B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

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

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.

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

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

Life without tapas, is like a heart without love.

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

In backbends, one touches the body physically, mentally, intellectually, consciously and spiritually everywhere.

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.

Knowledge has a beginning but no end.

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

Whenever we find stiffness in the body, our mind should be especially supple. It is never the stiffness in our bodies that limits our practice, it is always the stiffness of our mind.

In forward bends, one uses the outer mind while in backbends the outer mind is silenced and the inner mind is made to work.

When we speak of choice, what we mean is the ability to exercise control over ourselves and our environment. In order to choose, we must first perceive that control is possible.

We are missing the gold if we do asanas as a physical practice only.

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.

If the body is stiff that is understandable. But if the mind is also stiff then you can’t get anywhere. The mind has to become flexible.

Backbends are to be felt more than expressed. The other postures can be expressed and then felt. Like in meditation each person has to feel backbends.

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

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

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

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

Nothing is achieved by a mind that doubts

True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.

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

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

The conjunction of effort, concentration and balance in asana forces us to live intensely in the present moment, a rare experience in modern life.

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

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.

Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within.

The body is my temple, asanas are my prayers.

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

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.

When the asana is correct, there is lightness, a freedom. Freedom comes when every part of the body is active. Let us be free in whatever posture we are doing. Let us be full in whatever we do.

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

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. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.

It is while practicing yoga asanas that you learn the art of adjustment.

Love begets courage, moderation creates abundance and humility generates power

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

Pranayama teaches the aspirant to regulate his breathing and thereby control the mind.

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

Breath is the king of mind.

Asana done from the brain makes one heavy and done from the heart makes one light.

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.

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

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.

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

Life itself seeks fulfillment as plants seek sunlight.

Learning is as much an art as teaching

When an asana is done correctly the body movements are smooth, there is lightness in the body and freedom in the mind.