What are the potential benefits of yoga practice?

Yoga is a mind-body discipline that integrates the mental state with the state of tension in the body. The deliberate adoption of poses creates a series of tensions and relaxations in a sequence of steps that allows shifting of other subtle energies about. This is ancient wisdom on display that understands there is an interplay between the subtle energy domain and the physical action mechanisms of the body itself, through the musculature and the skeletal system and the interconnections. All need exercise and also all need a certain discipline for tension and release. The tension serves to create vigilance and a reconnection to utilization designed to keep things in trim and encourage cellular replacement as needed so the body can be robust and fit, and also to have an outlet for unnecessary emotional negativity—that too is a liability. If the body is unused and neglected it will decline. If it is overused in focusing too intently on unproductive emotional negativity such as anguish, this will create new stores of tension within various areas of the body and create thereby, an imbalance. This robs the body of energy on a total basis and also creates distortions in the energy fields which ideally are in a similar balance with the physical body elements. When they are in balance as well, the one affects the other. This is inevitable because they are integral and intertwined in their purpose and functioning. both. The practice of yoga is a kind of energetic strengthening through a rebalancing to husband resources, minimize frittering and dissipation of energies so they can be held on reserve for when they are called upon, as in a crisis situation or even just normal day-to-day activities. This is sort of a mind-body tune-up process to work systematically through the systems and appendages to restore the balanced interrelationships of the physical and energetic apparatus to bring everything into balance. It is designed to restore and replenish, and will be a signal to the divine realm via the higher self to call on more life force energy as needed to replace any shortage and add extra energy when there is a process underway resulting in exertion, as is the case with some of the more strenuous yoga poses and maneuvers. This too is beneficial, as is the case with exercise in general, because it flexes the muscles, engages the energetic pathways and the governing system to be responsive and to maximize the inner potential workings of the body through fostering a state of preparedness. This is what an exercise regimen does. It is analogous to preparing to compete in a marathon where one would logically start with a moderate pace and run shorter distances at first in order to build up stamina rather than attempt the entire feat from the outset and risk exhaustion and a potential collapse through overexertion. Yoga is designed to be a process for energetic rebalancing within the complex of Gaia energies as well as the divine life force. Both have an interplay and interact with one another, and are part of the overall balancing that results. This is important for healthy workings of the body and to keep the bodily function in a high state of readiness even when at rest. This is analogous to the conditioning of the athlete where the premium may be placed on strength and endurance rather than inner balance and a healthy energy reserve, but is of equal service in contributing to a person being well-rounded and prepared for anything.