Quotes & Sayings About Yoga Practice

For me, my yoga practice is like putting a one in front of a lot of zeros. Without my practice, everything quickly becomes chaotic. — MC Yogi

People become depressed when they neglect their spiritual practice. — Dharma Mittra

I started doing yoga in college, so that has just become a staple of a self-care routine for my mind and my body. My body craves it at this point, so I do it two to three times a week, sometimes more. I practice Vinyasa style yoga and sometimes mix it up. — Taylor Schilling

Well look, it seems as though you do have some experience now at least of threefold bliss, luminosity, and emptiness that is such an important feature of the first yoga. On top of that, you are in an excellent position, having had introduction from myself and having all the things on your side that you have going for you. But look out! Your mind is probably not strong enough yet that you can go wandering into town, as a lot of yogi-types would, drinking liquor and womanizing, and trying to incorporate that into your practice. Instead, and until you have advanced far enough that you can actually take these things onto the path, you should be practicising!

- Gampopa to Phagmo Drupa

(Duff T. Gampopa Teaches Essence Mahamudra: Interviews with His Heart Disciples, Dusum Khyenpa and Others. Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2012. Pp. xxviii-xxix) — Tony Duff

Balance is key. In everything you do. Dance all night long and practice yoga the next day. Drink wine but don't forget your green juice. Eat chocolate when your heart wants it and kale salad when your body needs it. Wear high heels on Saturday and walk barefoot on Sunday. Go shopping at the mall and then sit down and meditate in your bedroom. Live high and low. Move and stay still. Embrace all sides of who you are and live your authentic truth! Be brave and bold and spontaneous and loud and let that complement your abilities to find silence and patience and modesty and peace. Aim for balance. Make your own rules and don't let anybody tell you how to live according to theirs. — Rachel Brathen

I like to go to the gym with my girls, practice yoga, try new recipes, bake, have slumber parties, go to the beach, have adventures, book hunt, shop for new records, or road trip somewhere ... anything that keeps me laughing and excited about the day, really. I like feeling free to do what I or my friends want to do on our days off. — Lindsay Pearce

The practice of yoga has been an amazing tool to actually unearth where my inspiration lives inside my body and mind and heart. — Rodney Yee

Let's face it, I only practice yoga because the classes are always packed with beautiful women. — Adam Levine

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

If you practice Yoga for small, selfish reasons, you will remain the same, bound by your beliefs about what you can and cannot do. Let go and offer your effort to limitless potential. Dedicate yourself to the happiness of all beings. — Sharon Gannon

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

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

What kind of a world do we live in that has room for dog yoga but not for Esperanto? — Arika Okrent

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

Every day I practice yoga, read poetry, and translate. What do I need politics for? — Ryszard Kapuscinski

Yoga is an ancient discipline in which physical postures, breath practice, meditation, and philosophical study are tools for achieving liberation. In my interpretation, achieving liberation in yoga means learning how to be present with everything that arises, whether it is pain or pleasure, sadness or joy, failure or success. And to be present with whatever arises, I believe we must not only be aware of what is arising but we must also be able to see all things that arise as equal, with detachment. — Rodney Yee

I always try to practice what I preach. I meditate for fifteen minutes every day and do yoga several times a week. — Arianna Huffington

yoga positions. She's got all the curtains and blinds in her living room lifted, which exposes her half-dressed body as it twists itself into sexual positions. Of course they're sexual positions. You chicks may call it 'yoga' but it's really nothing more than sex practice. When else would you need to be that flexible except in someone's bed? — Xavier Neal

Enlightenment is cumulative. You become a little more enlightened each day as you practice yoga and Buddhism. — Frederick Lenz

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

Even if yoga only enhanced physical fitness, the time spent in practice would be fully worthwhile. — Deepak Chopra

Yoga has moved from relative anonymity in the West to a well-recognized practice offered in thousands of studios, community centers, hospitals, gyms, and health clubs. — Deepak Chopra

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

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

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

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

I carefully lifted out of the pose and spoke up: "Uh, Fran? When I'm doing the pose (camel), I have this feeling in my chest, kind of a scary, tight feeling."
Fran was adjusting someone across the room. She had a way of looking like a thoughtful seamstress when she made adjustments: an inch let out here, a seam straightened there, and everything would be just right. She might as well have had pins tucked between her lips and a tape measure around her neck. Without missing a beat or looking up she said, "Oh, that's fear. Try the pose again."
Fear. I hadn't even known it was there. — Claire Dederer

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

Through practice comes Yoga, through Yoga comes knowledge, through knowledge love, and through love bliss. — Swami Vivekananda

Yoga is for everyone. Personally I believe yoga would benefit anyone's life. It is such an amazing form of exercise and if you practice regularly it really slows your mind down and it helps you to get perspective. It keeps you incredibly fit and really flexible. It helps prevent ailments because you're working all the body. — Jayne Middlemiss

You're never too old - or too young
to start practicing yoga! — Kathryn E. Livingston

On the occasion of yoga day, I want to offer you the simplest form of yoga: Namaskar - Yoga for all. — Sadghuru

The chief helps in this liberation are Abhyasa and Vairagya. Vairagya is non - attachment to life, because it is the will to enjoy that brings all this bondage in its train; and Abhyasa is constant practice of any one of the Yogas. — Swami Vivekananda

[I]t is important not to abandon the practice [of yoga] because we believe it is driven by the wrong motivation. The practice of yoga itself transforms. Yoga has a magical quality ... (20) — Ravi Ravindra

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

Daily habits can anchor your thoughts and feelings just as readily as any spiritual practice or yoga class. — Jeffrey Brantley

Yoga is the space where flower blossoms. — Amit Ray

Yes, I see you. I recognize that you're a thinking, feeling person, and I'm here to listen." That's the essence and magic of meditation - the gift of telling yourself that you matter and that you're worth time and attention. No pomp. No circumstance. No
rules. Just showing up for yourself with compassion and without judgment. When this is your practice, meditation can serve as a mirror and the lighthouse that leads you home. — Rebekah Borucki

It is very important to understand yoga philosophy: without philosophy, practice is not good, and yoga practice is the starting place for yoga philosophy. Mixing both is actually the best. — K. Pattabhi Jois

I am ever with those who practice Kriya Yoga. I will guide you to the
Cosmic Home through your enlarging perceptions. — Lahiri Mahasaya

The more you know, the more you don't know," the further you go in your training, learning, and experience as a yoga teacher, the more you'll realize that there's an infinite universe of knowledge and wisdom to bring to the practice. — Mark Stephens

Now you must practice to see something without allowing any thought to rise. Then you start sucking through your Spirit the beauty, the glory, the fragrance of a flower. — Nirmala Srivastava

Slowing down is the precursor to Yoga practice because this simple act allows us to consider our thoughts, feelings and actions more carefully in the light of our desire to live peacefully. — Donna Farhi

Children, daily practice of yoga or sun salutations (surya-namaskara) is very good for health and for spiritual practice. Lack of proper exercise is the cause of many of today's diseases. If we can get somewhere in time on foot, always walk instead of taking a vehicle. It is good exercise. Only if we have to go far should we depend on vehicles. Use a bicycle, whenever possible. This will save money, too. — Mata Amritanandamayi

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

I gave up drinking lots of whiskey and began to practice yoga and meditation. As a result I am not dead. — Billy Childish

The real payoff of a yoga practice, I came to see, is not a perfect handstand or a deeper forward bend - it is the newly born self that each day steps off the yoga mat and back into life. — Rolf Gates

When I started meditating, even doing yoga, I felt like it was hard to allow myself to develop any other kind of practice [outside of Judaism], like I was somehow being untrue to my heritage, and that was something I had to get over and was probably the greatest revelation to me. — Dani Shapiro

Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish and loneliness. — Indra Devi

If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter - if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental, and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self. — K. Pattabhi Jois

Please maintain an open mind while exploring the depth and wealth of wisdom that is available through the practice of yoga. You may soon come to see the Union of all religions and philosophies if you maintain an open mind and heart. — Dashama Konah Gordon

In the morning, I practice 15 minutes of yoga. — Vivienne Westwood

Yoga means to bind back, unite. To bring the body and the soul together. For this reason the practice of yoga is a holy endeavor and the teaching of it to our people a very high calling. — Alice Walker

It's a mistake to expect benefits from any pose. Expectations make you restless because if you fail to get what you expect, you feel miserable. Yoga practice is an act of adoration to the Lord. You do it because it has to be done. If you have this mental attitude, your selfishness disappears and the benefits come. — Dharma Mittra

In yoga practice, over time you use fewer muscles more efficiently. Expansion does require energy, but it should not require a great deal of effort. — Brenda Strong

Being able to recognize which of your desires are vital to pursue and which ones are not is often less than easy. This is precisely why the ancient sages counseled that we practice yoga. Their point was a very practical one: You are best able to discern which of your many desires should (and should not) be responded to when your mind is calm and tranquil. — Rod Stryker

The yoga we practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; its aim is to work out the will of the Divine in the world, to effect a spiritual transformation and to bring down a divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity. Its object is not personal Mukti, although Mukti is a necessary condition of the yoga, but the liberation and transformation of the human being. It is not personal Ananda, but the bringing down of the divine Ananda - Christ's kingdom of heaven, our Satyayuga - upon the earth. — Sri Aurobindo

Yoga practices shift our identity away from the ego-personality and its struggles so that we can begin to reconnect with the essential nature of our being, which is bliss. — Sharon Gannon

F the beginning of the thought or theory is not rooted in reality, the end or the final results of such a thought or theory could well be disastrous in practice. — Nirmala Srivastava

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

The awareness that we cultivate is what makes yoga a practice, rather than a task or a goal to be completed. Your body will most likely become much more flexible by doing yoga, and so will your mind. — Cyndi Lee

My Yoga practice is number one, straight physical exercises are number two, and when I can do neither, I focus on the breath. Make sure I drink enough water and get enough sleep. — Leilani Bishop

My attitude about teaching has always been the same. From early on, I wanted to make yoga accessible so that anyone, regardless of ability, could experience its wonder, joy, and power. I encourage students to question, learn, and develop their own personal practice. — David F. Swensen

Anyone can practice. Young man can practice. Old man can practice. Very old man can practice. Man who is sick, he can practice. Man who doesn't have strength can practice. Except lazy people; lazy people can't practice Ashtanga yoga. — K. Pattabhi Jois

Through the practice of yoga, you come to feel confident and develop a feeling of wholeness and completeness; you are not likely to feel deprived or 'less than.' People steal because they feel deprived. They try to make up for their deficits by depriving others. — Sharon Gannon

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

The study of yoga makes me inspired. And then the teaching of yoga makes it that much more real. The sense that this practice and this tool helps other people be centered, be present, and helps them really [be] embodied and [have] a life. — Rodney Yee

In theory, practice and theory are the same, but in practice they are different. — Larry McVoy

It is only when the correct practice is followed for a long time, without interruptions and with a quality of positive attitude and eagerness, that it can succeed. — Patanjali

My bodysuit is how I start everyday. I wear a bodysuit everyday of my life. It's how I start my yoga practice. It's underneath it all. For me, what goes under the clothes is as important as what goes on top of the clothes. It's a layering aspect, so it's inside. — Donna Karan

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

It takes an honest look to observe our selves without judgment, and then to do something about it. Observing without judgment is the practice of yoga. Doing something about it is the stuff that makes up your life. — Tara Stiles

The full ashtanga system practiced with devotion leads to freedom within one's heart. — K. Pattabhi Jois

Perseverance is the essential requirement in the practice of yoga. It has to be done day by day, week by week, year by year, until the mind is brought to the 'still point' where it is open to the grace of God. — Bede Griffiths

The practices of Yoga will help you maintain equanimity in all situations by teaching you to become transparent, able to allow both joy and sorrow to flow through you without destroying your peace of mind. — Sharon Gannon

Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. One who knows crying, knows spiritual practice. If you can cry with a pure heart, nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the principles of Yoga. — Kripalvanandji

Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory. — K. Pattabhi Jois

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

A kaleidoscope consists of a tube (or container), mirrors, pieces of glass (or beads or precious stones), sunlight, and someone to turn it and observe and enjoy the forms. Metaphorically, perhaps the sun represents the divine light, or spark of life, within all of us. The mirrors represent our ability to serve as mirrors for one another and each other's alignment, reflecting sides of ourselves that we may not have been aware of. The tube (or container) is the practice of community yoga. We, as human beings, are the glass, the beads, the precious stones. The facilitator is the person turning the Kaleidoscope, initiating the changing patterns. And the resulting beauty of the shapes? Well, that's for everyone to enjoy... — Lo Nathamundi

I encourage students to check out different styles of yoga and different teachers even within one system. Seek the teacher that inspires you, and practice the yoga that makes you feel the best. You'll then find the authentic practice for your life and path. — David F. Swensen

I love Bikram Yoga. I tend to move and think at a fast pace, and the heat forces me to slow down and just focus on my breath. I'm also a fan of Kundalini yoga. It's still a new practice for me, but I've found it infinitely helpful in getting me present. — Allison McAtee

I try and work out as often as possible. Since I travel very often, it becomes very difficult to have a daily work out routine, but I practice yoga every day or try and play some sport. Also, I am very aware of what suits my body in terms of food and exercise. — Deepika Padukone

I practice yoga even when my schedule doesn't allow me to teach. I've been practicing for 17 years, since before it became hip. — Brenda Strong

See yourself in the practice you are not able to access right now. Imagine yourself in it. — Dharma Mittra

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

When I started, these [yoga] were very functional practices, as I said, productive to lose weight, or whatever, and now it has become a very spiritual kind of practice. — Karan Bajaj

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

Yoga is the practice of radical transformation — Georg Feuerstein

The practice of Yoga brings us face to face with the extraordinary complexity of our own being. — Sri Aurobindo

I don't practice yoga, but it's on my list of things to try again. I gave it a shot, but the class was too advanced for me, and I felt overwhelmed and a little embarrassed. — Mike Colter

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

A yoga session is harder than a football practice easily for me. Probably in some ways just as intense, not from a physical standpoint of hitting ,but from a game, the intensity is the same. — Andrew Whitworth

Now I know why yoga is so life-giving for so many. I have never experienced a practice that combines such physical challenge and spiritual wellbeing in my life. — Emily Saliers

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

When you practice yoga, first your personality changes, the faith increases, then confidence improves — Bikram Choudhury

You study Yoga in India, Liss?" he asks. "Yes, Ketut." "You can do Yoga," he says, "but Yoga too hard." Here, he contorts himself in a cramped lotus position and squinches up his face in a comical and constipated-looking effort. Then he breaks free and laughs, asking, "Why they always look so serious in Yoga? You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver. Practice tonight at hotel. Not to hurry, not to try too hard. Too serious, you make you sick. You can calling the good energy with a smile. All finish for today. See you later, alligator. Come back tomorrow. I am very happy to see you, Liss. Let your conscience be your guide. If you have Western friends come to visit Bali, bring them to me for palm-reading. I am very empty in my bank since the bomb. — Elizabeth Gilbert

I've never meditated in my life. I don't practice yoga nor any religion. I'm a tourist on the realm of stillness. — Pico Iyer

I don't go to the gym or practice yoga. And the closest thing I have to a nutritionist is the Carlsberg Beer Company. I just have the appetite of a pigeon. — Colin Farrell

My yoga practice was and will always be a spiritual experience. I can honestly say, "Yoga delivered me back to GOD!" — Faith Hunter

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