​As  certified Yoga Teacher and dedicated practitioner for about 9 years, I can attest to the physical and mental benefits of a consistent yoga practice. According to research, practicing yoga regularly has shown to create new neurological pathways resulting in improved habits and thinking. The breathwork (Pranayama) and meditation (Dhyana) are practiced to calm and focus the mind to bring about self awareness. 

Yoga means Union, the same as the latin word Religare from which the word Religion originates. Yoga is not a religion, much like religion its aim is to eventually connect this human body to the ultimate source of creation by slowly opening dimensions that are normally not within reach.  

Let me share this beautiful anecdotal conversation between Ram (embodiment of God consciousness) and his devoted servant, Hanuman (monkey God, King of the Varajas)
When asked by Ram, "What are you, a monkey or a man?" Hanuman bowed his head reverently, folded his hands and said, "When I do not know who I am, I serve You, and when I do know who I am, I am you." ​

Hanuman, with such eloquence, says that from a physical perspective he is a mere servant but from the perspective of eternal truth, he is him who hes serving. So the moral of the story is that no act of service is wasted as by serving others we are ultimately serving ourselves.