(Note: I messed up the order of the meditations. Instead of proceeding to the day 232 meditation, as I should have, I skipped to day 237. This is a pretty clear indication that I need to catch up already. Sorry.)
The day 232 (actually 237) meditation has a very interesting and powerful idea. Gates says that everyone has an intuition towards health. But somehow, through day to day life, we get disconnected from it. Asana practice puts us back in touch with this intuition.
In some ways, I think this is exactly right. Asana practice has definitely steered me toward healthier eating, healthier sleep habits, and other small things that have made improvements in my physical health. I think most people can see this aspect of asana practice.
Gates takes this further. Look at people who are connected with others, people who are kind, people who tend to care about others, happy people. People like this also tend to be healthier. In the west, health is pretty much defined negatively -- its the absence of sickness. In yoga, perfect health comes when the mind, body, and soul are one and the person has achieved complete balance. And that is the aim of asana practice. It will not only help straighten out your illnesses, but it also tends to make people kinder, more co-operative, and more at peace with themselves. So, it helps point us toward true health, and not simply the absence of illness.
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