Yoga

The 7 Spiritual Laws of Yoga

The 7 Spiritual Laws of Yoga
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga integrate 5,000-year-old Vedic wisdom with modern yogic interpretations, creating a daily yoga practice to help you unite body, mind, and spirit. Based on the teachings presented in Deepak Chopra and David Simon's popular book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, this beautiful practice blends meditation, Pranayama, yoga philosophy, sun salutations, and Asana development to bring you into alignment with the magnificent rhythms of the cosmos.

When you learn yoga postures in Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga classes, the seven principles are woven into your practice and movements. Even as students learn traditional yoga postures, the attention and intention they give to these principles improves the quality of all aspects of their lives.

Explore the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga in Journey to Well-being: Healthy Body, a seven-part series with Sarah Finger, available now in the Chopra App.


The 7 Principles

Law of Pure Potentiality: Your essential nature is pure consciousness, the infinite source of everything that exists in the physical world. Since you are an inextricable part of the field of consciousness, you are also infinitely creative, unbounded, and eternal.

Law of Giving and Receiving: Giving and receiving are different expressions of the same flow of energy in the universe. Since the universe is in constant and dynamic exchange, you need to both give and receive to keep abundance, love, and anything else you want circulating in your life.

Law of Karma (Cause and Effect): Every action generates a force of energy that returns to you in kind. When you choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of your karma is happiness and success.

Law of Least Effort: You can most easily fulfill your desires when your actions are motivated by love, and when you expend the least effort by offering no resistance. In this way, you tap into the infinite organizing power of the universe to do less and accomplish everything.

Law of Intention and Desire: Inherent in every intention and desire are the mechanics for its fulfillment. When you become quiet and introduce your intentions into the field of pure potentiality, you harness the universe’s infinite organizing power, which can manifest your desires with effortless ease.

Law of Detachment: At the spirit level, everything is always unfolding perfectly. You don’t have to struggle or force situations to go your way. Instead, you can intend for everything to work out as it should, take action, and then allow opportunities to spontaneously emerge.

Law of Dharma: Everyone has a Dharma or purpose in life. By expressing your unique talents and using them to serve others, you will experience unlimited love, abundance, and true fulfillment in your life.

The Benefits of Yoga

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga promote both physical health and emotional wellbeing. Some of the benefits for the body are:

  • Improved flexibility and range of motion
  • Enhanced balance
  • Increased strength and muscle tone
  • Greater endurance
  • Enhanced immune function
Even if yoga only enhanced physical fitness, the time spent in practice would be fully worthwhile. Luckily, yoga offers much more than just a way to exercise the body. The deeper meaning and gift of yoga is the path it offers into the timeless world of spirit. Yoga gives the gift of a calm mind, even in the midst of chaos, by teaching you to let go and bring awareness to every moment. In this expanded state of consciousness, you experience freedom from suffering. You remember your essential spiritual nature, and life becomes more joyful, meaningful, and carefree.

The biggest benefits come from the deeper understanding of yoga’s essence: the union of body, mind, and spirit. Mind-body integration means establishing a healthy dialogue between your thoughts and your cells. While the body appears to be material, it’s really a field of energy and intelligence that’s inextricably connected to the mind. Your beliefs, thoughts, and emotions influence every cell in the body and therefore play a major role in your wellbeing.

Yoga is a powerful practice that enhances your mind-body integration. Through conscious breathing, movement, and attention to the physical postures, you cultivate a state of body-centered restful awareness. You listen to the signals your body is sending to you in the present moment and you expand the energy in your body through your attention and intention. A body that is listened to responds with greater strength, vitality, and health. It’s so powerful that regular practice can help you attain:

  • Success and abundance
  • Loving relationships
  • Higher states of consciousness including intuition, creativity, insight, imagination, and inspiration

Cultivate deep connection through the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga in Journey to Well-being: Healthy Body, a seven-part series with Chopra’s Director of Yoga, Sarah Finger, available now in the Chopra App.





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