The ultimate aim of all yogic asanas is to prepare the body to achieve that tranquility of mind which is necessary for the realization of the Supreme or God-consciousness.

The practice of asanas conserves energy, whether voluntary or involuntary. This is utilized, by other Yogic practices, to steady the mind for realizing a definite object which may be in view, be it worldly or spiritual. Those who are highly materialistic may not have a very "spiritual end" in view, yet they also may usefully practice the Yogic asanas for their physical well-being if for no other reason than to make their body fit for the usual avocations of life, and increase their powers of endurance and resistance against the ravages of diseases, and above all, in order to gain that buoyancy of spirit which always denotes a sound mind in a sound body.

Yogic physical culture, unlike the many Western systems of physical culture, does not make a pretence of merely developing the superficial muscles of the body. But the exercises do make them healthy and strong, particularly the trunk muscles, by requisitioning their help to tone up all the involuntary organs of the body which are mainly concerned with such processes as digestion, evacuation, circulation, respiration and secretion, and through them the autonomic nervous system which regulates their activities.

This is then the main difference between Yogic physical Culture and the other systems of physical culture approved of in the West. The latter are mainly concerned with the superficial visible development of the body while the former is mainly concerned with the toning up of the invisible activities of the body including the mind which regulates the well-being of the whole body through the intricate nervous system. All this is achieved with a minimum expenditure of time and energy.