Top 297 Quotes & Sayings by B.K.S. Iyengar
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Indian teacher B.K.S. Iyengar.
Last updated on September 17, 2024.
You must continue to go back to the beginning, to the foundation, and question the foundation. Even once you‘ve reached Samadhi you must go back so you can create it at will. Samadhi is the beginning of spiritual growth, not the end. You must always be questioning. Enlightenment comes as an accident at first, then you have to learn to recreate 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.
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.
Before peace between the nations, we have to find peace inside that small nation which is our own being.
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.
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.
True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.
Focus on keeping your spine straight. It is the job of the spine to keep the brain alert.
The body is my temple, asanas are my prayers.
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.
Hatha Yoga teaches us to use the body as the bow, asana as the arrow, and the soul the target.
Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.
Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present.
Breath is the king of mind.
If you open the armpits, the brain becomes light. You cannot brood or become depressed.
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.
Nothing is achieved by a mind that doubts
As leaves move in the wind, your mind moves with your breath.
Life itself seeks fulfillment as plants seek sunlight.
The art of teaching is tolerance. Humbleness is the art of learning.
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.
Mind is the king of the senses; breath is the king of the mind; and the nerves are king of the breath.
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.
The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.
Yoga allows you to find a new kind of freedom that you may not have known even existed.
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.
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 is a way of life; it is an art, a science, a philosophy.
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.
This practice of yoga is to remove the weeds from the body so that the garden can grow.
The decision to relax rather than to grip, even in the face of impatience or fear, is a conscious and brave choice.
Words cannot convey the value of yoga - it has to be experienced.
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.
Regular practise of yoga can help you face the turmoil of life with steadiness and stability
Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.
Awareness must be like the rays of the sun: extending everywhere, illuminating all.
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.
Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within.
Learning is as much an art as teaching
Don't practice for cosmetic beauty, practice for cosmic beauty. Practice for inner beauty and inner light.
There is no progress toward ultimate freedom without transformation, and this is the key issue in all lives.
You do not need to seek freedom in some distant land, for it exists within your own body, heart, mind, and soul.
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.
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.
A stable mind is like the hub of a wheel. The world may spin around you, but the mind is steady.
The primary aim of yoga is to restore the mind to simplicity, peace, and poise, to free it from confusion and distress.
Yoga uses the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul.
The lotus grows in muddy waters but this flower does not show any trace of it: So we have to live in the world.
The highest point of yesterday should be the lowest point of today
By persistent and sustained practice, anyone and everyone can make the yoga journey and reach the goal of illumination and freedom.
Love begets courage, moderation creates abundance and humility generates power
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.
Balance in the body is the foundation for balance in life.
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.
Nothing can be forced, receptivity is everything.
The study of asana is not about mastering posture.
It's about using posture to understand and transform yourself.
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.
Yoga allows you to find an inner peace that is not ruffled and riled by the endless stresses and struggles of life.
Confidence, clarity and compassion are essential qualities of a teacher.
Yoga is when every cell of the body sings the song of the soul.
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