As the adept yogi progresses rapidly on the path of yoga, a sloughing off of impurities occurs. A gentle cleansing of the physical, emotional and mental bodies by the practice of asanas and pranayama takes place. Sometimes this process may speed up depending upon the potency of the precepts being followed by the practitioner and the commitment to the practice.

At this point it is important that the seeker not be overwhelmed with the results but continue the training with utmost faith in the master. Faith unlike popular belief as blind is actually much more in the realm of the spiritual world.

But for this faculty to work unerringly the yogi has to be firmly set on the path of yogic discipline. As the pathways in the brain open up with pranayama, the higher intelligence of intuition takes over from ordinary stored memory and recall! The moment the practising yogi is able to surrender to this natural ability doors open to guide the seeker to the goal. Faith then becomes the result of the sum total of all the intelligence gathered over many lifetimes and now applied with intuition to situations that life throws up.

But what about the new practitioner of yoga, how much of ‘faith’ is this person to indulge in? When stepping first on this path, even if you are a novice, you may already have a partially developed intuitive faculty and there is no harm in listening to this inner guide in matters of choosing the right teacher, or the right form of yoga.

Nevertheless, it is also good to check the antecedents of the person teaching and the source of the expertise before signing up. The kind of reputation the teacher enjoys is also a good guideline as also the teachers’ commitment to the practice and the students, the motive behind teaching etc. More importantly, once you have joined a class give it at least a month and check for yourself the progress that is being made. The practice of yoga fills one with a sense of well being; better sleep, a sense of ease in the physical body, a lightening up of the emotions, feeling of detachment etc are some of the signs that indicates the practice is making a difference.

But take care not stop there, the practice must lead you to a higher spiritual realm, an understanding of yourself as a cosmic being. Stagnating on the path of yoga before reaching the ultimate stage of samadhi is tragic to say the least.