Spirit is Not Separate from the Body

"Before beginning this journey inward, we must clarify its nature.  There is a frequent misunderstanding of the journey inward or the spiritual path, which suggests to most people a rejection of the natural world, the mundane, the practical, the pleasurable.  On the contrary, to a yogi (or indeed a Taoist master or Zen monk) the path toward spirit lies entirely in the domain of nature.  It is the exploration of nature from the world of appearances, or surface, into the subtlest heart of living matter.  Spirituality is not some external goal that one must seek be a part of the divine core of each of us, which we must reveal.  For the yogi, spirit is not separate from the body.  Spirituality, as I have tried to make clear, is not ethereal and outside nature but accessible and palpable in our very own bodies."
-  B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life, 2005, p. 18

Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom  By B.K.S. Iyengar.  With John J. Evans and Douglas Abrams.  Rodale Books, 2005.  Index, 282 pages.  ISBN: 1594862486.  VSCL. 

Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health  By B.K.S. Iyengar.  London, Dorling Kindersley, 2001.  Index, glossary, appendices, 415 pages.  ISBN: 0789471655.  Lavishly illustrated compendium of essential poses, routines, prop use, and yoga routines to help specific health problems.  VSCL.