B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

Move from the known to the unknown.

Give more than you receive. That is the principle I tell all my students.

The needs of the body are the needs of the divine self, which lives through the body.

Yoga is the music of the soul. So do continue, and the gates of the soul will open.

The physical body is not only a temple for our soul, but the means by which we embark on the inward journey toward the core.

Yoga is the method by which the restless mind is calmed And the energy directed into constructive channels.

If we become aware of its limitations and compulsions, we can transcend them.

One day you too may experience what I have experienced. So right away go and practise.

So gut tells you "How do I feel about this right now?" It doesn't tell me how I feel about it tomorrow or even a few minutes from now. It just tells me how I'm feeling right now.

What's interesting is that the way we go about finding our marriage partners today is quite different from the way it used to be in this culture.

All of us have a dormant spark of divinity in us which has to be fanned into flame by yoga.

The battle of yoga is with the body and with the ego. You must conquer your ego, or small self, so that you can let your soul, your big Self, be victorious.

In your discipline, if doubt comes, let it come. You do your work and let doubt carry on with its work. And let us see which gives up first!

When stability becomes a habit, maturity and clarity follow.

It is never too late in life to practice yoga

Anything physical is always changing, therefore, its reality is not constant, not eternal.

Yoga is meant for the purification of body and its exploration as well as for the refinement of the mind.

Yoga takes us to an unconditioned freedom, because yoga sees even good habits as a form of conditioning or limitation.

Purity is when there is no anxiety, no worry, no thinking.

You know if they said kindness or funniness was really most important to them then they will be more likely to say yes to the person that they thought was kind and funny.

We make choices and are in turn made by them.

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.

Happy is the man who knows how to distinguish the real from the unreal, the eternal from the transient and the good from the pleasant by his discrimination and wisdom.

A yogi's brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of his head

I think many of my students have followed the advice I gave years ago, to give more than you take.

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

Sirsasana the king of all asanas and the reasons are not hard to find.

Persistent practice alone is the key to yoga. As you take pains to learn, continue with devotion what you have learn.

Classics postures, when practiced with discrimination and awareness, bring the body, mind, and consciousness into a single, harmonious whole.

Yoga has a threefold impact on health. It keeps healthy people healthy, it inhibits the development of diseases, and it aids recovery from ill health.

I think overall the majority of people who are practicing it as a subject are following the right line. For the aberration, don't blame yoga or the whole community of yogis

Your whole being should be symmetrical. Yoga is symmetry. That is why yoga is a basic art.

Relaxation: In. Every. Pose. There. Should. Be. Repose.

Training of the mind and body leads to awareness of the soul

What I was is unimportant, what I am now is important.

As the trunk is one but the branches are many, yoga is one but adaptations may vary.

The sleeping tortoise takes all its limbs into its carapace. So does the yogi: going back into himself he does not see anything worldly any longer, he makes peace in himself.

As long as you do not live totally in the body, you do not live totally in the Self.

Yoga is nothing if it is not perfect harmonyof the body, senses, mind and intellect, reason, consciousness and self. When all these are integrated that is true yoga.

Asanas keep your body, as well as your mind, healthy and active

The commercialism may wash off sometime later.

I planted the seed, now you must work a lot otherwise the tiny plant will die.

Yoga is a means and an end.

To master fear is the most important battle to win.

Freedom in a posture is when every joint is active.

There must be relaxation in full extension.

The supreme adventure in a man’s life is his journey back to his Creator. To reach the goal he needs well developed and co-ordinated functioning of his body, senses, mind, reason and Self.

Your body is the child of your soul.

All games are meaningless if you do not know the rules.

Do not live in the future, only the present is real