How to Reconnect with Yoga's Deeper Purpose with These 5 Gentle Reminders
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 17
- 9 min read
Emma Furner is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and mindfulness & trauma-sensitive yoga teacher who is passionate about helping people achieve holistic health and become their authentic selves.
While many modern yoga classes focus on movement and the physical body, yoga’s original intention reaches far deeper. This article explores five gentle ways to reconnect with the heart of yoga, as a path of presence, wholeness, and self-realization.
Yoga in the West: A personal reflection
Walk into any yoga studio in the Western world today, and you’ll likely find a room filled with people moving through physical postures, stretching toward flexibility, strength, maybe stress relief. While these are beautiful and valid aims, what many of us have come to know as yoga is just a glimpse of something far vaster, deeper, and profoundly transformative.
I sensed this as early as 2006, when I completed my first Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India. And yet, I’ll admit, at the time, I still approached the practice as exercise. I was one of many drawn by physical outcomes. Although it didn’t take long to feel there was something more, my relationship with yoga has waxed and waned over the years, much like the moon itself.
Yoga as a workout. Yoga as a feel-good. Yoga as a look.
Yoga as an outfit. Yoga as an ally.
Yoga as a lifestyle. Yoga as a calling.
Yoga as me.
What I’ve come to understand, decades later, is that it wasn’t yoga that changed—it was my ability to perceive and relate to its depth. Yoga has always been the steady moon; it was my gaze that shifted. Because what I now know, experientially, not just intellectually, is that yoga can be a profound pathway to health, wholeness, enlightened living, and the true Self, or Atman, as it’s called in the yogic tradition.
It’s as if I forgot, or perhaps never consciously registered, that it was always a path of Self-realization.
And so, for over twenty years, I’ve moved in and out of personal practice, in and out of teaching, and in and out of recommending yoga to others. More recently, I’ve landed on what feels like very solid ground, prompting one of my most attuned friends to share a long-held observation that struck deep:
When I come back to my yoga practice, I come back to myself.
This may not come as a surprise to those who have studied yoga in its more comprehensive form. Yet for many, myself included, this truth is often forgotten, dismissed, never learned, or registered at all.
This article isn’t meant to outline yogic philosophy (an impossible task), nor to map its full path. Instead, it offers a gentle invitation: to notice when and how we may be reducing yoga to mere movement, and how we might begin to honor its fuller purpose.
Yoga is not just a practice. It is a philosophy, a psychology, and a path toward something far more enduring than physical health: a path toward the Self.
How yoga became lost, and found again
If your journey with yoga resembles mine, you might understand why its depth is so often overlooked. While each person’s path is unique, these are some of the ways I lost touch with yoga’s deeper purpose:
I treated it like exercise. Despite knowing better, I still stepped onto the mat, pressed “workout” on my fitness tracker, and logged it as movement, tick. I gravitated toward vigorous styles like Vinyasa, Hot Yoga, or Ashtanga, chasing sweat, stretch, and a sense of accomplishment.
I prioritized Western psychology. Although I’ve been a trained yoga teacher for as long as I’ve been a registered psychologist, I often immersed myself more fully in Western frameworks, therapy, evidence-based models, and clinical approaches. Yoga tended to take a complementary role. And even when I explored yoga-based interventions, they were usually clinical, non-spiritual adaptations designed for therapeutic settings.
I longed for traditional teachers but struggled to find them. I searched for teachers who chanted mantras, honored their lineage, and wove awareness teachings into practice. But these were few and far between, especially in mainstream studios.
I found the ancient texts overwhelming. Despite owning several translations of the Yoga Sūtras, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Upanishads, I often put them down, uncertain where to begin or how to make meaning of their depth.
I was pulled by modern life. Gradually, and almost without noticing, the sacred began to slip into the background, eclipsed by productivity, performance, and the noise of everyday life.
For a long time, I saw these moments as detours or occasional rest stops on my path. But deep down, I knew I wasn’t honoring the fullness that yoga offers, and by extension, I wasn’t honoring my true self.
Yoga invites us to know ourselves beyond thought, emotion, or identity. It offers ethical foundations, breath practices, disciplines of attention, meditation, and ultimately, liberation. It is a path of experience, not performance. In the (albeit translated) words of the tradition:
“Yoga is the journey of the Self, through the Self, to the Self.” (Bhagavad Gītā, 6.20–6.23)
And just as I have been invited, again and again, to remember, I now gently invite you. Yoga is a gift, one that is available to us all. Like the moon, it waits, steady and luminous, for us to lift our gaze and return to our inner radiance.
Five gentle ways to remember yoga’s deeper purpose
If your heart is stirring to explore yoga more deeply, here are five gentle ways that have supported me, especially when I’ve drifted from the path.
1. Reflect on the ethical foundations of yoga
In Raja Yoga, or the “royal path,” there are eight limbs of practice described in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. The first two, Yamas and Niyamas, lay the ethical, social, and personal foundation for all other yogic practices.
What I’ve found helpful is focusing on one principle at a time and exploring how it can be lived in small, tangible ways. For example, Aparigraha (non-grasping) inspired me to begin downsizing my wardrobe, releasing items that no longer fit, felt good, or were worn regularly. Each gesture, however small, is an act of practice.
Related article: Yoga Beyond Stretches – 8 Limbs of Yoga for a Blissful Life
2. Read the ancient texts
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads contain profound wisdom. Please don’t feel you must read them cover to cover. Begin with an accessible translation. Even a few lines, read with care and reflection, can open new dimensions.
If you're unfamiliar with them, the Bhagavad Gita offers a deep exploration of duty, inner conflict, and the path of devotion, while the Taittiriya Upanishad introduces the concept of the koshas, the five sheaths or layers of human existence. These koshas form the foundation for many subtle yogic practices, including Yoga Nidra (see point 5).
And if that still feels overwhelming (as it did for me), start with podcasts, videos, or courses that bridge the gap. Let these teachings be companions and guideposts, not assignments or destinations.
3. Practice asana with intention
Approach postures not as achievements, but as invitations to listen inward. Let each shape speak to something more profound, into psyche, soul, and story.
Take Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): more than a stretch, it’s a gesture of devotion. The head bows below the heart, symbolizing surrender of ego to inner truth. Like a dog stretching after sleep, it signals both awakening and humility.
Or consider Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana): rooted in the myth of Virabhadra, the fierce warrior born from Shiva’s grief, this posture reminds us that strength can be sacred when guided by purpose. We rise not to conquer, but to protect what matters most: truth, love, and consciousness.
Every posture holds symbolic wisdom. Each is an ancient imprint, an invitation to live more fully from within.
4. Learn from rooted teachers
While self-paced practice is valuable, yoga was traditionally passed down orally, through a lineage, from teacher to student, a sacred system known as the guru-shishya parampara. This method emphasized more than just technique; it was about embodied wisdom, personal guidance, and a deep inner commitment to the teachings.
Seek out teachers who honor yoga in its fullness, not just postures, but breath, meditation, philosophy, and ethics. Those who teach with humility and devotion. It’s not that every class must include all these elements, but that you sense the teacher embodies the wisdom they offer.
As I mentioned, over the years, I have often found it challenging to locate such teachers in person. Not that they don’t exist, but because I would often find one, then relocate, or they would. However, I recently connected with a teacher in India who offers online sessions, and it has been beautiful. It’s one way I honor the roots of yoga, learning directly from someone who also shares its cultural context.
Still, not every space will reflect yoga’s full depth. In those moments, I invite you to bow silently. Acknowledge the generations who carried this path forward, often quietly, sometimes at significant cost. Gratitude itself is a form of yoga. When we honor the unseen threads, we become part of the sacred weave.
5. Use Yoga Nidra as a gateway
Yoga Nidra, “yogic sleep”, is a deeply restorative practice that requires no movement, no flexibility, no striving. You simply lie down, listen, and be.
It gently guides awareness through the koshas, the five sheaths of being described in the Taittiriya Upanishad mentioned earlier: physical body, breath, emotions, mind, and beyond. As awareness moves through these layers, a sense of inner wholeness often emerges.
In a world that glorifies effort, Yoga Nidra offers something quietly radical: insight through ease, presence through stillness.
It can be a gentle entry point for those new to inner work, and a profound return for seasoned practitioners. Most importantly, it helps us bypass a common trap: reducing yoga to exercise. Yoga Nidra returns us to the essence of yoga, not something we do, but something we are.
Related article: Yoga Nidra: The Ultimate Self-Care Tool
Shifting my perspective as a psychologist
I share this journey not from a place of mastery, but as someone who wants others to access the true gift that yoga is.
For much of my adult life, if a friend or family member came to me in pain, my first instinct was to recommend therapy, perhaps suggesting yoga as a helpful secondary tool. That made sense, especially given my professional background.
I had long walked in two worlds: Western psychology, with its therapeutic models and evidence-based interventions, and the world of yoga. However, even as I walked both paths, I unconsciously placed psychology in the lead role and yoga in a supporting one.
Over time, that changed.
Initially, I recommended both together. Then, slowly and subtly, like the way I stopped logging yoga sessions on my fitness watch, I realized something deeper:
It depends.
It depends on the person.
It depends on the nature of their suffering.
It depends on what they seek and who they have access to.
Sometimes, yoga is the most complete entry point. Because yoga is not just a complement to healing. Yoga is a complete system. It offers it all, and has always done so.
Related articles: How Trauma-Informed Yoga Changed My Life; 8 Ways Yoga Helps with Grief and Anxiety About Death
Closing reflection
I hope this piece is received in the spirit in which it was written, with no judgment about how you practice yoga, and no claim of expertise. Just the voice of someone still humbly walking the path. Someone who sees, with both awe and regret, how deeply ancient wisdom has shaped even our Western frameworks, often without acknowledgment. Someone who has returned to these teachings with new eyes and a wide-open heart.
Yoga was never meant to be something we do; it was meant to be something we are.
It was always meant to be something we are.
And the moon?
She does not waver.
It is we who must lift our gaze.
Start reconnecting today
If you’re ready to reconnect with yoga’s deeper purpose, beyond poses and performance, I invite you to take the next step. That might look like:
Focusing on just one of the five gentle reminders shared above
Reading any of the related articles
Joining me for a private online yoga session
Exploring any of my previous or upcoming webinar series
Accessing a free Yoga Nidra recording to begin right now
Or anything else you feel called to do
Whether you’re just beginning or returning to practice, this work is about coming home to yourself, gently, honestly, and, if needed, with support.
With gratitude
I extend heartfelt thanks to the teachers who have shaped and supported my practice, my understanding, and my being, whether they are aware of it or not. Swami Rama, Yogi Pramod, Emmanuelle Brown, Fiona Sorenson, Dr. Richard Miller, Anusha Wijeyakumar, and Himangee Joshi: thank you. You have taught me not just through words, but through presence. You live yoga. And for that, I am deeply grateful.
Read more from Emma Furner
Emma Furner, Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Yoga Teacher
Emma Furner is a psychologist, psychotherapist, and mindfulness & trauma-sensitive yoga teacher. She believes that the world as it is today disconnects us from our bodies, the wisdom within, and thus our true selves. She is passionate about building awareness about this and supporting people to return to their more embodied selves.
Through combining a variety of evidence-based Western psychological approaches with a deep understanding of mindfulness and yoga principles, Emma loves to help others explore, heal, and nurture the most significant relationships in life – especially those we have with ourselves, our emotions, our bodies, our weight, food, and our unique pasts.
