A minister was giving the offertory for church services. He raised his arms, looked up to the heavens with a look of rapture on his face. “Dear Lord,” he exclaimed. “Without you, we are but dust!”

He would have continued, but at that moment one little girl leaned over to her mother and asked quite loudly: “Mommy, what is BUTT DUST?”
So let me continue instead!
Without God, or in yoga terms, without Self, you are just this body. And this body is impermanent. Someday it’s going to be nothing but dust.

That’s the bad news.

It’s also good news:

If you remember that this body of yours is impermanent, you will appreciate life more deeply. As Swami Nirmalananda says in this month’s teaching article, “Changing Your Future:”

“While death is inevitable, it’s not predictable. When you truly understand this, you treasure every moment of life.”

Every moment is a gift. Every breath is a gift. Every heartbeat is a gift.

That you are alive is a gift. It’s special and wonderful that you have this body and mind and heart to experience the gift of life.
And there is more good news:

Yes, without God, you are just your body. But you are NEVER without God. God is within you. God is being you. You are God in an individualized form – with a body. You are more than your body. You continue to exist after your body’s life ends. When you realize this, you lose your fear of death. Swami says this later in her article:

“This is yoga’s goal – that you know your own Essence and Beingness, your own Self. This frees you from the fear of death, for you know you are immortal, an individualized form of the One Divine Reality [God]. It’s only your body that dies, not your Self.”

Swami goes on to say that it’s not death that most people fear. Most people fear what comes before death:

“What’s scary is the debility and decay preceding it. Nobody wants to become weak or bedridden. Nobody wants dementia. We all want to be hale and hearty, able to respond and to contribute to life, right up to the end.”

An article appearing in the Sunday Boston Globe (April 2, 2023),* reports that although life expectancy has improved significantly around the world in recent decades, “people today generally spend half their lifetime in declining health.” If you live to 80, typically your health starts declining at 40. But…
And there’s even more good news:

The good news is that, as we age, declining health is not biologically imperative. Scientists are studying ways of reversing aging. Some claim that aging can be easier to treat than cancer.

Yogis have already discovered ways of reversing aging. Contemporary research has confirmed that yoga and meditation can reverse your biological aging process. You can maintain your physical and mental health until the very end of your life. In Swami’s words, “you can change your future by doing more yoga.” She continues:

“Yes, you are going to die. But you don’t have to suffer from decreasing quality of life and diminishing mental capacities along the way. You can do something about it, beginning with yogic breathing as well as poses to decompress your spine. The current of life runs through your spine. Meditation activates that [current] even more powerfully.”

So, become more full of energy and joy of life. Give your health a longlasting boost. Your health does not have to decline as you age. Unlock the door to a better future. Yoga is your key to that door. Keep doing more yoga.

* Boston Globe (April 2, 2023), “Want to live to 150?…” by Raiany Romanni, philosopher

and bioethicist