"The Seer Abides in its Essence"

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, sutra 1.3 translates to "then the seer abides in its essence" (tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam).  Meaning, when you are in a state of yoga you rest or reside in your own true nature.  But what is our true nature?  The answer I most frequently come across is bliss. Bliss can be defined as being so enveloped in happiness you are oblivious to anything that is not. 

From the book Living Your Yoga, "There is nothing we need to be whole that does not already exist within us." 

You have every answer you need in life because you already encompass this wholeness.  Most of the time, we don't see or understand the answers but that doesn't mean we don't have them somewhere deep within.  It's just that they get easily covered with layers of labels and reactionary emotions to temporary situations.

There is something called Buddha Nature.  It is the premise that all sentient beings have the ability to attain enlightenment. When we speak of Buddha, we traditionally think of Prince Guatama who became Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree.  But the word "Buddha" actually refers to someone who is enlightened.  Guatama laid out the steps he took to become enlightened. One can choose to follow them or not exercising their free will, hence our ability to create our own destiny.

In the book, The Secret Power of Yoga, "Seek not to learn the sutras, instead seek to learn who is the one who studies the scripture."  That would be you!  Take that principle, along with the idea we have the answers we need, and both refer to a turning inward.  Contrary to all the fabulous mythological Gods of Hinduism, Buddhists do not believe in God.  They feel that needing a belief in a non-proven God is based in human fear and fear, as we know from yoga, comes from Ego.  Buddhists feel we all have the same opportunity to turn within and follow Guatama's steps to become enlightened on our own if we so choose.

Jodi Hills writes, " I am part of it all...I am part of the wishes blown over burning candles, the ingredients, the left-overs, the dreams behind cracked open windows, the prayers at the edge of the bed, the worries swept under... I am part of the roads that lead to and from here, the neighbors near and far, all under one sky, trying to get to their own place of unconditional, outstretched arms. I am part of it all...and I am home."

As for your yoga practice, you are part of all the poses and they you.  I think of bow pose, which I would like except for the fact that it hurts my knee joints.  The issues with my knees is part of me and, therefore, the pose reminds me of this aspect of myself. How will I react?  How will I breathe? How will I encompass the pose yet find a variation that works for me and with me if "I am part of it all"?  For these answers, I turn within.