According to Patanjali Yogasutras, Hatha Yoga Pradipika etc. Yoga imparts following benefits :-
- It relaxes the muscles, at physical level. By slowing down the breath, it maintains balance at Praanic level.
- It boosts creativity and willpower at mental level.
- It sharpens the intellect and calms down the mind at intellectual level.
- It enhances the happiness in life and equipoise at emotional level.
- It manifest the innate divinity in all aspects of life.
Yoga is the tool to manifest the hidden potentialities in man and bring revolutionary changes at subtle level to be strong, balanced, self controlled, self motivated and enlightened personality.
Tragedy is that most of the individuals dont' even dare to accept that they are not perfect and they still need to improve as a man. They just go on running behind money and feel that only financial abundance will give them happiness. But in the society we can easily see that those who are rich are not necessarily happy, that means there lies something else which is responsible for or origin of happiness which we have never tracked for.
There are six major enemies which restricts man's development or downgrades his personality. Those are called as arishta varga or shad ripus. (Arishta means signs indicative of arrival of any bad situation. Varga means group of things. Shad means six. Ripu means enemy). Kaama (Intense desire), Krodha (Anger), Lobha (Miserliness), Moha (Infatuation), Mada (Arrogance), Maatsatya (Jealousy) come under arishta varga.
Regular practice of Yoga starts to diminish these lower animal natures and his slavery reduces. He starts gaining mastery over his mind by his constraints on these six enemies.
As a great seeker of reality we should not hesitate to open our-self to unknown region as well. The new glimpses of the inner world should draw us within. Openness, humbleness and humility among the people of modern scientific era is making them use Yogic practices in their routine. Yoga is helping them to unravel their spiritual dimensions. Thus yoga can ascertain an all round personality development by solving the problems of man and bring joy in life. For this reason only, yoga is becoming popular all over the globe. Yoga is a science applicable and open for all irrespective of age, sex, cast, religion etc.