The ancient traditions of yoga have been unfortunately lost and confused. The true purpose of yoga is for the attainment of Enlightenment, of God-Realization, the Self-Realization of the Divine within, the full actualization of the inner Christ, the dissolution of separation of the body, the Holy Spirit, and the Yahweh, The infinite Divine God. Yoga is not meant to be a practice of chasing the forms and body shapes of yoga postures.
It is important to understand however that God would have you enjoy your body free from suffering, to have a body of high-vibration that is joyful to reside in, one that is masterful and under graceful control. This is the purpose of yoga asana, the physical practice of yoga postures, to relieve the body from the karmas of physical suffering and enable new capabilities for the fulfillment of God’s purposes.
Yoga asana is not at all meant to chase shapes of the body as a path to enlightenment, but rather to be used as a way to free the body from karmas of bodily suffering. These karmas may range from minor daily stiffness, or may represent much larger karmic challenges such as a lifetime of obesity, and bodily diseases of many kinds.
Yoga asana helps to unify the conscious presence with the physical form as part of an integrated system. A graceful, healthy, and strong body can be put to much greater purpose and serve a much greater good than a body overcome with illness, limitation, and disease.
In yoga asana practice, be natural, be easy. There is no need to listen to a yoga teacher or perform sequences that may not resonate with the body. Resist the urge to follow yoga programs and avoid fixed sequences. Your own body already contains all the wisdom required for graceful, embodied movement and practice. Listen to the inner-guru, listen to the wisdom of the body and allow that to guide your practice.
There is also no better, nor worse, posture. Every posture is done within the current physical constraints of the practitioner. Honor that first. Honor the body. Yoga teachers must never criticize students, and should generally avoid the compulsion to correct students. There is no more salvation to be found in a deep backbend compared to a reasonably stretched spine. In fact, the compulsion to go deeper and further is often the cause of injury, which defeats the entire purpose of yoga, which is to remove injury and suffering. Remove the ego of the practice.
Emphasizing the ability to “perform” postures also misses the purpose of practice entirely. The shapes emerge as a result of the body being in a high conscious vibration and Divine union. Put the path of Enlightenment, put the path to God before worshipping the idols of body forms. However there is no need to neglect the body on the path to Enlightenment: The Enlightened being is an integrated holistic system of health..