Iyengar Yoga Quotes & Sayings

When the restlessness of the mind, intellect and self is stilled through the practice of Yoga, the yogi by the grace of the Spirit within himself finds fulfillment. — B.K.S. Iyengar

I first went to India because of my interest in yoga, hoping to go to the Iyengar Centre in Pune for a while. That didn't work out, but I ended up on a beach in Goa, writing. — Damon Galgut

You must purge yourself before finding faults in others.
When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake.
This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement.
Do not look at others' bodies with envy or with superiority.
All people are born with different constitutions.
Never compare with others.
Each one's capacities are a function of his or her internal strength.
Know your capacities and continually improve upon them. — B.K.S. Iyengar

First yoga deals with health, strength and conquest of the body. Next, it lifts the veil of difference between the body and the mind. Lastly, it leads the Sadhaka to peace and unalloyed purity. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun. — B.K.S. Iyengar

By persistent and sustained practice, anyone and everyone can make the yoga journey and reach the goal of illumination and freedom. — B.K.S. Iyengar

I think overall the majority of people who are practicing it as a subject are following the right line. For the aberration, don't blame yoga or the whole community of yogis — B.K.S. Iyengar

It took me whole decades to appreciate the depth and true value of yoga. Sacred texts supported my discoveries, but it was not they that signposted the way. What I learned through yoga, I found out through yoga. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Without education, confidence does not come. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a means and an end. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The ultimate goal of yoga is to realize the brilliance of your soul. — B.K.S. Iyengar

We cannot expect that millions are practicing real yoga just because millions of people claim to be doing yoga all over the globe. What has spread all over the world is not yoga. It is not even non-yoga; it is un-yoga. — Prashant Iyengar

Yoga is meant for the purification of body and its exploration as well as for the refinement of the mind. — B.K.S. Iyengar

After a session of yoga, the mind becomes tranquil and passive. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The highest point of yesterday should be the lowest point of today — B.K.S. Iyengar

Why should you practice Yoga? To kindle the divine fire within yourself. Everyone has a dormant spark of divinity in him which has to be fanned into flame. — B.K.S. Iyengar

There is no difference in our souls ... That is what yoga teaches. When you and I meet together, we forget ourselves
our cultures and classes. There are no divisions, and we talk mind to mind, soul to soul. We are no different in our deepest needs. We are all humans. — B.K.S. Iyengar

As we shave it happens that we cut ourself with the razor blade; this does not mean that we must not shave in the morning any longer. It is the same thing for yoga. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the method by which the restless mind is calmed And the energy directed into constructive channels. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga uses the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the study of the functioning of the body, the mind and the intellect in the process of attaining freedom. — Geeta Iyengar

Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it — B.K.S. Iyengar

I am standing on my own altar; The poses are my prayers. — B.K.S. Iyengar

I don't stretch my body as if it is an object. I do yoga from the self towards the body, not the other way around. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The aim of yoga is to calm the chaos of conflicting impulses — B.K.S. Iyengar

Words cannot convey the value of yoga - it has to be experienced. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Where there is yoga,
there is prosperity,
success, freedom and bliss. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga allows you to find a new kind of freedom that you may not have known even existed. — B.K.S. Iyengar

As a well cut diamond has many facets, each reflecting a different color of light, so does the word yoga, each facet reflecting a different shade of meaning and revealing different aspects of the entire range of human endeavor to win inner peace and happiness. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is effort. Only practice is important. The rest of knowledge is only theory. — B.K.S. Iyengar

In yoga . . . many may take one path as a key in order to experience self-realisation while others take another path, but I say that there is absolutely no difference between the various practices of yoga." - B. K. S. Iyengar, The Tree of Yoga, p. 15 — Georg Feuerstein

Hatha Yoga teaches us to use the body as the bow, asana as the arrow, and the soul the target. — B.K.S. Iyengar

When this body has been so magnificently and artistically created by God, it is only fitting that we should maintain it in good health and harmony by the most excellent and artistic science of Yoga. — Geeta Iyengar

It is while practicing yoga asanas that you learn the art of adjustment. — B.K.S. Iyengar

I think many of my students have followed the advice I gave years ago, to give more than you take. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga has to be done with the intellect of the head as well as the intellect of the heart — B.K.S. Iyengar

Penetration of our mind is our goal, but in the beginning to set things in motion, there is no substitute for sweat. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Be inspired but not proud. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Persistent practice alone is the key to yoga. As you take pains to learn, continue with devotion what you have learn. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga has a threefold impact on health. It keeps healthy people healthy, it inhibits the development of diseases, and it aids recovery from ill health. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Our greed comes from our fear that we will not have enough - whether it is money or love that we grasp. Yoga teaches us to let go of these fears and so to realize the abundance around us and within us. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is an art, a science and a philosophy. It touches the life of man atevery level: physical, mental, spiritual. It is a practical method formaking one's life purposeful, useful and noble. — B.K.S. Iyengar

It is never too late in life to practice yoga — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Your whole being should be symmetrical. Yoga is symmetry. That is why yoga is a basic art. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the music of the soul. So do continue, and the gates of the soul will open. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is when every cell of the body sings the song of the soul ... — B.K.S. Iyengar

Regular practise of yoga can help you face the turmoil of life with steadiness and stability — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga takes us to an unconditioned freedom, because yoga sees even good habits as a form of conditioning or limitation. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Knowledge of yoga is no substitute for practice. — B.K.S. Iyengar

All of us have a dormant spark of divinity in us which has to be fanned into flame by yoga. — B.K.S. Iyengar

If the foundation is firm the building can withstand calamities. The practice of yoga is the foundation so that the self is not shaken under any circumstances. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Gaining maturity in yoga practice involves learning to respect the paths that other people are on and acknowledging their merits, maybe even acknowledging that your own path is lacking in some area where another one excels. — Geeta Iyengar

As each individual is electrically alive and dynamic, so yoga is a living, dynamic force in life. In order to savor its essence, one needs a religiously attentive dynamic practice done with awareness and absorption. — B.K.S. Iyengar

If everyone practiced yoga, pharmacies would have to close. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the rule book for playing the game of Life, but in this game no one needs to lose. It is tough, and you need to train hard. It requires the willingness to think for yourself, to observe and correct, and to surmount occasional setbacks. It demands honesty, sustained application, and above all love in your heart. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Life means to be living.Problems will always be there. When they arise navigate through them with yoga- don't take a break. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The battle of yoga is with the body and with the ego. You must conquer your ego, or small self, so that you can let your soul, your big Self, be victorious. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is an interior penetration leading to integration of being, senses, breath, mind, intelligence, consciousness, and Self. It is definitely an inward journey, evolution through involution, toward the Soul, which in turn desires to emerge and embrace you in its glory. — B.K.S. Iyengar

When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is firstly for individual growth, but through individual growth, society and community develop. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they're meant to be. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Any action done with beauty and purity, and in complete harmony of body, mind and soul, is Art. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a way of life; it is an art, a science, a philosophy. — B.K.S. Iyengar

If you practice yoga every day with perseverance, you will be able to face the turmoil of life with steadiness and maturity. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life. — B.K.S. Iyengar

As the trunk is one but the branches are many, yoga is one but adaptations may vary. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily health to self-realization. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The pose begins when you want to leave it. — B.K.S. Iyengar

This practice of yoga is to remove the weeds from the body so that the garden can grow. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga releases the creative potential in life. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is nothing if it is not perfect
harmonyof the body, senses, mind
and intellect, reason, consciousness
and self. When all these are integrated
that is true yoga. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is the golden key that unlocks the door to peace, tranquility and joy. — B.K.S. Iyengar

I am old, and death inevitably approaches. But both birth and death are beyond the will of a human being. They are not my domain. I do not think about it. Yoga has taught me to think of only working to live a useful life ... I will never stop learning, and it have tried to share some lessons with you. I do pray that my ending will be your beginning. The great rewards and the countless blessings of a life spent following the Inward Journey await you. — B.K.S. Iyengar

It is not yoga that injures, but the way one does yoga that leads to injury. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Practice doing yoga with an innocent mind. Then, you will be able to cognize the things happening in your body — B.K.S. Iyengar

In an asana, the mind has to reach inside the body to find a quiet space until a point comes where perfect balance is felt. — Geeta Iyengar

Not all practitioners can jump to that highest level. They have to climb, step by step from the physical sphere to reach the spiritual sphere. If it is treated as exercise it is not the fault of yoga but of the practitioners. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present. — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is more than physical. It is cellular, mental, intellectual and spiritual-it involves man in his entire being — B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within. — B.K.S. Iyengar

The practice of yogasana for the sake of health, to keep fit, or to maintain flexibility is the external practice of yoga. While this is a legitimate place to begin, it is not the end Even in simple asanas, one is experiencing the three levels of quest: the external quest, which brings firmness of the body; the internal quest, which brings steadiness of intelligence; and the innermost quest, which brings benevolence of spirit. — B.K.S. Iyengar