Yoga Meditation Quotes & Sayings

There is no doubt that the foundation of being a great yoga teacher is being a great yoga student. — Rod Stryker

I know that if I do the right amount of, say, meditation and hot yoga or something, I can move the energy through my body and get rid of my cold within twenty-four hours. — Jason Mraz

Pure faith in the benevolece of the Divine can also degenerate into destructive forms of religion like othodoxy, fundamentalism, sectarianism, fanaticism, black magic and witchcraft. — Nirmala Srivastava

The postures are only the "skin" of yoga. Hidden behind them are the "flesh and blood" of breath control and mental techniques that are still more difficult to learn, as well as moral practices that require a lifetime of consistent application and that correspond to the skeletal structure of the body. The higher practices of concentration, meditation and unitive ecstasy(samadhi) are analogous to the circulatory and nervous system." Georg Feuerstein The Deeper Dimension of Yoga — Georg Feuerstein

Our past cannot be changed, and to be preoccupied with it is inefficient in time and effort. Likewise, by fretting over the future, we only exhaust ourselves, making us less able to effectively respond when the future is actually upon us. By worrying about a mishap that may or may not take place, we're forced to undergo the event twice - once when imagining it and once again if and when we actually experience it. — H.E. Davey

Spiritual process is not for the dead or the dying; it is for the living who want to become fully alive in all dimensions of life. — Jaggi Vasudev

Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end. — Jiddu Krishnamurti

Some people think that meditation takes time away from physical accomplishment. Taken to extremes, of course, that's true. Most people, however, find that meditation creates more time than it takes. — Peter McWilliams

My path, my life, my career has really been a journey from moving from, in a sense, darkness to light. From pain to joy through the experience of yoga and meditation. It's an ongoing adventure that's unfolding every day. — MC Yogi

Emotional baggage, which is carried over from the past, colors our perceptions. Likewise, past conclusions and beliefs, based on reasoning that may or may not have been accurate, also tint our perception of reality. Retaining our capacity for reason is common sense, but definite conclusions and beliefs keep us from seeing life as it really is at any given moment.
Emotional reactions can be unreasonable, and reason can be flawed. It's difficult to have deep confidence in either one, especially when they're often at war with each other. But the universal mind exists in the instant, in a moment beyond time, and it sees the universe as it literally is. It's the universe perceiving itself. It is, moreover, something we can have absolute confidence in, and with that confidence, we can maintain a genuinely positive attitude. — H.E. Davey

Life is eternal game, there are no rules. Indulge yourself. — Osh Marty

Sahaja Yoga is the spontaneous union of the individual consciousness with the All-Pervading Divine Power ... — Nirmala Srivastava

Using the combined, integrated force of the mind and body is more efficient than using one without the other. Since the body can only exist in the present, that's where the mind should be too (unless we deliberately choose to contemplate the past or future). At the same time, the body needs to be healthy and in optimum operating condition so that it can respond effectively to the mind's directives. — H.E. Davey

Whenever I feel 'less of myself', or as if I am not as productive as I can be, or abundance is not flowing into my life, or I am not laughing and smiling as much, or my relationships seem stuck and difficult, it is an indication that I am losing that connection. It is like being in a 'bad service area' where calls drop out. — Malti Bhojwani

Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga is the poetry of movements. Once you understand the grammar of yoga; you can write your poetry of movements. — Amit Ray

Whenever we talk about darkness and light, the terms seem so abstract that many consider the answers to be found in meditation and yoga, but I'm here to tell you that the answers are in the books you will never read, waiting all your life in the libraries you ignored and the bookstores you didn't visit. I'm here to tell you as well that you are your own Satan and evil can't possibly interfere more in your life than what you're already doing to yourself by remaining ignorant. Until you choose the light, darkness is your personal choice, and there's no reason to feel any empathy for you. — Robin Sacredfire

Samadhi. Immersed in concentration and meditation, all thoughts and distractions far away. Your focus steady, you achieve samadhi. All that exists is the heart of the experience. There is no one meditating, no one concentrating, only awareness. There is no yogi, only the yoga. (3) — Alberto Villoldo

I think we should do meditation and yoga at work. — Mark T Bertolini

By keeping the mind in the present, unless you deliberately want to contemplate the past or future, it's possible to firmly face life without fear. Then, no thoughts of past failures or future problems will exist in the mind, and a truly positive mental state will result - fudoshin, the immovable mind. — H.E. Davey

Meditation is that dimension of science which focuses on creating the right kind of interior, so that you can live a peaceful and joyous life. — Jaggi Vasudev

When you're centered, your emotions are not hijacking you. — Ray Dalio

I've started doing yoga and meditation, but I'm not very good at that kind of thing and turning my brain off. — Cara Delevingne

He who is persistent will realize God. So try your best to make meditation a regular experience in your life. — Paramahansa Yogananda

This is why I am not overly enthusiastic about the various "spiritual exercises" in meditation or yoga which some consider essential for release from the ego. For when practiced in order to "get" some kind of spiritual illumination or awakening, they strengthen the fallacy that the ego can toss itself away by a tug at its own bootstraps. But there is nothing wrong with meditating just to meditate, in the same way that you listen to music just for the music. If you go to concerts to "get culture" or to improve your mind, you will sit there as deaf as a doorpost. — Alan W. Watts

Yoga is not just about living better. It is about exploring the very source of life. — Jaggi Vasudev

Retaining our capacity for reason
is common sense, but definite conclusions and beliefs keep us from seeing life as it really is at any given moment. — H.E. Davey

If you want to find out the purpose of life, you need to look beyond the limitations of body and mind. — Jaggi Vasudev

A master bestows the divine experience of cosmic consciousness when his disciple, by meditation, has strengthened his mind to a degree where the vast vistas would not overwhelm him. Mere intellectual willingness or open-mindedness is not enough. Only adequate enlargement of consciousness by yoga practice and devotional bhakti can prepare one to absorb the liberating shock of omnipresence. — Paramahansa Yogananda

Meditation is yoga for the mind, just as there is yoga of the body. — Poonam Dhandhania

Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind. Then there is abiding in the Seer's own form. — Patanjali

Yoga has had a profound effect on my songs and performances. I don't meditate in the traditional style of sitting and doing nothing. I prefer the zen of paying attention, such as the meditation of yoga flow, or walking meditations. I also consider singing, surfing and gardening to very meditative. — Jason Mraz

In meditation I access it; in yoga I feel it; on drugs it hit me like a hammer - at sixteen, staring into a bathroom mirror on LSD, contrary to instruction ("Don't look in the mirror, Russ, it'll fuck your head up." Mental note: "Look in mirror."). I saw that my face wasn't my face at all but a face that I lived behind and was welded to by a billion nerves. I looked into my eyes and saw that there was something looking back at me that was not me, not what I'd taken to be me. The unrefined ocean beyond the shallow pool was cascading through the mirror back at me. Nature looking at nature. Not me, little ol' Russ, tossed about on turbulent seas; these distinctions were engineered. — Russell Brand

Since the early 1920s a unique spiritual path has existed in Japan. This distinctly Japanese version of yoga is called Shin-shin-toitsu-do, and it combines seated meditation, moving meditation, breathing exercises, and other disciplines to help practitioners realize unification of mind and body. Besides yoga, it is a synthesis of methods, influenced by Japanese meditation, healing arts, and martial arts; along with Western psychology, medicine, and science. Shin-shin-toitsu-do is widely practiced throughout Japan, although it is almost unknown in other countries. Through its principles of mind and body coordination people have an opportunity to realize their full potential in everyday life.A remarkable man created this path, and he led an equally remarkable life. He was known in Japan as Nakamura Tempu Sensei, and this is his story. — H.E. Davey

Quite the mind and the soul will speak. — Ma Jaya

The yogi will tell you that you feel and look as young as your spine is elastic. — Richard Hittleman

Simply notice that you're aware. At any given moment, you can choose to follow the chain of thoughts, emotions, and sensations that reinforce a perception of yourself as vulnerable and limited, or to remember that your true nature is pure, unconditioned, and incapable of being harmed. — Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Here is, in truth, the whole secret of Yoga, the science of the soul. The active turnings, the strident vibrations, of selfishness, lust and hate are to be stilled by meditation, by letting heart and mind dwell in spiritual life, by lifting up the heart to the strong, silent life above, which rests in the stillness of eternal love, and needs no harsh vibration to convince it of true being. — Patanjali

In True Meditation, we're in the body as a means to transcend it. It is paradoxical that the greatest doorway to the transcendence of form is through form itself. — Adyashanti

Meditation is the ultimate selfless act, because when you meditate you are sacrificing your puny personality for the universal reality. — Frederick Lenz

The Stone of Guilt in the River of the Mind, the block in the flow of intelligence.
~ Paramahamsa Nithyananda — Paramahamsa Nithyananda

I do a lot of yoga and meditation. It calms my nerves and helps me channelise my energy. — Vijender Singh

Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divinity within you. — Amit Ray

Quoting from Phillip Moffitt
Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life?
The most profound change I'm aware of just now is a growing realization that life is not personal. This may seem a surprising or even strange view to those unfamiliar with Eastern spirituality, but it has powerful implications. It's very freeing to see that events in my life are arising because of circumstances in which I am not involved, but that I'm not at the center of them in any particular way. They're impersonal. They're arising because of causes and conditions. They are not "me." There is a profound freedom in this. It makes life much more peaceful and harmonious because I'm not in reaction to events all the time. (134) — Stephen Cope

Woe to that seven months abortion who thinks to take advantage of the accidents of birth, and, mocking the call of duty, sneaks off to stare at a wall in China! — Aleister Crowley

The true miracle lies in our eagerness to allow, appreciate, and honor the uniqueness, and freedom of each sentient being to sing the song of their heart. — Amit Ray

If we fail to realize our full potential as human beings, we live more on an animalistic level. This is fine for dogs, cats, and chimpanzees but doesn't work quite so well for women and men. Without the capacity to freely shape our own lives, much as a sculptor might carve stone, we inevitably slip into negativity and depression. — H.E. Davey

Realizing that our minds control our bodies while our bodies reflect our minds amounts to understanding the most fundamental aspects of ourselves. It further equals a comprehension of the relationship between our "tools." And since the mind and body are interrelated, this understanding makes it easier to see why coordinating them is a practical way of using these tools to greatest effect - a way of using the mind and body to live our lives as art. — H.E. Davey

Meditation does not mean you have to grin every moment of your life, but to learn to let your bones smile. — Jaggi Vasudev

Mood reflects the biology of the brain. How you feel is affected by the chemicals in the brain, and these are the same chemicals that form the basis of mood-altering drugs. You may use yoga, meditation, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) or exercise to alter your mood, or revert to healthy eating, regular exercise and getting enough sleep. — Liz Miller

In deep meditation, all of the things that we call life, all of the combinations of experiences, fall away. — Frederick Lenz

Any method to heighten the presence of that which is the source of creation within you, is yoga. — Jaggi Vasudev

Meditation means ultimate freedom within you. — Jaggi Vasudev

My own interest in Yoga came from a vague understanding of Indian thought and Indian philosophy in the late sixties and early seventies and from looking at the idea of meditation and at what meditation was. — Paul Harvey

Fall in love with all knowing manifestations of one. You may find those connections between you and all through yoga and meditation. — Debasish Mridha

Breath with awareness is prana. Breath without awareness is just air. — Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Meditation means to know life beyond the sphere of the physical; to know and experience life not just at the surface but at the source. — Jaggi Vasudev

Some perceive God in the heart by the intellect through meditation; others by the yoga of knowledge; and others by the yoga of work. Some, however, do not understand Brahman, but having heard from others, take to worship. They also transcend death by their firm faith to what they have heard. — Anonymous

You cannot be who you are not.
Simply rest, sit still and unknot.
You may even try to emulate and inspire,
But it's the inner self that you'll transpire. — Ana Claudia Antunes

The path towards peace is not for the righteous, the ethical, the active and the compassionate to shit on the malicious, the complacent, the violent and the ignorant. The path towards peace is to be peaceful. — Ilyas Kassam

Because all actions and expressions
stem from the mind, it is vital to know the
mind as well as decide in what way we'll use it. Everyone has heard of psychosomatic illness, and most of us acknowledge that psychosomatic sicknesses can and do occur. But what
about psychosomatic wellness? — H.E. Davey

Meditation means to awaken new dimensions within you. — Jaggi Vasudev

Plants or animals rarely behave in an unnatural manner that's contrary to their true makeup. Human beings are also natural beings, but at the same time, we're conscious entities. We therefore have free will and must make the choice not merely to be part of nature, but also to follow faithfully the laws of nature. — H.E. Davey

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

Mind and body are in many ways opposite from each other, and mind and body must each act according to its own principles. Nonetheless, while the mind and body are different in disposition, they are complementary opposites that form a single whole. For us to sustain mind and body harmony, and function as whole human beings, we need to discover the actual nature of the mind's characteristics. — H.E. Davey

Meditation is the only way you can grow. Because when you meditate, you are in silence, you are in thoughtless awareness. Then the growth of awareness takes place. — Nirmala Srivastava

Yoga has expanded beyond asana for me. It's how I live my life and currently I'm throwing myself into a meditation practice. — Kathryn Budig

I need to get better at learning how to stay calm. I'm a bit of a worrier and a stress cadet. Yoga helps me to some degree, but I haven't been able to figure out meditation yet. I have a feeling it would be very good for me, but unfortunately, I'm still holding it all in until I explode part of my life. — Tricia Helfer

Nothing impresses me any more, save and except my own deep meditations. — Sri Chinmoy

Providence knows best. — Michael Beloved

Yoga is more a state than a methodology. A state where there is nothing missing. You don't feel like you have to grab this or grab that in order to be complete or full. From wringing out the body and the mind, from sitting in meditation, from studying scripture, from selfless service. — Colleen Saidman

My wife and I took a sabbatical and we went from Europe to India, where we lived in an ashram for six months and did meditation and yoga vigorously, like from 5:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the night in very austere circumstances. I think then my practice became less superficial, more like the traditional definition of what meditation was: to truly find oneness. — Karan Bajaj

A big group of daily friends or a white painted house with bills and mirrors, are not a necessity to me - but an intelligent conversation while sharing another coffee, is. — Charlotte Eriksson

My life is so tumultuous. I dive into everything. I'm feeling all up and down and sleepy and moody and hormonal - it just gets crazy. Just to keep myself balanced, I do things like yoga and meditation. — India.Arie

...the experience of reading a novel has certain qualities that remind us of the traditional apprehension of mythology. It can be seen as a form of meditation. Readers have to live with a novel for days or even weeks. It projects them into another world, parallel to but apart from their ordinary lives. They know perfectly well that this fictional realm is not 'real' and yet while they are reading it becomes compelling. A powerful novel becomes part of the backdrop of our lives, long after we have laid the book asie. It is an exercise of make-believe that, like yoga or a religious festival, breaks down barriers of space and time and extends our sympathies, so that we are able to empathise with others lives and sorrows. It teaches compassion, the ability to 'feel with' others. And, like mythology, an important novel is transformative. If we allow it to do so, it can change us forever. — Karen Armstrong

The more you treat your body and the cells as intelligent being the more you will be sharp, quick, competent, and fulfilled. — Amit Ray

Yoga began with the first person wanting to be healthy and happy all the time. — Swami Satchidananda

The young should not think of themselves as immature and the elderly need not view themselves as feeble. Our minds control our bodies. Have no age, transcend both past and future, and enter into naka-ima - the eternal present. — H.E. Davey

That's why it's called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value. — Allan Lokos

I don't think I can put my finger exactly on when remission occurred, because from that moment on, I left Western medicine and never looked back. I practiced every day for ten to twelve hours a day - spiritual studies, meditation, pranayama, yoga postures, Ayurvedic studies, deep, deep, powerful cleansings and fasting. — Brad Willis

Raja yoga is the mental practice and incorporates meditation, pranayama, and mudra. What are the benefits of having a raja yoga practice? The benefit is spirituality. — Rajashree Choudhury

Traveling around, it can get very stressful sometimes, and I found yoga, thank God, like a couple of years ago. I went to my first yoga class, and I got hooked on it, and I go almost every day when I'm in New York. I find that it really balances me. And also, morning meditation. — Valentina Zelyaeva

Mind is madness. Only when you go beyond the mind, there will be meditation. — Jaggi Vasudev

When I found yoga, I realized that I can direct my own mind through my yoga practice and meditation. I can actually create my own mood. That was a huge awakening for me. — MC Yogi

Micro meditations should be performed with very little activity. These practices should not be associated with any goal, concept or belief. — Amit Ray

Every path, every street in the world is your walking meditation path. — Nhat Hanh

Yoga is a philosophy of discipline and meditation that transforms the spirit and makes the individual a better person in thought, action, knowledge and devotion. — Narendra Modi

Once you realize that the way you exist right now is not enough, that there is something more, your spiritual process has already begun. — Jaggi Vasudev

We sit in meditation and cry to God, we cry to the light, as little children, knowing God will do everything for us. — Frederick Lenz

Meditation is a way of moving into the unlimited dimension of who you are - it is the ultimate freedom. — Jaggi Vasudev

As I explore the wilderness of my own body, I see that I am made of blood and bones, sunlight and water, pesticide residues and redwood humus, the fears and dreams of generations of ancestors, particles of exploded stars. — Anne Cushman

Meditation, yoga, and walks are all ways to regulate our stress and reconnect. — Arianna Huffington

The very way you breathe, sit, stand, eat, walk, work - everything can become yoga. You can use any process of life to transcend your limitations. — Jaggi Vasudev

Build your home in small moments of joy, and you will always feel at home. — Charlotte Eriksson

You can do yoga and be thinking about going shopping. The goal is kind of like meditation, is to be totally present in your body in the moment. That's when the most profound effects of yoga can happen. That's what I urge people to try to do. It's very important to be in your body. — Jane Fonda

I get into certain yoga positions at times, when I'm working out and for exercises. I use a little of it in some of my meditation, but I chant now and that sort of replaced it. — John Astin

To a realized master, death and rebirth is in every breath. Death is that of body consciousness, ego and limits of the mind. Rebirth is that of the cosmic mind of being the Spirit. In this realization is liberation.

When awake as liberated, each prayer and each moment of meditation is for humanity as there is no more individual ego or identity left. Such realized masters continually gift humanity with the grace of higher consciousness- so that each of us attain our fullest potential in goodness. — Nandhiji

I start my day with a mind, body, soul practice - yoga, Pilates or meditation. — Donna Karan

I used homeopathy, acupuncture, yoga and meditation in conjunction with my chemotherapy to help me get stronger again after the cancer. I also chanted with Buddhist friends and prayed with Christian friends. I covered all my bases. — Olivia Newton-John

Blossom time has come and many ancient seekers are today getting their Self Realization. — Nirmala Srivastava

The secrets of advanced meditation were shrouded in secrecy because of respect for, and even fear of, their innate power. Just as governments guard state secrets of power, the ancient yoga masters guarded these secrets of spiritual power. They believed that power has the capacity to corrupt, and that it would be disastrous for the wrong person to learn these secrets. — Cameron Stauth