Yoga is the Sanskrit word for 'joining' as in to 'yoke'. As such it can relate to a huge variety of different things. In this context, it is refering to the union between two binaries; the self and the ego. 

When we were born we were gifted a meat-suit body but also we were gifted a mind to help solve the problems we encounter from our first breath untl our last. 

As we grow up, we start attaching a rate of value to these gifts. We consider the attractiveness of our body as evidence of our value or the quality of our maths as evidence of our smarts. And through the evidence we accumulate in our interpersonal dynamics we end up reducing our worth to what our body looks like and how well our mind can solve problems. 

This is an illusion. The truth is that you are an invaluable part of the universe and the proof is the simple fact that you exist. If you didn't then you wouldn't. 

In the third dimensional universe, or bhutakasha, is a perfect space that only your specific body can fill. Why would this space exist if you were not meant to? 

Yoga reveals this truth to us through the simple act of breathing and, to quote my teacher, touching our toes in elaborate ways. 

So the joining we talk of is multifaceted. We are joining breath and movement, meat suit and mind, expectation and reality... and finding the balance between all these things to find a stillness for ourselves; in body, mind, and spirit. 

In my opinion, there is no point in doing something if you don't enjoy it. That being said, dishes still need done, floors still need swept and the dog still needs walked. One aspect of yoga is the practice of taking care of our meat suit and our mind with the intention of experiencing life a little easier. 

I do not enjoy holding five breaths in Navasana. I do however enjoy the relief I experience from my constant internal monologue telling me I am not good enough. That is what navasana offers me. A moment of stilling the mind chatter. 

We all start our yoga journey with an intention of where we want to go - however, most yogin will admit that where they find themselves now is miles away from where they intended... and they are grateful for the detour! 

Yes, you will get strong. Yes, you will get flexible. But you will also get perspective and insight into who you are and how you experience life. That's when you realise that the strength and flexibility were not that important in the first place.