B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Nothing is achieved by a mind that doubts

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Nothing can be forced, receptivity is everything.

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.

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