B.k.s. iyengar quotes

A good teacher helps you explore the maximum.

Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence, and benevolence of spirit.

The yogi cannot be afraid to die, because he has brought life to every cell of his body. We are afraid to die, because we are afraid we have not lived. The yogi has lived.

The art of teaching is tolerance. Humbleness is the art of learning.

It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.

Abhyasa (practice) is a dedicated, unswerving, constant, and vigilant search into a chosen subject pursued against all odds in the face of repeated failures, for indefinitely long periods of time.

The highest point of yesterday should be the lowest point of today

Hatha Yoga teaches us to use the body as the bow, asana as the arrow, and the soul the target.

Nothing is achieved by a mind that doubts

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.

Willpower is nothing but willingness to do.

A stable mind is like the hub of a wheel. The world may spin around you, but the mind is steady.

You must purge yourself before finding faults in others.

If you keep your armpits open, you won't get depressed.

When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world.

Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present.

The Yogi conquers the body by the practice of asanas, making the body a fit vehicle for the spirit. The Yogi knows that it is a necessary vehicle for the spirit, for a soul without a body is like a bird deprived of its power to fly.

You must be as joyful when you fail again and again as you are joyful when you succeed. It is often when you fail that you move toward the goal without being aware of it. You must feel joy even when you have not fully succeeded but only moved toward achievement of your goal.

He who has learnt to control his tongue has attained self-control in a great measure. When such a person speaks he will be heard with respect and attention. His words will be remembered, for they will be good and true. When one who is established in truth prays with a pure heart, then things he really needs come to him when they are really needed: he does not have to run after them. The man firmly established in truth gets the fruit of his actions without apparently doing anything. God, the source of all truth, supplies his needs and looks after his welfare.

The cure to combat the three Ss- stress, strain, and speed- can be found in three Ws- the work of devoted practice, the wisdom that comes of understanding the self and the world, and worship because ultimately surrendering to what we cannot control allows the ego to relax and lose the anxiety of its own infinitesimally small self in the infinitude of the divine.

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

In whatever position one is in, or in whatever condition in life one is placed, one must find balance. Balance is the state of the present - the here and now. If you balance in the present, you are living in Eternity.

Words cannot convey the value of yoga - it has to be experienced.

Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.

As breath stills our mind, our energies are free to unhook from the senses and bend inward.

Love begets courage, moderation creates abundance and humility generates power

Yoga is the golden key that unlocks the door to peace, tranquility and joy.

The primary aim of yoga is to restore the mind to simplicity, peace, and poise, to free it from confusion and distress.

Yoga allows you to find a new kind of freedom that you may not have known even existed.

We can wash the skin of our bodies with a bath, but through asana practice we not only purify our blood and cells, we are cleansing the inner body as we practice.

The light that Yoga sheds on life is something special. It is transformative. It does not just change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees.

Do not think of yourself as a small, compressed, suffering thing. Think of yourself as graceful and expanding, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time.

Change leads to disappointment if it is not sustained. Transformation is sustained change, and it is achieved through practice.

Before peace between the nations, we have to find peace inside that small nation which is our own being.

You have to create love and affection for your body, for what it can do for you. Love must be incarnated in the smallest pore of the skin, the smallest cell of the body to make them intelligent so they can collaborate with all the other ones, in the big republic of the body. This love must radiate from you to others.

The body is my temple, asanas are my prayers.

Yes, flexibility of body and physical perfection for Yogasana is important. However more important is the state of your mind, Meditative mind. Your flexibility might be excellent but if your mind is not attentive, you are merely doing some physical exercise, not Yoga.

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.

Yoga is when every cell of the body sings the song of the soul.

Look after the root of the tree, and the fragrant flower and luscious fruits will grow by themselves. Look after the health of the body, and the fragrance of the mind and richness of the spirit will follow.

Confidence, clarity and compassion are essential qualities of a teacher.

My Maman told me that only the crazy ones and the passionate ones accomplish anything in life.

Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within.

The body is the prop for the soul. So why not let the body be propped by a wall or a block?

I am standing on my own altar; The poses are my prayers.

Savasana is being without was, being without will be. It is being without anyone who is.

True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.

You must fill every inch of your body with the asana from your chest and arms and legs to the tips of your fingers and toes so that the asana radiates from the core of your body and fills the entire diameter and circumference of your limbs. You must feel your intelligence, your awareness, and your consciousness in every inch of your body.

There is a universal reality in ourselves that aligns us with a universal reality that is everywhere.

If you can adapt to and balance in a world that is always moving and unstable, you learn how to become tolerant to the permanence of change and difference.

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.

Don't practice for cosmetic beauty, practice for cosmic beauty. Practice for inner beauty and inner light.

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.

Nothing can be forced, receptivity is everything.

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.

Yoga is a way of life; it is an art, a science, a philosophy.

An intellectual mind that is unconnected to the heart is an uncultivated mind.

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.

Sometimes our body is willing, but our mind is weak. Sometimes our mind is willing, but our body is weak. Do not be afraid. Strive to extend your capacity but do not be disappointed with yourself. What does not challenge us, cannot change us.

If you have the right mind, your body can do anything.

As leaves move in the wind, your mind moves with your breath.

Be inspired but not proud.

This practice of yoga is to remove the weeds from the body so that the garden can grow.

The hardness of a diamond is part of its usefulness, but its true value is in the light that shines through it.

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.

Feeling the movement of movements is wandering to the past or future. Living in the movements of movement is being in the present.

You do not need to seek freedom in some distant land, for it exists within your own body, heart, mind, and soul.

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.

If you open the armpits, the brain becomes light. You cannot brood or become depressed.

When stability becomes a habit, maturity and clarity follow.

Without the accurate spine movement, one can't exist dynamically.

There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted.

The beauty of a lake reflects the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it.

The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.

The decision to relax rather than to grip, even in the face of impatience or fear, is a conscious and brave choice.

Learning is as much an art as teaching

As we explore the soul, it is important to remember that this exploration will take place within nature (the body), for that is where and what we are.

By persistent and sustained practice, anyone and everyone can make the yoga journey and reach the goal of illumination and freedom.

Regular practise of yoga can help you face the turmoil of life with steadiness and stability

When you cannot hold the body still, you cannot hold the brain still. If you do not know the silence of the body, you cannot understand the silence of the mind. Action and silence have to go together. If there is action, there must also be silence. If there is silence, there can be conscious action and not just motion.

Firmness in the body leads to firmness in the nervous system.

Yoga is as old and traditional as civilization, yet it persists in modern society as a means to achieving essential vitality. But yoga demands that we develop not only strength in body but attention and awareness in mind.The yogi knows that the physical body is not only the temple for our soul but the means by which we embark on the inward journey toward the core.

The lotus grows in muddy waters but this flower does not show any trace of it: So we have to live in the world.

Do not aim low, you will miss the mark. Aim high and you will be on a threshold of bliss.

There is no progress toward ultimate freedom without transformation, and this is the key issue in all lives.

Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.

Balance in the body is the foundation for balance in life.

We are creatures that are designed for continual challenge. We must grow or we begin to die....So just standing still isn't really an option. We have to move on. If not, disturbances will come.

The ultimate goal of yoga is to realize the brilliance of your soul.

Spirituality is not some external goal that one must seek, but a part of the divine core of each of us, which we must reveal.

Life itself seeks fulfillment as plants seek sunlight.

The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It's about using posture to understand and transform yourself.

Intensity is a mental attitude more than a physical attitude. Many people misunderstand what intensity means. They think it means straining and sweating. No! That is a wrong meaning of the word! Intensity is to get totally involved, fully immersed and absorbed in what one is doing. Intense practice means a fast and keen mode in adjusting, correcting, and progressively proceeding.

In whatever you are doing, be one: body, soul, mind. Do it beautifully and with purity.

Focus on keeping your spine straight. It is the job of the spine to keep the brain alert.

Know your capacities and continually improve upon them.

To be dull is easy, to be active requires tremendous work.

Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it

When you are practicing, do not just do that for the sake of doing. Learn to reflect while you are practising. Make your mind and brain observe and relearn what you are doing. Doing is mechanical; learning is dynamic.

It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.

When your body, mind and soul are healthy and harmonious, you will bring health and harmony to the world- not by withdrawing from the world, but by being a healthy, living organ of the body of humanity.

When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake.

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.

Yoga uses the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul.

Extension brings space, space brings freedom, freedom brings precision. Precision is truth.

We are a little piece of continual change, looking at an infinite quantity of continual change.

Breath is the king of mind.

Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.

Your body is the child of the soul. you must nourish and train that child.

We can rise above our limitations, only once we recognize them.

Everybody should live quietly whether his experiences are happy or sad, whether they are successes or failures. That is contentment.

Awareness must be like the rays of the sun: extending everywhere, illuminating all.

If you balance in the Present, you are living in Eternity

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.

The challenge of yoga is to go beyond our limits - within reason. We continually expand the frame of the mind by using the canvas of the body. It is as if you were to stretch a canvas more and create a larger surface for a painting. But we must respect the present form of our body. If you pull too much at once, we will rip the canvas. If the practice of today damages the practice of tomorrow, it is not correct practice.

Fear and fatigue block the mind. Face both, then courage and confidence flows into you.

Any action done with beauty and purity, and in complete harmony of body, mind and soul, is Art.

Keep your attention internal, not external, not worrying about what others see, but what the Self sees.

Mind is the king of the senses; breath is the king of the mind; and the nerves are king of the breath.

Do not stop trying just because perfection eludes you.

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

Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and . . . grace . . . pours down upon him like a torrential rain.

Yoga allows you to find an inner peace that is not ruffled and riled by the endless stresses and struggles of life.

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.

As animals, we walk the earth. As bearers of divine essence, we are among the stars. As human beings, we are caught in the middle, seeking to reconcile the paradox of how to make our way upon earth while striving for something more permanent and more profound.