In the attempts of reaching a new level of athletic high many people still do not realise the true practice of yoga.

Although it is an excellent way of training the body and relaxing from an overly stressed day, yogi Rajendra Pandey has come to Bermuda to work at the Integrative Health Co-op in hopes of making people aware of the many layers of yoga.

Made up of asana or body positions, branayanma or breathing practices, dhayana or meditation and shadakaram or focus, Mr. Pandey explains that asana is what many people focus on when they think of yoga.

But the spiritual level is sometimes completely missed out and practicing yoga is a 24-hour, completely conscious activity.

"The universal guidelines of yam nayan are what hold up the ladder and it is a step by step process toward spiritualisation and liberalisation," Mr. Pandey said while in the meditation room at the Health Co-op.

Wearing traditional Indian clothing while crossed-leg on the floor, Mr. Pandey, from Rishikesh in India where he began his love for yoga, explains the steps most yoga enthusiasts have only just begun to scrape the surface of the discipline.

Mr. Pandey draws a ladder, and the first step begins with asana then pranayama, prathyar, dharana, dhyan and samadhi.

"For 24 hours yogis are always aware about not stealing, respectfulness the very important things about living best in society," he explained.

"People have turned it into a mercantile but that isn't exactly what it is. We want people to be aware because we limit ourselves to certain limbs of yoga."

Mr. Pandey, who hails from what he calls the 'yogi capital', agrees that yoga is an excellent form of keeping healthy and said it is a good way for people to relax and get away from a sometimes stressful life.

"But it harms yoga if you just limit the practice and people should know there are other parts of the practice," he said.

Rishikesh is a small town at the bank of the holy Ganges and the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains Mr. Pandey explained and he said it is a very "spiritual" town that is focused on yoga. He also said that every year in February, the International Yoga Festival is held there.

Mr. Pandey studied and taught at an Asharam which is a non-profit lodging focused on social awareness and the spiritual life, for three years in Rishikesh.

Classes at the Health Co-op will be dedicated to achieving a flexible body but Mr. Pandey will also introduce students to the other important factors of yoga.

"The Sanskrit meaning of yoga is union. The union of you with your cosmic self," he said.

For more information on yoga classes at the Health Co-op call 236-0336 and for a list of other health classes.