Rolling out the mat for oneness

Say the word yoga and most people picture a mat, a set of postures, and perhaps a studio with soft lighting and softer music. That picture is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The postures, or asanas, are only one limb of a much older discipline that also includes breath control, ethical living, concentration and meditation. Practised in full, yoga is less a fitness regimen than a technology for the mind: a set of tools for calming a restless nervous system, sharpening focus and, practitioners say, reconnecting with a deeper sense of purpose.