The Two Blessings
A person who practices yoga receives many, many blessings that uplift and nurture the spirit.
Yoga grants two specific blessings:
External
A regular yoga practice will bless the external form. Yoga creates a healthy body, with more flexible muscles, strong bones, and improved breathing, which brings vital oxygen to the blood, nourishing all the organs, including the mind. In yoga philosophy, this external blessing touches specific koshas, a sanskrit word, that means form.
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Anamaya kosha, the body will be more vibrant, healthy, and resilient.
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Pranamaya kosha, the breath and emotions, will be more energetic.
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Manomaya kosha, the mind, will align with body and breath to form a unified whole.
Internal
A regular yoga practice will bless the inner self. Yoga is experiential, different for each person. Yoga meets you where you are, when you are ready to receive, yoga will awaken the spirit.
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Vijnanamaya kosha, the higher wisdom, will be nurtured through the expansive nature of centered stillness that yoga poses embrace. Opportunities to chant, recite a mantra, and practice hand mudras bring one closer to a higher consciousness. The ethical precepts of the eight limbs of yoga, elevate the spirit so that there is no end game, only a desire to come back to the self.
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Anandamaya kosha, the bliss body, can be accessed only after dedicated practice and a desire to raise one's consciousness to unite with the divine.