, the energy body, the emotional body and the intellect (the mind). From a yogic viewpoint, health in its truest sense is a state of balance in all four bodies."

The physical body is kept healthy through a regular routine comprising various physical postures called asanas. We nourish our energy body through the breath or prana. Breathing exercises called pranayama teach us proper breathing so all cells are oxygenated and the energy body can be radiantly alive.

Yoga teachings also stress on the importance of being constantly aware of one's emotional and mental states at all times.

"An imbalance in any of the four bodies will affect the overall health of a person. If he approaches the practice just from a physical angle, body-strengthening asana practices won't benefit his overall health as he may face an unstable emotional state due to his attachment of getting into a difficult posture which he can't achieve.

"Appreciation of the body is crucial to cultivating a positive relationship with it. Many of us are too critical of our physical body, judging it to be too fat or too old," says Kaimal.

There is a wide range of benefits from regular yoga practice, including:

• Lower blood pressure and pulse rate;
• Improvement in function of major body systems such as gastrointestinal, circulatory, respiratory and immune;
• Better quality of sleep;
• Increased body awareness resulting in intuitive understanding and respect for the body; and
• Balance in hormones and neurotransmitters, which induces a positive outlook on life and stable emotional state.

Manasa Yoga focuses on the mind (manas) and its entire practice revolves around redirecting the mind away from its tendency to identify with only the body, getting it to stretch towards the underlying spiritual reality. Kaimal says: "One of the primary objectives of yoga is to be aware of the present. At Manasa Yoga, we guide students to be present in each moment of movement, hoping that they bring this awareness to their daily lives.

"Clarity and wisdom will come when we realise the wholesome and unwholesome tendencies within. As we learn to discern, we can then make conscious choices and steer towards wholesome states such as compassion and joy."

So, during classes, the yoga instructors don't do the asanas, but instead walk around the room to assist students to move into the various asanas. This way, students won't form a rigid picture of what an asana must look like as different individuals have different levels of flexibility and strength. Students are taught to respect their bodies, to listen to their natural body language, and to not push themselves too much as that may cause unnecessary injuries.

Indian-born Kaimal was introduced to yoga by his grandfather from a tender age of eight. A voracious reader with an inquisitive mind, he read the works of Swami Vivekananda and Swami Sivananda while other children his age were busy reading storybooks or playing with their peers. He studied yoga with Guruji Pattabhi Jois in Ashtanga Yoga Research Centre in Mysore. He's also trained in the B.K.S. Iyengar School of Yoga, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta and by other teachers.

The writer is co-founder of The Violet Flame Holistic Shop and Therapy Centre in Bangsar. Check out www.thevioletflame.com.my for details.