When this book was written there were only two or three yoga schools in Greece and most people thought that yoga was a religion or something exotic. Now there are yoga centers everywhere and everyone understands the great value of these techniques for the body, mind and soul. Many thousands of Greeks have learned yoga in our area as well as in other centers. I will always be grateful to Yoga for the transformation I experienced in my life. Today with the help of this system and these concepts, I have health, peace, happiness and meaning in my life. In the end I have been led to love. All systems eventually lead to love. Yoga without love for our fellow man is meaningless.

So I urge you not to stay on the surface, just doing the yoga exercises, but to embrace the whole system with the concepts of unity and love and a life of union with others and the universe. This is the real meaning of yoga - oneness with everyone and everything.

Living right is an art and a science. But we have largely forgotten that. Today, more and more people have discovered that they no longer need to suffer either physically or emotionally. The possibilities offered to them to improve themselves, to help themselves, are expanding every day, as more and more systems of thinking, eating and living become accessible to the general public, for their benefit! Most of these theories and techniques have their origins in ancient times, but we are rediscovering them again today and adapting them for the benefit of modern man. This book contains these kinds of theories and techniques, which have been applied and tested by the author himself, his teachers, his students and hundreds of thousands of people around the world, for thousands of years. There can be no doubt, they will help you become healthier, happier and find the meaning of your life.

Although the material in the book is presented in sections on diet, exercise, breathing, cleansing techniques, relaxation techniques, and general rules of living, it should be understood with absolute clarity that harmonization cannot be established without paying equal attention to ` all levels of ourselves. That is, in the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual factor. One needs to take care of all these equally and to balance them in one's life.

If we can arrange our lives so as to put into practice these rejuvenating exercises, eat right and live in harmony with our inner moral code, then attunement will be certain. It doesn't matter what your role is in life. Whether you are a husband, an engineer or an artist, a student or a retiree, all your thoughts, all your actions, must flow through your vehicle - the body and the mind. If this 'vehicle' of body and mind is not working well, if you lack energy or health, if you cannot concentrate your mind, if you are tormented by emotional problems, nothing you do will be done well or effectively.

When you harmonize body and mind, whatever you do will become more dynamic, more creative, more effective and more fulfilling. Not only will you feel in harmony with yourself, but you will also be in harmony with the world around you.

[Excerpt from the text of the edition's introduction]