The Piedmont Yoga Studio (which was founded, in part, by Rodney Yee and has birthed some of the Bay Area's best teachers) turned 21 this past weekend and celebrated its anniversary with a number of events to benefit the studio, including a very interesting lecture called Why Yoga Works. The panelists were local teachers Judith Lasater, Tony Briggs, and Yoko Yoshikawa and the talk was moderated by another PYS founder, Richard Rosen.

So, why does yoga work? The articulate guest speakers spoke a bit about how yoga focuses the mind, relieves the body of stress, and digs below the surface emotionally. But, in general, they also seemed to struggle somewhat with the question. And upon reflection, so did I. After all, this is a question we all get asked from time to time by people who don't practice: Why does yoga work? But how can we answer that question without defining what exactly we're talking about. Asana? Pranayama? Yamas and niyamas? Kriyas? Mantra? Sure, all of these things "work," but they work differently.

The discussion meandered somewhat until Richard asked a great question: What exactly does it mean for yoga to "work"? What is the goal we are trying to accomplish with our practices? How do we know when we are "successful"?

We could ask 100 practitioners why yoga works and get 100 different answers. One person might say, "I feel calmer after a yoga class, so it works"; another person might say, "My injury doesn't hurt anymore, so it works!"; and yet a third person might say, "Yoga helps me feel closer to God, so it works." See the problem? Perhaps the question really is: "Why does yoga work for you?"

All of this difficulty speaking about yoga's ultimate benefits got me thinking of my own troubles defining yoga to friends and relatives who don't practice.

So, it's exercise, they say?
Well, not exactly.
It's breathing?
Well, yes, but there's more.
Is it praying?
Well, in a way, but … (Sigh.)

If only they just tried it, they could tell ME why it works!

In the end, even the panelists agreed that there was a certain mystery to yoga, that its powers couldn't be completely explained by simple terms and definitions. I wonder if anyone out there, teachers or students, have thoughts about the question of "why yoga works"? Or maybe just share with us why yoga works for you?